Hello, just bought the car and the engine cover emblem looks bad. From feeling it, it appears to be a metal emblem with rust spots but I don't know. Looks like I can get a new one for around $50. I guess if I try to clean it and mess it up, what have I got to lose, it's already messed up as it is.

 

Rest of the car looks super clean

 

Hello, thanks for noticing, the car is overall in great shape and I hate to complain about something that minor but I'm into how under the hood looks more than the body, lol.

 

I threw the kitchen sink at it and finally accepted that it's the paint or vinyl has scrapped off, oh well, sad for me. i went ahead and took the cover off and looked underneath out of curiosity and it didn't look too bad really for being 16 years old, a little crusty but no leaks, I should be able to clean that up. Good ole Honda, great cars.

 

I think I see what happened to the emblem, the radiator looks brand new so it must have been compromised somehow. There's also some crusty hoses for further evidence. I do have one gripe with how the valve cover bolts were designed, leaving a narrow area for dirt and grime to collect and now the paint is compromised, looks like cosmetic problems are growing.

 

Happy ending on this project, cleaned it up some, got rid of some rust, replaced some hoses and bought a new engine cover.

 

Nice job! I'm doing some work on my motor and cleaning the engine bay as I go along. I can appreciate the effort.