Engine cleaning

[paudashlake]

Am I able to use dishsoap to degrease my engine? It is really dirty and I want to clean it up without going all the way to the store and spending money on something i may not even need. If dish soap is okay, should I use old t-shirts to wipe the engine down or should I use a car sponge thing?

[akimel]

Re: Engine cleaning

Am I able to use dishsoap to degrease my engine? It is really dirty and I want to clean it up without going all the way to the store and spending money on something i may not even need. If dish soap is okay, should I use old t-shirts to wipe the engine down or should I use a car sponge thing?

If your engine is really dirty, then go to the local auto supply store and pickup a can of Gunk Engine Brite. It will only set you back $4 or $5 bucks.

If you want to apply a dressing to the hoses and plastic after you have gotten the engine clean, then pick up a bottle of Meguiar's Natural Shine or a can of CD2 Engine Detailer or Stoner Trim Shine. I undertand that Megs' Hot Shine (aerosol) also works well as an engine dressing. Meguiar's also have products in their professional line that you might use, but the above products can usually be found at Advance Auto, AutoZone, and NAPA.

On how to clean your engine safely, check out the relevants articles cited here:

Internet Resources for Detailing Newbs

Good luck!

Cheers,
Al

[Calais]

Re: Engine cleaning

Doing things the "cheap way" is not the way we generally do things around these parts; my suggestion would be the following:

Buy an all purpose brush kit (with long handles) from your local car product store, buy a good degreaser (Gunk engine brite aerosol gel) and a bottle of Hyperdressing. Cover all exposed wire, air intake, distributor and a few more misc. parts with aluminum foil. Quickly spray off as much particulate as you can, liberally spray the degreaser all over all dirt or grease covered areas. Allow it to penetrate for a few minutes and agitate problem areas with the long handle brushes. Hose off everything you can. Remove the foil, start the engine and allow tit to dry a bit. Liberally coat the engine bay with Hyperdressing and walk away.

Gunk degreaser (gel) ~$7 or Gunk degreaser (foam) ~$3, brushes ~$4, Hyperdressing 32oz (makes from 64-160oz of usable product) ~$11

= total - either $22 or $18

[Tuck91]

Re: Engine cleaning

Doing things the "cheap way" is not the way we generally do things around these parts; my suggestion would be the following:

Buy an all purpose brush kit (with long handles) from your local car product store, buy a good degreaser (Gunk engine brite aerosol gel) and a bottle of Hyperdressing. Cover all exposed wire, air intake, distributor and a few more misc. parts with aluminum foil. Quickly spray off as much particulate as you can, liberally spray the degreaser all over all dirt or grease covered areas. Allow it to penetrate for a few minutes and agitate problem areas with the long handle brushes. Hose off everything you can. Remove the foil, start the engine and allow tit to dry a bit. Liberally coat the engine bay with Hyperdressing and walk away.

Gunk degreaser (gel) ~$7 or Gunk degreaser (foam) ~$3, brushes ~$4, Hyperdressing 32oz (makes from 64-160oz of usable product) ~$11

= total - either $22 or $18

Thats probably a bit much for someone who just wants to clean up their engine bay and make it look presentable. Where is he going to get Hyperdressing? its not sold locally.

I would go ahead and just use your dish soap on the engine followed by a brush and use degreaser if you have it.

You do not have to dress the engine but it does make it loook better. And to dry the engine bay you can use Old T Shirts.

[Nappers]

Re: Engine cleaning

I've used Dish soap before in a bucket like car wash and it can sometimes depending on car make/materials used etc leave the rubber/plastic looking faded, so a dressing of some sort would be best to dress it up.....

Supreme Shine or Natural Shine are easy to get products and I've seen M40 at some auto parts stores and some Napa's carry the Detailer line such as Hyper Dressing. Also....check the Meguiar's website and look up the pro products in your area or areas of travel, you'd be surprised what you find in local auto stores and mom and pop auto stores, found some nice gems in those places!

[paudashlake]

Re: Engine cleaning

Well, I cleaned the engine for free actually. I just got outside and almost sprayed water on the engine when my neigboor came over and gave me a can of Black magic 2-in-1 engine shine. It did the trick. I just sprayed it on and 15 minutes later I sprayed it off. All of the grease and grime came flaking off. I was shocked. Not that I am endorsing black magic..