Cleaning/detailing an engine bay
Discussion
Three questions in one if you don't mind oh masters of the microfibre cloths... 
Can you give any tips to a complete novice who wants to clean his engine bay(s) but doesn't have a power washer? I have the sort of bog standard home amateur cleaning kit (decent microfibre cloths, Meguires waxes, polishes etc. Decent car shampoo. If a jet wash is essential I can get use of one.
Really I want to know if there is anything I should really avoid doing and if there is a good place to start. I am NOT expecting an as new finish, just to spruce them up a bit and make tinkering easier and cleaner.
Now the three parts: I have 3 cars I want to do:
1) Modern diesel 4x4
2) 1990 small block fuel ingection 4 pot
3) Early 70's classic car with carb and rather open electrical bits
Any pointers to any/all of the above would be very welcome along with any recommendations of kit to buy.
Cheers,
Ben
Can you give any tips to a complete novice who wants to clean his engine bay(s) but doesn't have a power washer? I have the sort of bog standard home amateur cleaning kit (decent microfibre cloths, Meguires waxes, polishes etc. Decent car shampoo. If a jet wash is essential I can get use of one.
Really I want to know if there is anything I should really avoid doing and if there is a good place to start. I am NOT expecting an as new finish, just to spruce them up a bit and make tinkering easier and cleaner.
Now the three parts: I have 3 cars I want to do:
1) Modern diesel 4x4
2) 1990 small block fuel ingection 4 pot
3) Early 70's classic car with carb and rather open electrical bits
Any pointers to any/all of the above would be very welcome along with any recommendations of kit to buy.
Cheers,
Ben
Wrap anything electrical or likely to take in water droplets in clingfilm......spray the engine with a decent de greaser or all purpose cleaner, brush away and dont rush anything, be careful. Rinse the engine bay with a non pressurised spray to remove the residue etc. A watering can is pretty useful.
Run your engine afterwards for a couple of minutes then dry with either a leaf blower or some drying cloths. Finally dress all plastics and rubber components / hoses etc.
Run your engine afterwards for a couple of minutes then dry with either a leaf blower or some drying cloths. Finally dress all plastics and rubber components / hoses etc.
Just to ask a few more questions on this one.. this time with pics!
My Tuscan is currently engineless so i'm looking to clean up the whole engine bay whilst its still accessible. So far we've used a steam cleaner to breakdown the majority of the waxoyl, but the whole bay is now in need of some proper cleaning.
I've tried a normal degreaser, both diluted and neat, agitated with soft brushes etc, but it's still looking very shabby.
Some pics!
Would the powercoated chassis be fine using a pressure washer on?
Any recommendations for some stronger degreasers that would help? I've got plenty of normal detailing kit from clays, foams, shampoo, through to polish/sealants etc but presuming that the engine bay needs something a bit stronger! Only thing I currently have that strong is wonderwheels?
Possibly going to take off the alu tanks and polish them separately as well.. but that's another story!
My Tuscan is currently engineless so i'm looking to clean up the whole engine bay whilst its still accessible. So far we've used a steam cleaner to breakdown the majority of the waxoyl, but the whole bay is now in need of some proper cleaning.
I've tried a normal degreaser, both diluted and neat, agitated with soft brushes etc, but it's still looking very shabby.
Some pics!
Would the powercoated chassis be fine using a pressure washer on?
Any recommendations for some stronger degreasers that would help? I've got plenty of normal detailing kit from clays, foams, shampoo, through to polish/sealants etc but presuming that the engine bay needs something a bit stronger! Only thing I currently have that strong is wonderwheels?
Possibly going to take off the alu tanks and polish them separately as well.. but that's another story!
Cheers! 
Picked up some Surfex HD today and seems to be doing a v.good job so far. It's quite thin (i'm trying 5-1 dilution at the mo) so i'm finding its better to use a tiny bit, then brush in and rinse. If I try to leave it to soak it doesn't seem to do any better however it's definitely doing better than I thought, and looks like it should sort it.
Will do some pics once i'm finished but being a steel chassis, it's very fiddly so going to jack the car up and attack it from underneath too
Picked up some Surfex HD today and seems to be doing a v.good job so far. It's quite thin (i'm trying 5-1 dilution at the mo) so i'm finding its better to use a tiny bit, then brush in and rinse. If I try to leave it to soak it doesn't seem to do any better however it's definitely doing better than I thought, and looks like it should sort it.
Will do some pics once i'm finished but being a steel chassis, it's very fiddly so going to jack the car up and attack it from underneath too
I never fail to be impressed with Surfex HD. I've even used it on the carpets at home, pvc window frames, kitchen floor, car interior surfaces, wheels and wheelarches, tyres before dressing them, etc etc. Not sure I'd want to do the same with other degreasers
At 2-3% it's safe on paintwork waxes and sealants so makes a good prewash spray with a dash of bodywork shampoo.If you're looking to rustproof the chassis afterwards then Bilt Hamber's corrosion removal/prevention chemicals are hard to beat.
Looks absolutely awesome Kelly!! Have you got a write up/blog of that one? How many hrs in total?
I don't think i can aim quite so high as the car gets used too much for the underside to be that clean, but to have the engine bay looking so good would be amazing!
I started polishing the tanks today. Looking promising!
Edited by MrChips on Monday 13th February 23:30
Cheers for the advice as the surfexHD seems to have done the trick!
All day today was spent cleaning the chassis. Lots of SurfexHD was used, and steam cleaned, followed by jet wash, followed by some scrubbing, then diluted Surfex with brushes and then rinsed with low pressure.
Not looking so bad now.
Also managed to find time during the week to polish up the tanks. Lots of patience. They're not perfect but good enough for me!
All day today was spent cleaning the chassis. Lots of SurfexHD was used, and steam cleaned, followed by jet wash, followed by some scrubbing, then diluted Surfex with brushes and then rinsed with low pressure.
Not looking so bad now.
Also managed to find time during the week to polish up the tanks. Lots of patience. They're not perfect but good enough for me!
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