Anti-corrosion sprays

Hightower · 04 December 2009, 17:36

The other day I removed the hood and had a peek underneath. Everything was fine except some corrosion around the lower spark plugs. There were also some small drops of water in area's I just couldn't reach.

I must admit to never using an anti-corrosion spray under the hood to disperse water and protect the block and electrics etc, so am seeking some advice.

I guess you just spray this stuff everywhere. So my question is: Dosen't the wax, oil or whatever just attract dirt after a period of time and if applied yearly will it just build up and make the engine dirty (like the electrics on a car if sprayed with WD40)?

I would be interested in hearing from people that have used such products over several years and what products they recommend.

matt h · 04 December 2009, 17:55

Andy.
Completely de grease the engine/electrics and dry with compressor ...then 3-4 light coats of Quicksilver corrosion Guard, every so often after the engine has had a spray of seawater on it i pour hot water all over it to disperse the salt marks.

also before all the above...all of the electrical connections are pulled apart and bullet connectors and every terminal are filled with vaseline!!

all the electrics in the consol and under the outboard saddle get this abuse of me!!

forgot to mention, dont breath it in, its not good!!

Hightower · 04 December 2009, 20:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

forgot to mention, dont breath it in, its not good!!

You found out from experience

chewy · 04 December 2009, 21:35

After every exercise we rinse the engines off with fresh water, run them till the thermostat opens then spray with WD40.

Scousedeli · 05 December 2009, 10:43

I'd be carefull with WD40 I've been told it starts to eat electrics after a while!! I prefer the quicksilver stuff mentioned earlier.

Lee

chewy · 05 December 2009, 10:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scousedeli

I'd be carefull with WD40 I've been told it starts to eat electrics after a while!! I prefer the quicksilver stuff mentioned earlier.

Lee

Don't think it does the HT leads much good but it seems fine on everything else.

Hightower · 07 December 2009, 10:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

Andy.
Completely de grease the engine/electrics and dry with compressor ...then 3-4 light coats of Quicksilver corrosion Guard, every so often after the engine has had a spray of seawater on it i pour hot water all over it to disperse the salt marks.

also before all the above...all of the electrical connections are pulled apart and bullet connectors and every terminal are filled with vaseline!!

all the electrics in the consol and under the outboard saddle get this abuse of me!!

forgot to mention, dont breath it in, its not good!!

I've ordered the Quicksilver Corrosion Guard, thanks for the heads up Matt.

I am however a little worried about the pouring of water over the engine to remove Salt etc before I start to coat the engine. There a hundreds of electrical connectors, sensors and all sorts of things that don't react nicely to water. Throw into the mix inaccessable area's of the engine and it seems like an impossible task.

Does anyone know if there any cleaning sprays that I can use that wash the dirt off the surfaces of the block etc and then flash off to leave a residue free surface in which to use the Corrosion Guard?

Cookee · 07 December 2009, 14:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hightower

I am however a little worried about the pouring of water over the engine to remove Salt etc before I start to coat the engine. There a hundreds of electrical connectors, sensors and all sorts of things that don't react nicely to water. Throw into the mix inaccessable area's of the engine and it seems like an impossible task.

Couldn't disagree with you more!

Just think of all the spray that gets dragged in with the intake air to all those nooks and crannies - which would you prefer - highly concentrated damp sea salt rotting everything away being heated up and cooled down or all of the above flushed out with fresh water?

Don't forget you are washing down a boat engine!

Our race motors get hosed down, sprayed with Worth water repellent spray Ultra 2040 and it even keeps the head bolts looking like new - and they aren't even painted!

Hightower · 07 December 2009, 16:21

I'm very surprised you can douse all the engine in water spray.

So just to claify, you're saying is it's OK to spray water all over the ECU and associated components then?

Cookee · 07 December 2009, 16:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hightower

I'm very surprised you can douse all the engine in water spray.

So just to claify, you're saying is it's OK to spray water all over the ECU and associated components then?

