Detailing the Engine Compartment

[Black Diamond]

Now that my truck has a great finish on the outside, I want to detail the engine compartment. The truck only has 8000 mi. on it so the engine does not have alot of heavy buildup. Mostly dust and spots where water hit the dust.
Anyone have any experiance feedback on this they could pass along?

TIA

Gary

[Edwa]

I spray a liberal amount of Simple Green and then power wash off. It gets all the buildup and leaves the plastic/hoses nice and black.

[jfelbab]

My $0.02 on engine detailing.

For lightly soiled engines, clean by hand and use old toweling saturated with Orange Blast or APC. Wipe on let it sit and wipe off with a wet towel. It's best that you or your client keep the engine clean by regular cleaning than to wait until you need to do a deep cleaning as described next.

In my experience powerwashing the engine compartment is not needed and can cause water to be forced into places that can cause trouble with the electronics.

To deep-clean an engine compartment I wrap the electronics in plastic bags. Things like the distributor, alternator, fuse box, O2 sensors and anything else that looks like it would not like being wet. Also plug the air intake if it's position will receive a lot of water in the process.

Recently, I've been using Orange Blast as it is not as alkaline and potentially harmful to painted surfaces and aluminum as Simple Green. APC+ (now APC) is good also.

On a warm but not hot engine, spray the cleaner on the dirty areas taking care not to get it on the painted surfaces as much as possible and let it sit for a few minutes. Use a brush on heavily soiled areas. Rinse off the cleaner with a hose using a fan spray. Rinse well but be careful around those electronic components. Remember that the gunk that is rinsed off the engine will stain the concrete below it so you might not want to do this on a client's clean driveway or use a large tarp to catch the grime and channel it away from the concrete.

With an air compressor or the blower on a shop-vac, blow out the standing water. Use old toweling to remove any remaining water. Inspect and redo any areas missed in the first round.

Let the engine dry for a half hour. Good time to do the wheels or interior. If possible leave the bonnet open and let the sun heat and dry the engine. Now remove the plastic coverings and hand clean those areas. If the engine doesn't start or runs rough after this cleaning something has not dried. You might want to use a large fan and recheck that areas around the electronics and wipe them down again.

To apply the engine coating do the following. Start the engine up and let it idle for about 5 minutes. You want your engine warm but not hot prior to applying the resin coating so it dries faster. I prefer CD2 Engine Detailer which is a clear acrylic resin based product that dries hard with no oily residue to attract dust and grime. I also like EngineKote but that has now been discontinued. I haven't tried any of the new Meg's "D" line yet. Products that don't dry or leave an oily surface are not good under the hood. I don't use NXT Tech Protectant in the engine compartment or hoses for this reason. Spray on the coating and let it dry for 10 minutes. Then start the engine and let it idle for about 20 minutes to get the engine hot and harden the resins.

Stand back and assess the look. I think you and your client will be happy with the result.

[Black Diamond]

Thank You very much. That's really Great info!! Just what I was looking for.
I was wondering also if anyone uses the All Season Protectant in the engine compartment and why.

Thanks Again!

Gary

[daves97]

I second the CD2 engine detailer !!! Great stuff and it looks real good when finished.