Underhood Pad.....

Great thread Bill!!!

I've worked on mine and have tried all of the above (not the tire foam), including the pressure washer and NOTHING cleans those bad boys.

Where's the brain trust to tell us how to PERFECTLY clean these things? Your method is a 85% improvement Bill, but do you think we can find a way to get it to 100%?
 
User Name said:
Great thread Bill!!!

I've worked on mine and have tried all of the above (not the tire foam), including the pressure washer and NOTHING cleans those bad boys.

Where's the brain trust to tell us how to PERFECTLY clean these things? Your method is a 85% improvement Bill, but do you think we can find a way to get it to 100%?
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One thing I've done is to spray it with Tire Foam and then scrub it with a carpet brush, then wipe with an old towel and re-apply the tire foam.

I think by scrubbing with a brush you can achieve about 90-95%.

Important: I've used other brands of tire foam and they don't work. ArmorAll is the only one I've found that works...
 
Thanks for the idea, Bill !
I have had perfect results with my trusty pressure washer, starting at the top of the hood, cleaning all the metal including the latch, and then going in horizontal straight lines, all the way across and down to the bottom or back of the hood, and seen all that mucky stuff drain out the bottom of the pad.
It probably takes longer, and you need to leave the hood open to let gravity work the water all out. I also hit it with my leaf blower in the same pattern, to further move water down and off the pad.
Just finished a '03 Cadilliac Escalade EXT Truck with a pad similar to your picture and it came out perfectly clean.
Of course, you have to be extremely careful with pressure washing that you dont damage the material; I open up the pressure washer so I have the widest fan possible.

DanF
 
Stokdgs said:
Of course, you have to be extremely careful with pressure washing that you dont damage the material; I open up the pressure washer so I have the widest fan possible.

DanF
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I've ruined an underhood pad with a pressure washer so I will repeat your advice for emphasis!!!:iagree::iagree::iagree:

My old washer doesn't have an adjustable nozzle so it didn't take long to blow holes in that soft pad!!!:banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
Thanks for the tip, Bill!!!! I definitely will put your method to the test soon when I try and attempt a cleaning on my mothers suburban engine ;)

It will be my first engine detail also :D
 
John M. said:
Thanks for the tip, Bill!!!! I definitely will put your method to the test soon when I try and attempt a cleaning on my mothers suburban engine ;)

It will be my first engine detail also :D
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Here's another tip about cleaning the hood pad...

CLEAN THE HOOD PAD FIRST! Because that Tire Foam will get all over everything!
 
dino said:
Here's another one a little out of the box...just remove it. Over time it gets brittle and nasty looking it looks better off.

I've heard it's used as a sound dampener and acts as a fire retardant (in the event of an engine fire). Anybody else know?
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I second that idea.

Although I have no problem with mine getting dirty, on my cars that get driven hard, I remove it to effectively reduce under hood temperature.
 
Great tip!! My hood pad usually doesn't get that dirty since my engine compartment is relatively sealed, but a good vacuum does it good. If it gets to that point I'll have to make a note somewhere to try out the Armor All tire foam.
 
Tried it once with every cleaner imaginable. Found the best things was the local U pull-it and somebody's much cleaner car!!:rofl::rofl:
 
Bill's underhood pad method worked better than I expected. I used Meguiars Tire Foam and it worked just as well, I actually did not even have to touch the pad either. Not too bad for a ten year old car.

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Thanks Bill! :clap:
 
CamoZ71 said:
Bill's underhood pad method worked better than I expected. I used Meguiars Tire Foam and it worked just as well, I actually did not even have to touch the pad either. Not too bad for a ten year old car.
Thanks Bill! :clap:
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No problem! I used to hang out with a guy who used Tire Foam for EVERYTHING! And I quote: "You won't believe how much cleaning power AA Tire Foam has."

He would soak a dirty engine with Tire Foam and when he wiped it off..... looked brand new!

Wheel wells too. It definitely has it's place.:cornut:
 
Another use for AA Tire Foam. Very cool.

One question thiugh, how much foam do you use on a under hood pad? I'm thinking you must use up the whole can.
 
bmw5541 said:
Another use for AA Tire Foam. Very cool.

One question thiugh, how much foam do you use on a under hood pad? I'm thinking you must use up the whole can.
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I actually only used about half the can. I am still not sure If I am spraying too much or too little though.
 
I usully pressure wash them, spray APC and/or Sdeg. But never thought of using AA foam. I'll give it a go this weekend. Now where did I put the AA stuff...
 
This 'cleaning' method will give a good indication of the strong solvent content of these tyre sprays
 
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