need help for my first time

[Alexandre]

Hi there folks! Let me explain a few things. First, I live in Brazil and we have a very limited product selection. Second, this is gonna be my first engine compartment detailing.

What I want to know exactly is what products and "kind" of products you use to get the job done, so I may find some similar stuff in here and try to improvise.

[William_F]

Re: need help for my first time

All purpose cleaner, a few brushes or old towels and some dressing should be enough. If the engine is super dirty, you might want need some degreaser if the APC isn't enough.

Spray the engine with the APC and let it sit for a few minutes then use the brushes to scrub. Rinse or wipe away the grime.

Apply dressing to the hoses and plastics. You can go a step further and wax painted areas under the hood if you like.

[Mary S]

Re: need help for my first time

If you search the internet on "cleaning engine bay" or "cleaning engine compartment," you will find a lot written about this, mostly in forums.

There are two main caveats, first that you could damage some parts by spraying water on it, so some people will cover air intake, electrical components, sensors, especially aftermarket sensors, with plastic bags or aluminum foil. The second caveat is that the de-greasing product you use could stain the surface of certain metal components under your hood, most notably aluminum.

And I have also read that modern factory engines are pretty much designed to be water safe, and many people do not cover theirs. When I did mine, I didn't cover anything, but neither did I do any high-pressure washing. I used a hose with no nozzle and just my thumb to control the pressure.

So that decision would be up to you. As far as staining aluminum parts, perhaps a test spot? Or maybe cover it and wash it later with something that you know is aluminum safe.

Since your car is so new, the engine compartment is probably not so bad, so you will probably be able to rinse, spray with product, let dwell 10 minutes, rinse again, and you will be 90% there. You could give special attention to dirtier spots, rinse, and proceed with using a dressing on the black plastic.

Which products to use for cleaner/degreaser and dressing, if you can't get the Meguiars products, perhaps the next best thing would be to go to your local auto parts store and ask them what they have that they recommend, and use it according to the bottle directions. I know some people use Simple Green, but you probably don't want to use it full strength.

And they say do it either on a cold engine or one that is only slightly warmed up.

Good luck!

My detail that I did a few days ago.

[Andrew C.]

Re: need help for my first time

First I'll cover all of the sensitive areas with plastic bags such as the alternator, fuse box, or an exposed air filter. Next I spray down the engine with APC+ and scrub with a brush if necessary. To rinse I put the hose on the light mist setting and go side to side across the engine until all the APC+ is eventually washed away. Repeat if necessary.

Let it air dry as you do the rest of the car or sometimes I'll use a leaf blower to get the water out of all the crevices. Once it is dry, I'll spray it down with Hyper Dressing (to whatever dilution you prefer) and let it drip dry. No need to spread with an applicator as it goes on evenly without one.

If you don't have access to Hyper Dressing, try to use some sort of water based dressing as it tends to catch less dust.

Hope this helps!