Engine bay

[WE3RX7]

Just going to chime in and let you all in on what I suggested to one320fc.

The factory never clears the engine bays - even newer cars dont have clear coat (unless its a higher end luxury, etc).

The steps I would take:
1. Pull everything out as needed (or do it in stages) and degrease the painted areas with a good quality degreaser (I like Simple Green).
2. Starting with 2000 grit wet paper, let it soak overnight and using a smaller sanding block, hit all the big areas (shock towers, firewall, etc). This will make sure you've cleaned and provided an even surface to apply some clear. BE CAREFUL though, I'm not sure high thick the color coat is in the engine bay of the FBs, so only one or two light passes w/ the wet paper should do.
3. Reclean and wash with a soap that DOES NOT contain waxes, dye, etc.
4. Get some simple auto-grade clear in the rattle can from either Duplicolor or similar. Mask and spray a very light coat over the painted areas. Let it dry and reapply another light coat.
5. Take some 3000 grit wet paper, soak overnight, and then go to town again sanding all the newly cleared areas.

For a final step, you could hit it with a buffer and polish, but would be hard to get into all the little areas of an engine bay.

This will not result in a 120% show quality paint job, but it will add some nice luster to the engine bay, keep the original color and provide a surface you can apply some wax to (after 30 days) in order to protect it against things like oil, brake fluid, etc.

If you find that after wet sanding the color layer, the paint was either too thin, or just too dirty you may need to repaint.

Another idea would be to clay bar after you've wet sanded the color. The wet sanding will at least provide a smooth surface for the clay bar to run across and pick up dirt and grime.

Just my two cents...