Before:
After:
All you need is:
bottle of Eagle One MAG Wheel Cleaner
rubber gloves
Heavy duty trash bag
Rubber bands/tape
set of sockets or flat head screwdriver
torx bits (T25, and T30 for my 04 XC70)
WD40
hose
towels
leaf blower
wire brush (optional)
To start off, make sure that the engine is clean and cool. The bottle doest specify wheather the engine needs to be dry (I didnt dry it before I sprayed on the Eagle One), however I think it will work better if it IS dry.
Now remove all the plastic engine covers (fuel rail cover, plug cover, timing belt cover) and the intercooler pipe. THIS STUFF CONTAINS HYDROCHLORIC ACID AND WILL STRIP OFF PAINT ETC!!! Using a heavy duty trash bag, cover the exposed boost tubing couplers and intake filter if you have an aftermarket one (I also covered my fuse and ECU cover because they are painted). Finally place a towel (or plastic if you can do it well) over the ignition coils to prevent any standing water or Eagle One from eating through the plastic.
With the engine prepped, put on your gloves and grab the bottle of Eagle One. Starting with a test section, spray the Eagle One onto the aluminum making sure that there is a thick foam covering the section. Wait 30 seconds to a minute and FLUSH THOROUGHLY with water. If you see a difference then you can spray the rest of the aluminum. If not then try a second or third coat until you see a noticeable difference, scrub with a wire brush if necessary. With the test spot a success, begin to spray the rest of the aluminum parts by section. Also do not get this stuff on any polished, chromed, or buffed surface because it will either turn it purple or make it dull. After each etching stage, flush the area to make sure that there is no acid left anywhere on/in the engine for an extended period of time. Keep applying, and flushing each part until you reach the desired results.
Once the all the aluminum has been etched, flush the whole engine compartment one last time to make sure that all the acid has been neutralized/diluted. Next take a towel or leaf blower and dry all the aluminum. The aluminum must then be coated with WD40 to protect against future damage/corrosion. If you do not put WD40 or powder coat the aluminum it will corrode and turn white/nasty. Replace all the engine parts that were removed earlier and now you have an etched and clean engine without the hassle of media blasting!
More before and after pics:
