Engine Detailing

T

Tassadar

Car Detailing Whore
Well I decided to go out and detail the engine of the 1995 Explorer EXT we own. Since it was a nice 60*, and the sun was perfect. Awhile back Natty was nice enough to send me a 1/2 gallon on Meguiars EK, and I gave it a shot today. After spraying in on with a sprayer that managed to actually mist that stuff, I hate Meguiars EK. It doesnt dry right, it leaves spots, and I ended up having to recover. So I wiped down most of the big areas to smear and dry the EK, and proceeded to touch up the bay with Stoner's TS. Here are the results.

Before:

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After:

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Engine looks outstanding

Can you explain more on Meguairs Engine Kote I was thinking about getting a gallon until I seen your post
 
New Again: Engine Kote is just too danged finicky. First off, the sprayer has to be absolutely perfect. Supposedly the only sprayer that even begins to work right is the one Meguiars sells, I have an equivalent sprayer and it still managed to glob and drip (which it never normally does). Engine Kote takes an extremely long time to dry and set, and when it finally does, its not a perfect spread. The idea of Engine Kote is to spray-it-and-forget-it, in all actuality, you spend a lot of time dabbing up pools of EK and trying to spread it all over the engine bay. While you are spreading it, the EK starts to get very sticky on the towel and your hands (not to mention the ungodly smell, liquid fertilzer smells better) and eventually it becomes unworkable.

Now, here is what I did. After doing that detail, I figured I would give Poorboy's Bold and Bright a run for its money. I detailed the engine bay of a 1997 Saturn SL2 (sorry, no before pictures) it had oil all over EVERYTHING, and the power steering cap had blown off once before and sprayed that everywhere also. So imagine an engine bay covered in oil and PS fluid, and you are pretty much on the dot. The picture you see here is almost 95% all from the Poorboy's BnB, Stoner's Trim Shine was only used on some hoses (that you cannot see in the picture) that I was unable to reach with my hand.

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Nice job here is mine after i did it last fall. It has 44000 miles on it currently. Sorry the picture didnt come out so great. How do i make it smaller? I used Zaino Z-16 on all the hoses, plastic pieces. I have tried many products and this worked the best yet. Repels dust ( I work in a dusty environment and it does keep dust off) and doesnt run when it gets wet.
 
Im a big fan of the wet look, hence why I use the products I do. It lasts long enough for me to show it off for awhile, and about the time I forget about having a clean engine it seems to lose its ultra-shinyness. So its perfect.
 
So what again exactly did you use to clean off the dirt/grime from the engine bay? I understand that you used Poorboys Bold n Bright only to protectincrease shine and gloss. My question is what did you use to physically remove the contaminants//grime/oil?
 
My method is as follows:

1. Start with a cold engine
2. Spray down with water
3. Spray with Simple Green
4. Scrub Simple Green with large tire brush
5. Rinse
6. Spray with Simple Green in major problem areas
7. Clean these areas with various brushes depending on need
8. Rinse
9. Dry as much as my hands can reach (Very important, you will be surprised how much dirt is still on there)
10. Let sit for a few minutes (Basically make sure the water is 95% gone)
11. Spray with PB's BnB
12. Rub BnB in (use it lightly, this stuff goes a long ways)
13. Let sit until BnB looks 95% dry
14. Touch up problem areas with appropraite product (BnB for areas that you can reach, Stoner's Trim Shine for areas you cannot)

Not too dificult, its actually my favorite part of detailing.
 
Nice tassadar going to do that this spring for sure, Man I hate engine kote with a passion to. I have the zep professional high volume sprayer I left some engine kote in my garage over the winter only a bottle full gallon was in house although the garage never got to freezeing the engine kote turned to absolute jelleo I had to throw it out clean otu the sprayer and everything. Still cant get it to dry right in wheel wells without useing insane amounts of the product. I want to get some auto magic magic dressing thats water based. Is poorboys bold n bright water or solvent based. ?
 
IM pretty sure its water based. I wan tto get some AM Super Dress-It and play around with that. Or perhaps some Megs W or S dressing and play around with it as well. I like BnB as you can tell, it has a lot going for it (I don't like water based dressings for tires, so I will probably use it for engine only) however its a tad bit pricey for an engine-only application. So I need to find a replacement for when I manage to run out of 32 fl oz of the stuff :)
 
Start with it clean, keep it clean...


I use Herbal Essences shampoo, followed by a warm up drive around the block, followed by Megs QD for touch ups. Don't use coating sprays...will make the job harder later.


:hippi

jeff.
 
Booties come from clubrsx.com...they're by a performance company called Spoon Sports (Honda perf).


Perhaps there's other companies that make booties for other size reservoirs?



jeff.
:jump
 
Nice work Jeff. I like the way you have steered clear of any harsh chemical. Do you think Pantene will work?
 
Sure! Choose what smells best, and don't use anything with conditioner. Also, be sure to rinse thuroughly! If you have a car that has a visible air cleaner, cover that with a plastic bag and rubber band, and cover the distributor as well (if you have one)--you don't want water getting in there when you're doing your rinsing!


jeff.
 
jeff2417 said:
Start with it clean, keep it clean...


I use Herbal Essences shampoo, followed by a warm up drive around the block, followed by Megs QD for touch ups. Don't use coating sprays...will make the job harder later.


:hippi

jeff.
Click to expand...

Why not just car wash soap? Just curious?
 
Yeah, ditch the EK for the engine, I personally use 303 with very pleasing results. I bought EK only for use on wheel wells. Uisng the Megs sprayer I mist a part of the wheel well at a time and wipe with a sponge to spread it better and reduce dripping. I do get it to dry right and it seems pretty durable in bad weather and repells dust.
 
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