Engine wiping oil

[Mako]

What type of oil or solution would be recommended for wiping down a diesel? I want to avoid using diesel because of the smell.

 

[JohnEasley]

I use Simple Green on all kinds of things, including wiping down the engine. Cuts grease and oil, is biodegradable, and it leaves a pleasant scent.

 

[Jmarsh203]

Diesel hands down works the best and if the engines look clean to start with will keep them looking clean and protected from corrosion for a very long time. If not diesel 409 is my favorite, 409 unlike simple green or windex or really anything I have ever tried has a degreaser in it that cleans up an engine pretty quickly, only reason I prefer diesel is it leaves an nice just painted shine to even on older engine.

 

[wwestman]

Wd-40

 

[rgano]

CorrosionX

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. m. Do you mean to clean it or keep it from rusting?

 

[Mako]

Yes to keep it from rusting and keep it new looking. I used to wipe my Jimmies down with diesel and it worked great, but I didn’t enjoy the constant smell of diesel. Made me feel like I was at an old fishing wharf.

So does the smell of the WD40 go away after a few days?

 

[wwestman]

I use WD40 and I did not know it smelled. Maybe I have been using it too long. Supposedly it is only fish oil so I guess it smells like fish?

 

[PM]

Go to a gun shop and buy a spray gun oil like "RemOil" it is very light, almost unscented and easy to use in a spray form.

pete

 

[BruceK]

Won`t spraying an engine with an oil cause every available dust and dirt particle to adhere to it. Yes, not a lot of dust in the ER, but plenty of air gets drawn in to feed the engines.

 

[Mako]

Won`t spraying an engine with an oil cause every available dust and dirt particle to adhere to it.

Perhaps. Glad I’m not in Qatar anymore. Kept my boat on a trailer next to my villa, fully covered with a big tarp. But uncovering it each weekend was a frustration as the dust was simply saturated in the air.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. m. IMO CorrosionX (Mr. rg) is the best BUT it's $$$$.

 

[syjos]

I spray Simple Green on the engine and rinse with water. Suck up bilge water and dispose. Run engine to dry it

Then touch up bare spots with rust converter and paint with Rustoleum using a small brush.

 

[Nomad Willy]

When I was a truck driver I was dispached to Hanford to pu a big part of a nuclear waste compactor. They wer’nt ready to load it. Waited over an hour and then again and was told it was almost ready. I was invited to look at it. There were people climbing all over it .. wiping w rags. I said the the guy “whats that smell” as it seemed familiar. They said “Simple Green”. Oh said I.

So if you have any nuclear waste on your engine .......

 

[BeeJay]

a bit of thread drift so skip if you like.....For metal parts that needed to be stored for a time, my Dad use to dissolve grease in gasoline and painted it on with a paint brush. The fuel would evaporate and leave a very light grease coating. For the engine room I suspect a lot would depend on how and where you use your boat, but I’m in the “keep everything painted and dry camp”. I leave a dehumidifier running in high humidity and during our very mild winters. I’m not really a fan of painting over engine bolts and the like but tend to do it on the boat. On frequently removed bolts I change them out for 316 unless I think they might not be up to the job. Looking at some of the engine room porn on the forum some do a great job of keeping things looking good. Inox or lanolin based products may be worth investigating as they could last longer. (I’m not sure what they would smell like and they could act as pheromones to Australians so you would need to test it)

 

[FlyWright]

Engine wiping oil? Who needs it?

Get a Perkins. It self lubricates inside and out. I call it Perkins Patina.

If it's not leaking oil, it's low on oil.

 

[Mako]

Get a Perkins. It self lubricates inside and out. I call it Perkins Patina.

If it's not leaking oil, it's low on oil.

That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that description applied to anything other than a Jimmy [emoji846]

 

[Gulf Comanche]

Engine wiping oil? Who needs it?

Get a Perkins. It self lubricates inside and out. I call it Perkins Patina.

If it's not leaking oil, it's low on oil.

My 4-236 doesn’t leak a drop, I’m the one who spills oil on the engine when refilling after an oil change.

 

[Steve DAntonio]

I'll echo a few others, why do you need to wipe the engine down with fuel or any other petroleum product? Do you have a corrosion issue? If bare iron it should be painted. If you wipe with fuel you'll have a hard time painting or touching up. You should not need to do this.

Having said all that, when I was winterizing engines, I did spray them down with CRC 6-56, which is pretty light, not an unpleasant odor and cooked off pretty quickly once back in service. This was once a year.

