i hit mine with a pretty strong power washer, and it didnt do S*$#. my paint is in decent shapehowever, patches of rust showing. no paint went flying

 

Are you doing a concours restoration, or a 'take it back to look original, daily driver, cruise night kinda of restoration? If you're going full concours, then you're best to strip the front of the car down to the framerailsand aprons (remove front fascia, fenders, etc)and have it media blasted. Then have it epoxy primed and professionally repainted with a DuPont or other exact matching engine compartment black.

If you're doing this as a 'look better' project, then I recommend:
- take all bolted items out of the engine bay
- wrap all remaining hoses, wires, items, etc with heavy aluminum foil
- tape off /plastic sheathing all painted areas you don't want affected (fenders, cowl, etc)
- use EZOff Oven cleaner to soak the exposed engine bay paint. This will remove all your grease and release any loose paint.
- after oven cleaner has soaked... use a power washer to blast it .
- 2 applications of this

- climb in with a grinder and wire wheel to smooth off any rough paint areas


then prime and paint

 

oven cleaner :-)
should do the trick though. at least you get the grease off, which is mandantory for any paintjob

 

i've seen a few engine bays where the owner painted the same color as the body. looks good. unoriginal but still looks good.

 

james, its a full blown restoration pretty much. everyhting is off and i plan on getting it blasted by some shop. but i want to get all the grease and dirt off with a pressure washer first. i pulled the engine out yesterday and while its out, im gonna be painting the car. so the whole car has got to be down to bare metal. im doing a 'take it back to original, daily driver, show cruise' car. heres pics:

 

What idid to my 66 was of course it'd be better to remove your tranny to get full access to the firewall....was I pressure washed it first then I sanded any knicks and fixed any unwanted drilled holes....then from there I used a scotchbrite pad to prep the surface for primmer then I sprayed it with ppg proffessional paint in a gun mixed correctly.....it was a semi flat black that was called frame black that looked close to original color and then let it dry!!!! looking back on it I should of sealed it with a clear coat ftw!!! cause I have seen cars done that way and they looked great FTW!!! ANYWAY HERE;S A PIC OF MY FIISHED PRODUCT