best way to clean engine

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Por2geezSupra

New member
Hey guys, ive seen some of you do some pretty awesome stuff with engine bays, and make them look better then new. Could you guys explain your process, and which products show the best results for long lasting finish? Do you cover anyhting up in the engine bay when you wash them down? Im lookin to do this to my dads lexus, and also to others in the future.



And also, what is the best degreaser that can be used on the paint in the engine bay if its covered in grime and dirt, but i dont want to wash my engine bay in my supra cuz everything is polished, so washing it would just dull the finish. I want to clean the paint without having to hose it down. Any suggestions on that too?
 
Ive seen a lot of people use meguiars hyperdressing to clean the engine. They say they mix it in a 4:1 ratio. I was wondering what the best way to mix it to the 4:1 ratio would be? Do you mix it in a seperate spray bottle?
 
Por2geezSupra said:
Ive seen a lot of people use meguiars hyperdressing to clean the engine. They say they mix it in a 4:1 ratio. I was wondering what the best way to mix it to the 4:1 ratio would be? Do you mix it in a seperate spray bottle?
Click to expand...



Anyway you want. What you have to ask yourself is... how much will you use? If you see yourself dressing these sort of things a lot, then dilute it in gallons. Otherwise, a spray bottle will suffice.



For example, I only have my degreaser (Meg's APC 4:1) diluted in a spray bottle because I don't need such a strong product often at all.



My humble process:

1) Turn engine on for maybe 10 minutes

2) Shut off

3) Spray everything with Meg's APC at 4:1 strength (the only thing I cover is the alternator with foil)

4) Let that sit for maybe 15 minutes or so

5) Come back with an old body brush my dad used to use, and a bucket with dishwashing liquid + water (this step probably won't be necessary unless you've got a really filthy bay) and get accessible areas. Try not to soak anything, but don't be scared.

6) Rinse off with a gentle flow. In fact, usually I only do, at most, a low free-flow hose (no attachments), and angle it up in the air a little so its basically "raining" in there.

7) Immediately blow off whatever water I can with a leafblower

8) Start engine immediately afterwards and let run for about 15-20 minutes. Close hood once engine is started and everything looks like its working.

9) Shut off engine. Open hood. I spray everything with AA Tire Foam, close the hood for about 10 minutes again. Come back and try to wipe the hoses a bit.



You're good. It might sound long, but just do it once and I'm sure you'll get it. Just use common sense and you'll be fine - stuff like don't go blasting water into places, drowning fuseboxes, etc. Things under the hood are pretty well sealed against the elements - so don't do anything it might not experience in regular driving and you'll be good!



good luck
 
Ok, thanks fot the write up. Do you cover up the battery terminals, or even the battery when you do it? Also, do you usually just do 4 cups of megs apc to one cup of water? Is that how you usually measure it when you do it?
 
paul34, thanks for the thorough writeup. I'm slightly more inclined to do an engine detail now. Before I was pretty scared because I'm afraid I mess up some internal engine parts. So as long as I cover up the alternator, I should be okay?



Curious about the battery terminals too.
 
Por2geezSupra said:
Ive seen a lot of people use meguiars hyperdressing to clean the engine. They say they mix it in a 4:1 ratio. I was wondering what the best way to mix it to the 4:1 ratio would be? Do you mix it in a seperate spray bottle?
Click to expand...



People use the HyperDressing to dress and protect the engine. Usually people will use the APC or D-Greaser for cleaning.
 
I use EO All Wheel and Tire Cleaner to degrease and CD-2 Engine Detailer for dressing. Looks great afterwards :)
 
BMW335i said:
What is the most popular engine dressing treatment on this board??
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I'm going to have to say that CD-2 is one of the most praised engine dressings around here... but there are so many... just take a look around ;)



mikebai1990 said:
paul34, thanks for the thorough writeup. I'm slightly more inclined to do an engine detail now. Before I was pretty scared because I'm afraid I mess up some internal engine parts. So as long as I cover up the alternator, I should be okay?



