Pick yourself up a parts washer brush. ( I bought mine at Harbor) pretty cheap, and is easy to get into all the tight spots. As for a cleaner, I used Simple Green, they make a heavy duty that is purple in color, and it just melts the dirt away, and isnt toxic.
A little tip. I have an old moving blanket I put down on the floor when I am working in the wheel areas and then put my cardboard and catch pan on that. The moving blanket catches all the over spray and makes cleanup a lot easier. Then, when I finish a major project, I will take the moving blanket and whatever else I may have like shop rags and towels that I do not use on painted surfaces to a launder mat and throw them in one of the large capacity, heavy duty machine machines they have and wash them there so I don't piss off my wife by using the washing machine at home! Got to keep the wife happy! I just did this yesterday when I did the brakes on my wife's BMW X6 and when I was done I didn't even have to sweep the floor. An added plus is I leave all the tools on the blanket and just drag it from wheel to wheel and I only have to pick them up once when I'm done with the project!
Thanks for using our NAPA 1458 product, we sell great products with the company's name brand most people do not know. We also sell most of the mechanical parts for these vehicles going back to the C1. If you need it your local store can order it for you from many good suppliers, including Rare Car Parts out of California.
Chris, thanks for the video. No matter what I have going on in my life, I'm always cheered up watching your vids and the great efforts you put into them. You're a genuine person and that C4 is getting the love and attention it deserves. Of all the channels I'm subscribed to yours is my favorite by far. Props to you, good sir!
Astonishing results, Chris! Kevin (below) mentioned Simple Green Heavy Duty Purple, I'll give that a try before going to acid, if need. I have a wheels and suspension clean project coming up.
I remember the first time I used the Napa aluminum brightener it's pretty amazing stuff and I'm glad that you mentioned the fact that you do have to take safety precautions. On any uncoated aluminum that stuff works wonders but as you mentioned make sure you flush it real good with water
When I rebuilt my front calipers, I spent half a day scrubbing them and trying to rinse the crud out of the bore. Wish I had remembered this video and used aluminum brightener, as brake cleaner didn't do much. Though, I would have rebuilt those calipers afterwards as I'm guessing that stuff could have damaged the dust boots. Though maybe it doesn't harm rubber.
Nice job. I normally use a brush with gasoline first to remove the grease & dirt. Once it is all loosened up it’s much easier to remove with brake cleaner.
Nice. I also use McGuires hot rims on my under hood and suspension aluminum. Makes shine almost as much as chrome. It’s just very time consuming. The one downfall to showing a C4. The clam shell is cool as hell, but prepping the C4 engine compartment is a day by itself.
Been looking for a C4 and I basically assume I will need to replace anything in the suspension that has rubber unless I get a driver where someone proactive took care of it. Pretty much been my process for any 90's era car I get. Most C4's I've seen are weekend drivers that haven't had that kind of work done since they were built.
Hello James, you should check out my rear suspension. I had it completely taken down some years ago and I polished everything with Autosol Aluminum Polish until they looked like they had been chromed! So much fun to do it!
Next time throw some paint on the rotor hats too. That aluminum color that you did the valve covers and intake with would be nice...or just a black. :-) I wonder if a general wheel cleaner (it would be safe for painted, aluminum, and chrome) would work just as well...since you will have to do a little scrubbing anyway. It might be less expensive.
When it's time for the brakes. Think about changing that rubber hose that goes to the caliper. To a stainless steel braided hose. Looks better. It's cheap.
