Engine Bay, undercarriage, wheel wells?

Depends on the surface in question- painted/plastic? Smooth/textured? Clean and well-maintained/nasty beater-car? Undercoated/not? It can get a little complicated and I can't get into all the variables right now.



The first step is to get things clean. I use degreasers and/or APCs, often with the steamer. Some people use pressure washers, but mine died after the last undercarriag job and I've never missed it enough to replace it. I use natural-bristle brushes almost exclusively as they seem to wash clean better no matter what kind of nasty stuff gets on them. Others like the EZ Detail brush, but I'm not a big fan of it....it's OK for coilsprings and such though.



Often just doing a great clean-up is all a given vehicle really needs, depending on what the owner is after.
 
Accumulator said:
Depends on the surface in question- painted/plastic? Smooth/textured? Clean and well-maintained/nasty beater-car? Undercoated/not? It can get a little complicated and I can't get into all the variables right now.



The first step is to get things clean. I use degreasers and/or APCs, often with the steamer. Some people use pressure washers, but mine died after the last undercarriag job and I've never missed it enough to replace it. I use natural-bristle brushes almost exclusively as they seem to wash clean better no matter what kind of nasty stuff gets on them. Others like the EZ Detail brush, but I'm not a big fan of it....it's OK for coilsprings and such though.



Often just doing a great clean-up is all a given vehicle really needs, depending on what the owner is after.
Click to expand...



Well none of my cars have ever had them cleaned and they.re ail daily drivers I was looking at the dp cleaner for engine and wheel wells I'm not quite sure how to go about the undercarriage yet
 
Alexshimshimhae said:
Well none of my cars have ever had them cleaned and they.re ail daily drivers I was looking at the dp cleaner for engine and wheel wells I'm not quite sure how to go about the undercarriage yet
Click to expand...



OK, roger that. Start with a good cleaning and see how it goes and where you want to go from there.



For the undercarriage, and the wheelwells too for that matter, I'd jack the car up, put it on jackstands (be safe) and pull the wheels off. Get under there with a creeper (and wear a face shield). yeah, I know that's a hassle (at least if you don't do it regularly enough to consider it normal) but IMO it really is worth doing.



If you don't have the jack/stands I honestly believe they're worth having anyhow. But as I keep saying, it's easy for me to spend your money.



Oh, for the cleaner, see if the local autobody/paint supply store has something cheap in gallons. No need to spend lots for fancy stuff to clean off undercarriage filth, at least not for the nasty initial work.
 
for things like the the wheel wells, I dont suppose it's ok to use the brush I scrub the tires with to get the gunk off with car soap/water?

And I don't know what other people use (I know one guy uses a steamer for wheels, well, and undercarriage but I don't one anything of the sort...)



but my line of thought was--well.. I mean if the engine bay and the wheel well may have similar enough stuff where the DP engine cleaner would work well for both? and considering the DP claims to be VOC free and eco friendly...(TBH, I just picked the first good one that came up on the auto geeks site for engine cleaner)



the under carriage....I was thinking about getting either jack stands, or those mini car ramps?

I mean later on. I figure if I feel like being bob the builder... I was thinking maybe making something like this Corvette C3 Ramps - Build Home Made Car Ramps (lol accum I hope you'll appreciate those lol)



So Hoping maybe the DP cleaner will suffice to clean engine bay and wheel wells after initial scrub down of wheel wells.

Engine bays, I figure maybe I'll buy a hard toothbrush for the tighter fits and umm...not sure what bigger brush i'll end up with--the boars hair brushes seem to be crazy expensive (though I suppose if they last a really long time maybe it's worth the investment? btw can i use the boars hair for engine bay AND wheels? or is that cross contamination a really bad idea?)





So i guess my steps look like



brush off debris => Cover intakes, electronics, plugs etc, => quick rinse => DP degreaser (or better product you suggest) scrub => rinse mf dry

car soap tire brush for wheels wheel wells => rinse => DP degreaser, => wipe down with MF

undercarriage...ummm...I guess i'll try to find like a hose wand or something with something that mixes in say...diluted citrus degreaser?



Tires...sigh.....scrub with car soap water the wheels for the lexus and BMW I think I'll start looking for a wheel cleaner(I supose a soft toothbrush is a bad idea?)



Engine bay and tire dressing--thinking about maybe Meg's Hyper dressing(though i'm not sure how good this product is) I know alot of people seem to do the CD-2 or WD-40, but CD-2 there seems to be back and forth over availability? and the wd-40 too weird for me i think...
 
Alexshimshimhae said:
for things like the the wheel wells, I dont suppose it's ok to use the brush I scrub the tires with to get the gunk off with car soap/water?
Click to expand...



I would worry about the brush scratching stuff.



if the engine bay and the wheel well may have similar enough stuff where the DP engine cleaner would work well for both?
Click to expand...



Yeah, probably work fine.



the under carriage....I was thinking about getting either jack stands, or those mini car ramps?

I mean later on. I figure if I feel like being bob the builder... I was thinking maybe making something like this Corvette C3 Ramps - Build Home Made Car Ramps (lol accum I hope you'll appreciate those lol)
Click to expand...



