CARS AND RESTORATION
Engine bay cleaning in Brisbane, with the engine still in
The beam only touches what it’s pointed at. That’s why an engine bay can be stripped back to metal with the engine in it: no grit blown into the intake, no water in the electrics, no degreaser running into the drain. Paint, grease, surface rust and old underseal come off the inner guards, the firewall and the chassis legs, and the engine, the block and the ancillaries can be cleaned the same way or left alone.
What comes off
- Paint and primer off inner guards, firewall and chassis legs
- Baked-on grease, oil and road grime
- Surface rust around seams, mounts and drains
- Underseal and sound deadening
- Oxide and paint off alloy castings, rocker covers and intake manifolds
What we do it on
- Engine bays with the engine and gearbox in place
- Blocks, heads and castings on the bench
- Rocker covers, manifolds, brackets and pulleys
- Chassis legs and crossmembers
- Firewalls and inner guards, painted or bare
Wiring, hoses, rubber, plastics and glass stay out of the beam: they’re masked or unclipped and moved aside before we start.
How we do it
We look at the bay first, with you, and agree what’s coming back to metal and what’s being cleaned but kept. Anything the beam shouldn’t touch is masked or moved. Then the laser is set for each material as we go: one setting for the painted steel of the inner guards, another for an alloy rocker cover, another for the cast iron of the block.
Fume extraction runs at the head, so what comes off is captured rather than settling on everything else in the shop. There’s no media to vacuum out of the intake, the belts or the wiring loom afterwards, and nothing wet, so the car can be worked on straight away.
What you get back
A bay that’s back to clean metal where you wanted metal, and clean paint or clean casting where you didn’t, with no residue from the process. The grease and oil come off in the same pass, so painted areas can be primed straight away.
Photos before, during and after, and a note of what we found under the grime: cracked mounts, a weeping core plug, a rust spot at the drain. Better to know before the paint goes on.
JOBS LIKE THIS
Jobs like this
Bay repaint without an engine-out
Inner guards, firewall and chassis legs stripped back to metal around the engine, ready for primer, in a day instead of a strip-down.
Detail on a running classic
Grime and oxide off alloy castings, brackets and the block on a car that stays running, without water, degreaser or grit near the electrics.
Engine on the stand
A bare block, head or gearbox case stripped of paint, oil and oxide on the bench, with threads and machined faces untouched.
BEFORE YOU RING
Questions people ask
Do you really leave the engine in?
Yes. The laser removes what it’s aimed at and nothing else, so we can strip the bay around the engine, the gearbox and the ancillaries. The car drives in and drives out. If you’re pulling the engine anyway, we’ll do the bare bay and the engine separately, whichever suits your build.
What about the wiring, hoses and plastics?
They stay out of the beam. Anything that shouldn’t be touched is masked or unclipped and moved aside before we start, and we walk the bay with you first so nothing is missed. Glass is covered.
Is it safe to do in my workshop?
Yes, with a controlled work area. We’re running a Class 4 laser, so the bay is screened, everyone in the zone wears laser-rated eyewear, and extraction runs at the head. It’s the same setup we use in our own workshop, and it comes with a written safe-work method statement.
Can you clean the block and the castings too?
Yes. Cast iron and alloy come up well, and the laser doesn’t change a dimension or touch a machined face. Rocker covers, manifolds and brackets can be done in the bay or on the bench.
How do I get a price?
Send three or four photos of the bay from above and from each side, and tell us what you want back to metal. Kira will reply with what we’d do and a price or a range, usually the same business day.
THE PROCESS
How the job runs
- 01
Send a photo
A photo and a rough size is enough. We’ll tell you what we’d do and what it involves before anyone drives out.
- 02
Method chosen
Laser, blasting, washing or grinding, depending on the surface and what’s on it.
- 03
Removal
Only the layer that has to go. With the laser, nothing is driven into the surface and nothing is left behind on it.
- 04
Inspection
We check it with you. If a spot isn’t right, we fix it before we leave.
- 05
Handover
The surface ready for the next step, with photos of what came off.
OTHER JOBS
Other jobs we get asked for
Every one of these starts the same way: a photo, a rough size, and a straight answer about what we’d do.
Cars and restoration →Rust removal
Rust, mill scale and oxide off steel, iron and castings, back to bare metal that’s ready for primer.
Car paint stripping
Paint, powder coat, underseal and rust off panels, chassis, wheels and castings, with no heat and no grit.
Antifoul and hull prep
Antifoul, paint, oxide and growth off hulls, keels, shafts, props and fittings, captured rather than left on the hardstand.
Graffiti and masonry cleaning
Paint, soot and biological growth off sandstone, brick, render and concrete, including listed buildings, without chemicals or abrasion.
Pressure washing
Mould, algae, dirt and loose paint off large areas of render, concrete, pavements and cladding.
Concrete grinding
Failed coatings, adhesives and high spots off floors, walls and overhead, with the dust captured at the machine.