K&N air filter cleaning
Discussion
Like a typical bloke.. I've just washed my air filter out and then look at the instructions on line 
I used U-Pol Fast Degreaser (panel wipe) and it brought the c##p off in no time and it's all nice and white now... then reading the instrudtions it says wash out in soapy water
I suppose they must be petrol proofe (not ours as they are miles away but other cars / bikes will see fuel on them)and I think K&N say you can use petrol to clean them but don't recomend it for obviouse reasons...
At the end of the day it's cotton in there so I'm guessing it will be fine, obviously I'll use the right oil to re-oil....
What do we think?.. will it of harmed it??
I used U-Pol Fast Degreaser (panel wipe) and it brought the c##p off in no time and it's all nice and white now... then reading the instrudtions it says wash out in soapy water
I suppose they must be petrol proofe (not ours as they are miles away but other cars / bikes will see fuel on them)and I think K&N say you can use petrol to clean them but don't recomend it for obviouse reasons...
At the end of the day it's cotton in there so I'm guessing it will be fine, obviously I'll use the right oil to re-oil....
What do we think?.. will it of harmed it??
As you say, its just cotton, and you can clean it with just washing up liquid and warm water just fine, and I doubt your solvent will have done any harm. (Unlike an ITG filter that I washed in engine cleaner- I ended up with lots of foam bits in the air intake as it broke up!) The only thing to watch out is you dont get any dirty cleaning solution inside the filter, as this can deposit dirt on the wrong side. It then needs a light oiling down the pleats until you get an even colour to show the oil is fully impregnated.
I wash my K&N in bucket of warm water with washing up liquid.
Refresh the bucket with clean water & fresh washing up liquid a couple of times or until the water stops looking mucky.
Then rinse with a hose directing a low pressure stream of water from the inside surface to safely drive any reaming dirt out.
Give it a good shake or blow out gently (again from the inside out) with an airline.
The filter now needs drying thoroughly, mine spends a night in the airing cupboard next to the hot water tank
Once it's completely dry it's time to re-oil it.
Get yourself a a ketchup dispenser from your local pound shop.
Fill it with ATF/power steering fluid.
Apply the ATF sparingly to the raised edge of every pleat individually using your squeezy ketchup dispenser, you can easily control the amount.
You just want the raised pleats to go pink at this stage.
Remember, this is one of those cases where "Less is More" avoid the temptation to completely saturate the filter.
The filter should now look half loaded with oil, set it aside for 15 minutes and go have a cup of tea.
When you return to your filter you will find the oil has now evenly soaked into the recessed pleats too, the wole filter surface will be a consistent pink colour.
You should now have a perfectly oiled K&N filter that's not been overloaded but will trap dirt better & breathe better than anything else on the market.
Do this every year when you service the car & your K&N will easily last 10 years or more.
Refresh the bucket with clean water & fresh washing up liquid a couple of times or until the water stops looking mucky.
Then rinse with a hose directing a low pressure stream of water from the inside surface to safely drive any reaming dirt out.
Give it a good shake or blow out gently (again from the inside out) with an airline.
The filter now needs drying thoroughly, mine spends a night in the airing cupboard next to the hot water tank
Once it's completely dry it's time to re-oil it.
Get yourself a a ketchup dispenser from your local pound shop.
Fill it with ATF/power steering fluid.
Apply the ATF sparingly to the raised edge of every pleat individually using your squeezy ketchup dispenser, you can easily control the amount.
You just want the raised pleats to go pink at this stage.
Remember, this is one of those cases where "Less is More" avoid the temptation to completely saturate the filter.
The filter should now look half loaded with oil, set it aside for 15 minutes and go have a cup of tea.
When you return to your filter you will find the oil has now evenly soaked into the recessed pleats too, the wole filter surface will be a consistent pink colour.
You should now have a perfectly oiled K&N filter that's not been overloaded but will trap dirt better & breathe better than anything else on the market.
Do this every year when you service the car & your K&N will easily last 10 years or more.
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