Next to your paint, your engine is one of the most expensive
parts of your car. It may even be the reason you bought the car to begin with.
You just had to have that big block muscle car or that turbo charged power
wagon. You spend thousands of dollars over the course of your vehicle’s life
servicing the fluids, maintaining the paint and interior, replacing the tires,
and everything else involved with car ownership. After years of ownership and
tens of thousands of miles behind the wheel, what does your engine look like
now?
Engine
Detailing Procedure
Many people don’t detail their engines simply because they
don’t understand the process of how to do it, and they're afraid of damaging
something. The truth is that your engine is a lot more resilient than you give
it credit for. You can wash and detail your engine without much fear of ruining
anything. You just have to remember that you are detailing and not putting out
a fire. Don’t soak the engine with degreaser or use the hose at high pressure.
Engine detailing takes a little finesse to do a good job.
1. First you
should remember that you never detail a hot engine. The best time to detail
your engine is in the morning when it has been sitting all night. If you throw
cold water on a hot engine then you run a much higher risk of causing damage.
You definitely want to make sure the engine is cool before you start work. Some
detailers recommend warming the engine to loosen build-up but it should only be
slightly warm. If it’s too warm, the degreaser will dry and spot engine
surface.
2. Before
you begin detailing, cover the alternator, any exposed filters, and the
engine's air intake. Those are the areas that you really don’t want water or
degreaser pooling in. Cover your exposed air filter with a bag, and then be
sure to remove the bag before you start your engine. You might also want to
consider any other areas of the engine that might not be water friendly. If you
have done any custom work then you may have electrical connections or gauges that
you want to cover. Just think about what you wouldn’t necessarily want to get
too wet. You can always hand clean those areas after you get the rest of the
dirt out. Remember: Use only as much water and cleaners as needed to get the
job done.
3. Start by
degreasing the perimeter of the engine bay. Detailer's Pro Series Engine
Degreaser is an intense degreaser that works wonders on greasy engine bays. The
painted surfaces are fine to use degreaser on, but it will remove wax. Make
sure you get the fluid containers and hoses degreased as well. Those are areas
that usually get extra dirty. Spray down the firewall at the back of the engine
bay and be sure to get as far down as you can. Degreaser won’t do the whole job
for you, but it will certainly make things easier. To get the degreaser off you
simply need to rinse it with a slow stream of water. You can use your thumb
over the end of the hose to create a little pressure, but for the most part the
degreaser will do the work and get the dirt off. Anything that doesn’t come off
can just be wiped down. Again, a clean engine doesn't come in a bottle or a
can. You usually have to wipe it down by hand in order to get the engine really
looking good.
4. After you
have rinsed what you can, the rest needs to be done by hand. It is best if you
have a wash mitt that is specially designated for engine detailing. You don’t
want to use the same one for the engine that you would use for the rest of the
car in order to prevent cross-contamination. For crevices and any areas that
you can’t reach by hand, the EZ-Detail Brush will come in handy. This flexible
brush is covered in soft, nylon nylex bristles that are chemical resistant. The
brush is 18 inches long overall and the bristles will flatten against the
centre rod to squeeze into tight places.
Wash the perimeter of the engine and make sure that all the
dirt is gone. You can also begin washing toward the middle of the engine where
you may not have sprayed any degreaser. Some of the fluid containers and caps
may need a little extra elbow grease, so make sure you get those areas as well.
Some areas may require you to use detailing brushes to get
the grime off. Always use soft bristled brushes and never use brass or
stainless steel ones. Those will scratch plastic and paint and really take away
from the look of your engine.
You may need to mix some soapy water in a spray bottle to
assist in your detailing. That helps get the areas that need to be hand
detailed. You can also use a good quick cleaning product, like Detailer's Pro Series
Waterless Wash. Just have plenty of shop towels handy to wipe down the areas
when you are finished. You may also want to designate a few microfiber towels
for engine detailing. The 6 Pack of the Cobra Mango Breeze Microfiber Towels is
a great value, or you can upgrade your buffing towels to Cobra Super Plush
Deluxe 600 Microfiber Towels and use your old towels for engine duty.
5. The
engine needs to be dried before proceeding with wax or protectants. Use a Metro
Vac N' Blo if you have one at your disposal. This blower will get water out of
places you can't reach with a towel. If you don't have a Vac N' Blo, use a can
of compressed air to blow water out of crevices. Stoner E-Z Gust will work just
fine.
6. After you
have cleaned all the dirt off, it is time to shine it up. You can actually wax
the paint if you want to, but you may want to use a high quality sealant
instead. The engine bay gets way too hot for a carnauba-based wax to last very
long. Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 is a great product to use on the
painted surfaces under the hood. Collinite Insulator Wax #845 is literally made
for hot areas so you’ll have no problem with durability from this product.
7. To shine
up the plastics and hoses you can use a quality rubber/vinyl protectant. Wipe
down the hoses and all plastic surfaces to make sure they are protected against
heat and stains from grease or dirt.303 Aerospace Protectant will provide
outstanding protection with a subtle matte finish. If you plan on showing off
your engine compartment, use something with a little sheen like Pinnacle Vinyl
Rubber Protectant.
Your engine will look so much better if you take a few
minutes and clean it up. A 10 year old vehicle doesn’t have to have an engine
that looks 10 years old. Once you get the engine clean once, maintaining it
with regular wipe-downs is much easier. The tools and products listed here will
help you keep your engine bay looking as polished as the rest of your vehicle.
www.autogeek.net/engine-guide.html