So long as they aren't hot - warm is ok though - it will help remove the salt deposits from the motor, and together with the spray will help prevent the corrosion that the salt will promote.

m chappelow · 07 December 2009, 16:34

i would agree with cookee nowadays , though 20 years ago i wouldent have dreamed about doing it ,with the old points /condenser /flywheel mag ect keeping things dry was crucial from saltwater corrosion and having things short out ,but with modern cd/ ignition units ect ,things are more solid state and waterproof , and lets face it its suprizing where salt water can get to, little tiny nooks of the engine that may go unoticed for years ,until something decides to drop off or snap off, if its wet with saltwater im pretty sure a fresh water rinse a few times of the year wont harm it and a good liberal spraying of wd40 or something .

matt h · 07 December 2009, 17:29

really,dont worry about it, this weekend after the fantastic Jolly to the folly, was very rough on the return,, some near vertical jumps buried the engine on the rear.. when i got home and lifted the cover off, white salt water and residue all over the engine, out with the kettle and doused the engine. electrics, in fact everything with warm to hot water, then blow it all down with a compressor< lucky to have the luxury of a big enough garage where i leave the hood off to ultimately dry till i need it the next time.

if you give everything including all the electrics a good 3 or 4 coats of quicksilver corrosion Guard, it will do the job,also put in vaseline in every electrical connector and block connector you can find.

there is no way i would coat the engine in WD40 , I also look after a very large collection of vintage and veteran cars and i would not use WD for coating any of those either!!

chewy · 07 December 2009, 17:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

there is no way i would coat the engine in WD40 , I also look after a very large collection of vintage and veteran cars and i would not use WD for coating any of those either!!

Because of the electrics?
The corrosion guard seems to be the best stuff but the RNLI have us spray them with WD after rinsing off for some reason?

matt h · 07 December 2009, 18:11

hi chewy,

I have found that WD40 attacks rubber, sure this has been discussed before, anyway, few years ago i was restoring lagonda self jack system on the vehicle, i had lubed the rubber seals with WD, following day, literally jammed, rubber bung as it was, gone like a silicon donut!! Yum Yum,

also attacks window rubbers and carb diaphrams quite badly as well, i thinks it really depends on what your putting it on but i would never risk it on my prized lump!!

m chappelow · 07 December 2009, 19:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

hi chewy,

I have found that WD40 attacks rubber, sure this has been discussed before, anyway, few years ago i was restoring lagonda self jack system on the vehicle, i had lubed the rubber seals with WD, following day, literally jammed, rubber bung as it was, gone like a silicon donut!! Yum Yum,

also attacks window rubbers and carb diaphrams quite badly as well, i thinks it really depends on what your putting it on but i would never risk it on my prized lump!!

suppose it depends if you are using it on something on which the rubber products are on their way out anyhow due to age ,i bought 2 brand new yamaha out boards in 1976 and all i used was wd40 on them after usage right up until i sold them a couple of years back all the rubber and plastic components were fine couple of the fuel pipes had started to craze a bit but they were 30 years old .,,,with regards to your lagonda the original factorywas about 2 miles from where i live now in its very early days ,,apparently they tested out some of the cars on the only staight road in the area ,early on sunday mornings so the local plods couldent catch them ,,,anyhow the plods dident have any cars fast enough in those days ,

Hightower · 07 December 2009, 19:16

Cheers guys! I must admit that after 7 years of RIB ownership I have never cleaned an engine once with the hose. To be fair though, the boats I've owned have only had light use, but in some respects I supose it is more crittical to wash everything off if it isn't used as much.

It's only because I noticed that the bottom two spark plugs were getting a bit rusty that I even though of an application of the spray.

I like the Idea of the Kettle, because my outboard is stored outside it'll take alot of time to dry out before I can use the spray. Hot water should help this drying process.

So thanks again!

m chappelow · 07 December 2009, 19:30

think best way after you have cleaned it is to run it up on the hose or tub for a while and get it warm and drive out any moisture ,lower plugs always seem to corrode a bit ,think they can get spray kicking up on some engines or they run cooler and that may have something to do with it ,

Jizm · 07 December 2009, 19:36

I use this stuff, it works pretty well.

Jizm · 12 December 2009, 12:37

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CASTROL-DWF-DE...item4a9c77271c

Hightower · 12 December 2009, 13:06

Well I went and did it yesterday. 5 kettle fills later I ran up the outboard for half an hour just to get some heat into the block. I've left it over night and finished drying this morning with the aid of a hot air gun. I've just given a squirt of the Quicksilver stuff in every nook and cranny that I bought off Ebay and am now washing the Cover in the Bath tub.