How to detail the engine?

[aeom]

I need to know everything about it, from products to procedures.

Help appreciated!

[rhino1834]

Re: How to detail the engine?

To clean the engine you can try All purpose Cleaner

All Purpose Cleaner



If you have a lot of grease try Super Degreaser
Super Degreaser

If you use either, make sure you delute it.

You can use a rag or a brush.


To shine it, try All Season Dressing
All Season Dressing

I think that's all your going to need. Ryan

[Derrick]

Re: How to detail the engine?

Well depending on the engine bay and whats in it you will want to invest in some Super Degreaser, Hyper dressing, HotRims Aluminum polish, NXT all metal polish, and a good quality paint brush like the ones used to paint a home. This will be used for the cleaning since the bristles are not harsh in any way and will not harm the paint and it is small enough to reach in those hard to get areas for cleaning. A more aggressive brush for light scrubbing with super degreaser to get off the grease in bad areas. A cheap leaf blower or air compressor ( not necessary but recommended ) to blow off all the water and dry the engine bay faster, i found this leaf blower for $25 at Walmart and has been doing a great job for the exterior and engine bays. The only thing i use that is not in the pic is the TurtleWax ICE liquid polish for the paint surfaces in the engine bay. Mainly because it is easy and can be applied to almost anything i can really get to all the paint surfaces without worrying about hitting anything.
Ignore everything in the background, just the stuff i put up front.
Ok my process
I know alot of people like to cover up key electrical points like the alternator, computer, wiring ect.. but i have never covered anything with no problems but that is completely up to you. I also try and use as little water as possible with a water nozzle i can fully control the water flow with.
1. I lightly spray down the engine bay to get rid of any large particles and loose dirt. Avoid directly hitting any of those key components with direct water pressure.
2. I wet the side panels of the car because you don't want super degreaser to just sit on it if you do get some over spray on them.
3. Work in small sections, spray down one little area with some super degreaser and use something like the blue brush in the picture for the bad areas and areas that are not scratch sensitive like the paint. Immediately spray down the area with water before moving to the next section. You don't want Super Degreaser to just sit on anything because it can stain paint and some plastics if left somewhere for to long. Also avoid using it in direct sunlight as this can speed up the SD process and make it a little harder to work with.
4. Once you have gotten all the bad areas with the blue brush its time to move to the painters brush for the hard to reach areas and the paint surfaces or you can use a micro fiber rag as well for the paint surfaces but use the paint brush to get to all the hard to reach areas. Remember still working in small sections. You don't want to try and spray the whole engine bay down with SD and then work all the areas then rinse because a. you will either work to fast because you are trying to not let the SD sit for to long and miss alot.
b. you will take to long to get everything done leaving the SD just sitting there and can cause staining.
5. Ok now the engine bay should be pretty clean and its time for one last complete rinse and then to dry. For this i use a leaf blower or you can use a air compressor to.
6. Now you should be ready to polish any polishable metal that you want, for me i use HotRims mag and aluminum polish, HotRims chrome polish or NXT all metal polish.
7. Finally i use some Hyper Dressing diluted to your shine specifications on all the plastic and hoses. Then you can wax the paint surfaces of the engine bay as well if going for that show car kind of look. I have been using TW Ice but i have also started trying NXT 2.0 because it really doesn't affect the plastic either and i have had some good results recently with it.
Key things to remember. Constantly re wet the side panels and any other paint surfaces where you might get SD over spray while working with super degreaser. Work in small areas to avoid rushing and possible staining. Avoid key components as much as possible or just cover them up. Some people prefer using a pressure washer but i don't. I like to use a light flow of water when and where needed so I'm not hitting any key components with high pressure water and if rinsing I'm not sending that SD all over the place. Ok well this is just my process and if done correctly the process should take about 2 to 3 hours depending on how detailed you want to get. I hope it helps


Finally step back and enjoy how the engine bay should really pop


Im editing some pics in for the Question below. Unfortunatly i dont have any of this engine bay because i detailed it 3 weeks prior to this touch up and did not take any other pics but i have a few others on hand

[rhino1834]

Re: How to detail the engine?

