Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Polishing the engine

Personally I feel that if the engine's meant to be polished then I do prefer it to be polished! After all, we are all just custodians for our cars and we owe it to future generations of owners to look after them.

For bad pitting I start with P2000 wet & dry paper. After that I use a combination of Autosol with a polishing mop followed up with Belgom ALU on a polishing cloth. The ALU is good stuff and includes wax to help prolong the finish.



Removing the cooling fan, spark plugs, air filter and rocker covers allows easier access to nooks and crannies that are otherwise are hard to reach. Obviously any exposed orifices need to be plugged before starting to splatter the Autosol around.

To get in between the fins I use 3M Purple finishing pads. These are basically, very fine Scotchbrite pads used for preparing car bodies before painting.



A small strip of this stuff folded over fits perfectly in the gap and is very effective at removing crud and oxidation.



If I'm feeling keen I follow this up with some Belgom Alu to give it a bit of lustre. I have to admit that I only polish the top six fins as they are the most visible (and believe it or not there is a limit to my obsessiveness).



A car bodywork polish rather than a metal polish product seems to work best on the rocker covers and cam chest cover. I find that 'Mer' works well and is easy to use.

I only need to give the engine one good clean each year which in my opinion is not too onerous a task for the benefit it provides.

That is some great info - thanks.

"Obviously any exposed orifices need to be plugged before starting to splatter", I have gone by this mantra for a long time and especially now I am getting older

That looks like a good method. I assumed the aluminum fins are annodized or some finish. Would the purple pads remove that protective finish?

As far as I'm aware there is no coating.

Bunny have you tried a mist of ACF50 after your polishing?

No, but I know some people do this (including Morgan themselves) but I always reckon that it could potentially attract grit? I tend to just go over it lightly with quick detailer and a cloth when sprucing up the rest of the car.

I use ACF50 on the engine & front suspension after washing & I dont find it attracts grit.

Me too Tim and everything under the rear boot liner, seats and mats.

For the black exhausts I use Zebrite black grate polish.

Not bad for 21k miles under there.