Curious about the battery terminals too.
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Yea, I was really scared too, but one night of some unintentional mudding forced me to just take a chance.



And yes, you should be ok on any modern car. In fact, I don't even think a lot of the pro detailers here even cover up the alternator, but I do it just to make myself feel a little better I guess :D. No, but the pro detailers around here tend to use pressure washers which isn't all water but also has a large amount of air - no doubt a way to effectively clean without trapping water in places where it shouldn't be.



I just free-flow rinse to try to eliminate trapping possibilities (also why I use the leafblower then immediately turn on the engine and allow it to get hot so any water is completely dried away).



About the battery terminals... yea, I wondered too, but I had mud all over it (and even in the little plastic tray it sits in) and knew it would be next to impossible to clean up with a towel and ONR. I just took a chance... and nothing happened! Yup. Got hit with APC and my mix of dishwashing soap and water, and of course plain water. Nothing happened to it... Of course, I don't keep it soaked in water... I try to dry it up a bit with the leafblower.



I think as long as you don't go blasting water into components you should be ok! Just take it slow, and remember at the end to turn the engine back on as quickly as possible. Just make sure you took your stuff and family members out of the fans and belts :chuckle:



Por2geezSupra said:
Ok, thanks fot the write up. Do you cover up the battery terminals, or even the battery when you do it? Also, do you usually just do 4 cups of megs apc to one cup of water? Is that how you usually measure it when you do it?
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No I don't cover the battery. Well, what I did was I have these Rubbermaid spray bottles... 32 oz. I just calculated the ratio according to that and filled accordingly within the bottle.



It's just 4:1 of whatever measurement you use. It could be 4 gallons of water to 1 gallon of APC, or one oz of apc to 4 oz water, or one martian fort knox edition cup of major doom... well, you get the idea :D
 
pretty much. About 2-4 feet away. Spray it everywhere and let it dry with hood up. After about an hour, I'll go around with an MF and remove and smooth over any blotchy areas. The can says not to wipe; that it will dry evenly under normal driving conditions but I always like to wipe it down so when the customer looks at it it looks nice and even. It really seems to last quite a long time.

Have you used it yet? If yes, what do you think?
 
LangMan37 said:
pretty much. About 2-4 feet away. Spray it everywhere and let it dry with hood up. After about an hour, I'll go around with an MF and remove and smooth over any blotchy areas. The can says not to wipe; that it will dry evenly under normal driving conditions but I always like to wipe it down so when the customer looks at it it looks nice and even. It really seems to last quite a long time.

Have you used it yet? If yes, what do you think?
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I used it on one engine piece and man it really looks like new. Cannot wait to do the whole compartment.
 
Cleaned with Meguiar's Safe Degreaser and dressed with Hyper Dressing 4:1

Warm engine for a few minutes, spray on SD and use various brushes to loosen grime, rinse with a *shower* of water. Spray desired surfaces with HD and close hood. Come back to it in 30-45 minutes and check for any wet spots and go over them with a towel to remove the excess water. Sometimes I even spray the towel with a little HD so that it leaves some in place of the removed water. Result......

IMG_2050.jpg
 
BMW335i said:
What is the most popular engine dressing treatment on this board??
Click to expand...



cd-2 is great and last a long time

some people think it is hard to find

and the price they pay is about $7 a can
 
What would you guys recommend if i wanna just clean and degrease the engine bay paint without hosing down the whole engine? I dont wanna spray the engine in my supra with water and degreaser cuz everything is polished, i just wanna clean the paint and make it look better. What can i do?
 
Por2geezSupra said:
What would you guys recommend if i wanna just clean and degrease the engine bay paint without hosing down the whole engine? I dont wanna spray the engine in my supra with water and degreaser cuz everything is polished, i just wanna clean the paint and make it look better. What can i do?
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Use ONR...you don't have to rinse...
 
Yea, but will ONR get rid of the dirt and drime build up on some parts? Theres grease on some of the paint also, so i dont know if ONR will clean it all up. Any experience ith ONR on these kinds of areas?
 
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