Those are nice, but I wouldn't bother. Ever since the guy who built my last 'vette explained that his business (Mallett Cars) just uses jackstands, I've figured they'd be good enough for me. I kinda miss the lift in my old shop from time to time, but eh, I don't need the car up all that often.



I just use the floorjacks (with a stand or two for safety), use 'em so much I keep two in the wash bay, but that's not really getting the car way up in the air, just enough to clean stuff.

So Hoping maybe the DP cleaner will suffice to clean engine bay and wheel wells after initial scrub down of wheel wells.

Engine bays, I figure maybe I'll buy a hard toothbrush for the tighter fits and umm...not sure what bigger brush i'll end up with--the boars hair brushes seem to be crazy expensive (though I suppose if they last a really long time maybe it's worth the investment? btw can i use the boars hair for engine bay AND wheels? or is that cross contamination a really bad idea?)
Click to expand...



Many BHBs are too gentle for this, but the smaller paintbrush type ones can be good. I don't worry about cross-contamination because they really do wash clean.



So i guess my steps look like



brush off debris => Cover intakes, electronics, plugs etc, => quick rinse => DP degreaser (or better product you suggest) scrub => rinse mf dry

car soap tire brush for wheels wheel wells => rinse => DP degreaser, => wipe down with MF

undercarriage...ummm...I guess i'll try to find like a hose wand or something with something that mixes in say...diluted citrus degreaser?



Tires...sigh.....scrub with car soap water the wheels for the lexus and BMW I think I'll start looking for a wheel cleaner(I supose a soft toothbrush is a bad idea?)



Engine bay and tire dressing--thinking about maybe Meg's Hyper dressing(though i'm not sure how good this product is) I know alot of people seem to do the CD-2 or WD-40, but CD-2 there seems to be back and forth over availability? and the wd-40 too weird for me i think...
Click to expand...



I wouldn't use the toothbrush unless it's a natural-bristle one (google "The Vermont Country Store", that's where I get mine). I wouldn't use WD-40 for this. I like 303 for rubber and Autoglym Bumper Care for less porous surfaces (including some metals like alternator housings/etc.). But yeah, most any dressing oughta be fine and there's no need to get all fancy unless you really want to.



Otherwise I think your plan is fine and to be honest, I think the best thing is to just start doing it and see how it goes. You'll do better with experience anyhow, so I'd pretty much just jump in.
 
=] Accum sir--you ought to really start detailing classes lols (i think you've seen that ridiculous "certification" thread or w.e. that is lol I'm sure you'll easily have a bigger following :)



oh is Meg's APC better to us than the DP engine degreaser? someone on another thread said they like 4:1 with it
 
Alexshimshimhae said:
=] Accum sir--you ought to really start detailing classes lols (i think you've seen that ridiculous "certification" thread or w.e. that is lol I'm sure you'll easily have a bigger following :)



oh is Meg's APC better to us than the DP engine degreaser? someone on another thread said they like 4:1 with it
Click to expand...



Heh heh, I'm spending enough time on this stuff just posting at Autopia!



Sorry, no idea about those two products as I've never used either one :nixweiss
 
I clean the motor with DP Engine Degreaser. Agitate it a bit, and rinse. I then blow dry with the air compressor. After it is dry, I use Sonus Motor&Trim Kote, however, lately I have been mixing Megs Hyper Dressing 3:1 for a nice satin finish, and it seems to work just as well as Sonus, but actually works out to be quite cheaper. As far the wheel wells, I use purple power and a long handled brush to scrub them down, and once dry apply Hyper Dressing 1:1 for a nice gloss finish. The undercarriage also gets Purple Power, scrub brush and power washed. I don't dress the undercarriage for daily drivers...I just think it attracts way too much dust.
 
Street5927 said:
.. I don't dress the undercarriage for daily drivers...I just think it attracts way too much dust.
Click to expand...



That brings up a good point!



I've *VERY* hesistant to use conventional dressings on undercarriages, wheelwells, and even under the hood for that exact reason. 303 is pretty "clean" if you buff it off after applying. Ditto for the Autoglym Bumper Care. But/and I avoid the "slimy" dressings like the plague as they do just hold dust and get all compromised the first time you wash those areas again anyhow (you *do* wash the undercarriage/etc. on a regular basis, right ;) ).



I did the undercar spare tires with Meg's Endurance, and yeah...they do retain dirt and need wiped off regularly.



These days, I've been doing the undercarriages of the drivers with judiciously-applied products like FK425, just getting areas where it'll make a diff. Haven't been bothering with the Griot's Undercarriage Spray, which does dry incredibly "clean" for such a slimy, silicon-rich product (no, whatever's in it has never caused any issues).



Although....last few washes I've done the plastic wheelwell liners of the Yukon with some old Armor All, cut a little bit with water. I buff off the excess after a few minutes and I gotta say it's not attracting/retaining dirt and dust nearly the way I was expecting it to :think: I was all prepared to kick myself for trying it, but I have a ton of the stuff and wanted to give it a go...I bet the slight dilution makes some kind of difference.
 
L o L I figure, make up text books maybe some software and like 1-2 hour class time maybe once or twice a week and you'll be set to go xD =] final exam being a full on detail to your liking :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top