After seeing some clean engine bays, I thought a few of you guys would like to know how to DIY. Here is a little walkthrough towards a great engine bay detailing write up. A clean engine bay looks great, no matter what car, nor engine period.

First - Corrosian and grime
Because you will be spraying water into the bay, it is important to cover up anything that can not get wet. The best way to do this, is get a plastic bag, put it over the object and use a rubber band to seal it off. This includes Air Filter (if exposed), Distributer Cap, Battery, and Ignition coil, sensors, etc.

After you have covered everything, use a spray degreaser (gunk brand works well), and spray the whole engine liberally. Let the liquid sit for 10-15min and soak in. After 5min you can get a brush and work on any thick grim or oiled areas to help loosen it up.

After you have let it sit, and worked any heavy area's with a brush hose down the entire bay and wash away all of the dirt, oil, and degreaser left over. Make sure the bay is completely dry before starting it up, some people use a leaf blower to help the drying process.


2. Spray and Wipe
I recomend this for anyone who hasn't done it before, or is unsure on how or what to cover when using a hose/pressure washer like described above.

areas of the engine bay and let the foam soak in. After 5min, using a rag wipe off the foam to leave the area clean. Repeat all over the engine bay and dirty areas. This takes longer, but allows more control and is safer.
Tire foam also works well with this method. You can pick it up at most auto supply shops. Just spray the foam on any dirty area. The foam will penitrate and lift the dirt. The foam will then liquidise and carry the dirt down to the skidplate. (you may want to remove it while doing this so it can drip to the ground)

3. Detailing and Protection
Now that the engine is clean, you want it to look its best while also providing protection.
Using a water based dressing on the hoses and rubber parts of the engine will leave the black areas looking richer in color, and protected from elements. Make sure the dressing used is water based, like Aerospace 303 and Viynlex.
Silcone based dressing like Armorall cause rubber deterioration, and silicone can cause O2 Sensors to fail if sucked into the air filter.
The engine bay also has paint, so using a good wax over the bottom of the hood, and any exposed paint will leave the engine bay looking shiney and prevent it from rusting, chipping, or other corrosion. I wouldn't use your most expensive wax, just something that works. The metal areas look good after a quick polish. Any chrome, Metal, or Mag polish should do. Apply some to a rag, and rub it into any exposed metal areas. A light coat on ceramic parts also lightens them up, and can look good. Finally, if your battery has corrosion around the posts, sprinkle some baking. After this your engine bay should look like it just came out of the show room, and next time you show your friends your new mod everything else will be spotless.

Next is the Engine Block
What you need
Steel Wool, at least two grades. (Fine and Medium)
Engine degreaser
Spray bottle filled with distilled water
2 - Polishing Cloth
Small Stiff Brushes

First spray down all of the extremely dirty areas with the degreaser. Let it sit for at least 15min so that it make soak in and begin to brake away the dirt and grim. After you have given it ample time to work its magic, get the medium grade steel wool. Use it just like you were scrubbing dishes. You really want to scrub the engine block, there is no paint on it so have no worries about scratching it. As the steel wool begins to loosen the dirt, start lightly spraying the area with the distilled water. The light grim should slowly begin to wash away, while the stubborn grim should begin to loosen. Once you have gotten most of the grim loose, and it is no longer washing away with the water, wipe the area with the polishing cloth to get what is left. While you are polishing, strands from the steel wool are going to get dislodged and sit on the engine block. This in itself is pretty harmless, but you wouldn't want it to be sucked into your intake. It is very unlikely, but since the goal is clean, we might as well remove as much of the strands as possible. To do this, wet the clean polishing cloth and scoop up the strands that you can see. Some of them will be carried away with the stream of water while clean. For the harder to reach areas, it would be beneficial to have small detailing brushes. This will make it easier to clean hard to reach areas where your hand will not fit otherwise. Repeat this process for the rest of the engine. You should be left with a very clean shinny engine block.

Finally we can get to the engine frame

First you want to wash all of the painted areas in the engine compartment. For this I recommend a car wash soap solution in a spray bottle. Spray all of the painted areas and let it sit for a moment. Then, much like cleaning the outside of your car you need a washing tool to pull the dirt away from the paint. I have found that wash mits are too large to fit in alot of the areas, but microfiber applicators work very well. They are small enough to fit in most places, and are very flexible. Get the applicator soaked in the car wash solution, and wipe all over the painted areas. Follow up by a light rinse from the hose. Dry with an absorber or microfiber towel.

Once the paint has been cleaned, you can move on to polishing. Most engine bays are neglected, and have oxidized and faded paint. This makes polishing necessary to bring the shine out in your engine compartment. Apply the polish on a cloth, or foam applicator and lightly spread it over the paint. Work the polish into the paint by moving in front to back motions, never in circles. As the polish begins to dry out, you should see the shine return. Once you have polished, it is a good idea to protect it from further ware. I recommend using a sealant because of there high resistance to heat. Carnuaba based wax will melt in most situations.

Hope this write up is helpful to you guys.

 

I want the time I lost back from reading the first paragraph.....




Stop with all of this "Ramblings" bullshit...

 

LOL

 

Moderator if you could please move this to the Ramblings/Wash & Wax section it would be appreciated.

 

Sorry, we can't move threads to that area from here.
You need to repost it over there.