For cleaning engines and general de-greasing, I like Spray 9. Spray on a warm engine, scrub or wipe where necessary, rinse off with fresh water using a light spray, not a jet.

 

[steve marcus]

country confusion

a bit of thread drift so skip if you like.....For metal parts that needed to be stored for a time, my Dad use to dissolve grease in gasoline and painted it on with a paint brush. The fuel would evaporate and leave a very light grease coating. For the engine room I suspect a lot would depend on how and where you use your boat, but I’m in the “keep everything painted and dry camp”. I leave a dehumidifier running in high humidity and during our very mild winters. I’m not really a fan of painting over engine bolts and the like but tend to do it on the boat. On frequently removed bolts I change them out for 316 unless I think they might not be up to the job. Looking at some of the engine room porn on the forum some do a great job of keeping things looking good. Inox or lanolin based products may be worth investigating as they could last longer. (I’m not sure what they would smell like and they could act as pheromones to Australians so you would need to test it)

I think you have confused Australia with New Zealand where they use mint sauce as after shave lotion

 

[Boatingbill]

Clean the engine with whatever works, then apply clear spray paint. Leaves a nice shine, protects from corrosion, and won’t cause particles to stick after it’s dry. Also will only smell for an hour, or two after you spray it!

 

[TJM]

Using Diesel as a wipe down product performs two functions. First there is a chemical reaction called “Like dissolves like”
So the new diesel being wiped would remove residual fuel on the engine parts, by dissolving it.

Second, The diesel spray usage applies an anti corrosion hydrocarbon coating on all metal in the ER.
Cleaning and painting is the preferred / best method.

“Cleaning” or degreasing with solvents has its risk because now it exposes bare metal (unpainted) areas to the salt air at elevated temperatures.
Elevated temps and salt air stimulate rust and galvanic corrosion.

Of course, newer engines vs older engines have different positions on this matter.

On my 35 yr old trawler with Lehmans, mine has a sheen of diesel.

 

[rgano]

I'm sorry but after working my tail off the ensure are fuel systems at completely leak-proof and the bilges and engine room cleaned of diesel to the point that I can (and HAVE) smelled a single drop of diesel in there, the thought of wiping the engine with that nasty stuff is pure anathema to me. There are far less obnoxious and equally or more effective chemicals mentioned above.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Won`t spraying an engine with an oil cause every available dust and dirt particle to adhere to it. Yes, not a lot of dust in the ER, but plenty of air gets drawn in to feed the engines.

I’m w Bruce on this one.
I think we should be wiping oil off the engine .. not onto it.
Never heard of a perfectly clean diesel engine so as you wipe off dust you’ll get at least a bit of oil on the rag but probably not enough to attract dust, hair ect ect. Perfect.

 

[Xsbank]

The French Navy corrosion-proofs metals with varnish. Sticks great, dries nicely, if you use “real” varnish not Bristol or anything with solvents, it’s not even toxic. Dries pretty much in an hour or two, no nasty cleanup (mineral spirits for cleanup) and is impervious to oil and diesel. Spraying rattle-can paint in your engine room is a great way to poison yourself or blow yourself up, but ymmv.

 

[Nomad Willy]

+1
I’d vote for high oil varnish over high resin for flexibility.
But oil based “paint” is basically the same thing and there’s lots of specialized paint that would probably be even better. And colors ...

 

[syjos]

I paint my FL 120 with red Rustoleum oil based paint with a brush. On parts taken off for service, rattle can red Rustoleum.

I recently purchased a Powder Coating Gun from Eastwood to powder coat some engine parts on my car. I might try some on boat engine parts too. Looking for an inexpensive oven to bake the finish.

To powder coat a part is to prep, preheat, coat the part then bake it in an oven for 30 to 45 minutes, cool the part and it's ready to install. A lot less time.

Painting take several thin coats, dry between coats and let dry overnight to harden the paint.

 

[Olebird]

Wash down with Simple Green to remove dirt and dust (mostly from plethora drive belts). Spray with CorrosionX when dry, wipe down and spread any excess, Spray corrosion prone areas with LPS-3 -do not wipe off. Spray belts & hoses with belt dressing.

I keep the engine as clean as possible so that I can spot any leaks, oil, hydraulic, exhaust, as soon as possible. Yanmar is tight as a drum - generator, not so much!!

 

[Boat]

Bought something like this from Mercedes maybe thirty years ago. It was cheap and easy, just my style.

https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/381.0_en.html

 

[FPNC]

Sheila Shine (R) The stuff works great and smells even better. You will find yourself using it all over the vessel. It is made for kitchens.