Hey derrick do you have any before pic's.


thank's
Ryan

[rhino1834]

Re: How to detail the engine?

WOW that's a big difference.

Ryan

[3.9square]

Re: How to detail the engine?

I just got some of the Super Degreaser deliverd to my house this afternoon. Once I get my car back I wanna see how well this stuff works against mud and crud..

[V.I.P.E.R]

Re: How to detail the engine?

A little tip spray wd40 on all the electrical plugs' and open connections' before you detail cover alternator with bag and proceed with cleanning use not alot of water pressure like derrick said and when all done take bag off and start car let run for a min. and rev. a few times' get water out of hidden places' and than you should be good and have no starting problems' oh and non silicone products' cause silicone messes' up sensors' sometimes'

[MBZ 500E]

Re: How to detail the engine?

There are many ways to detail an engine bay and it really depends on the level of cleanliness you want to acheive.

If you're cleaning a Daily Driver then Derricks description is spot on although I would remove the hose nozzle and turn the water down so only a small stream of water is gently pouring out of the hose (mimmicks what the engine might see during a heavy downpour).

For concours level detailing it really requires removal of plastic engine covers, air cleaners etc. and a great deal of time. You would start using the same process as above without step 7. After that you would add wooden Q-Tips, Microfibers and Quick Detailer to your products used.

I plan on starting a concours level detail of my engine bay this weekend and I'll try to get some pictures and process as I go. I'll post in a seperate thread sometime next week.

[davey g-force]

Re: How to detail the engine?

Guys, does the engine need to be totally cooled down for the procedure and products described above? Does it matter if the engine is still warm?

[V.I.P.E.R]

Re: How to detail the engine?

There are many ways to detail an engine bay and it really depends on the level of cleanliness you want to acheive.

If you're cleaning a Daily Driver then Derricks description is spot on although I would remove the hose nozzle and turn the water down so only a small stream of water is gently pouring out of the hose (mimmicks what the engine might see during a heavy downpour).

For concours level detailing it really requires removal of plastic engine covers, air cleaners etc. and a great deal of time. You would start using the same process as above without step 7. After that you would add wooden Q-Tips, Microfibers and Quick Detailer to your products used.

I plan on starting a concours level detail of my engine bay this weekend and I'll try to get some pictures and process as I go. I'll post in a seperate thread sometime next week.

I do every day cars' and high end cars' and very high end cars' and an engine cleaning is an engine cleaning if you don't protect and take certain precautions' you will damage something or engine will not start period

[roushstage2]

Re: How to detail the engine?

Guys, does the engine need to be totally cooled down for the procedure and products described above? Does it matter if the engine is still warm?

My take on it: COLD engine is best. Anything more may still be too hot for the engine, and you can run the risk of cracking the block, heads... The warmest my engine ever is when I detail it is from turning it on and moving it about 20 feet to where I wash it.

[supercharged]

Re: How to detail the engine?

APC+ 10:1 works really well, and it doesn't foam up like APC does...Or another great option would be ZEP citrus degreaser 1:1.

[davey g-force]

Re: How to detail the engine?

My take on it: COLD engine is best. Anything more may still be too hot for the engine, and you can run the risk of cracking the block, heads... The warmest my engine ever is when I detail it is from turning it on and moving it about 20 feet to where I wash it.

Thanks for the reply.

Makes it hard when I've got nowhere to degrease my engine at home. Probably why I hardly ever detail my engine!

[VonLego]

Re: How to detail the engine?

What precautions need to be taken to prevent damage to the engine? Sorry if I missed something.

[roushstage2]

Re: How to detail the engine?

For me, I just have at it. Never had a problem. That of course doesn't mean something can't happen. I know newer F150s don't like water near the COPs.