So my friend knows I'm a detailing FREAK so he asked if I would detail his engine bay and I said of course so today I finally did it. It hadn't been cleaned for a VERY long time but I think it came out really good, if I do say so myself. My philosophy towards detailing a car is if the car was going straight to a show, would I be proud to have my name associated with the detail job? With this engine turnaround the answer was most def yes.

Before






After!!

 

nice.. what did u use?

 

veryyy niceee awesome job

 

Yeah looks really good, what steps did you go through to get it so clean??

 

wow.

 

jesus

 

Yea, what did you use on all of the metal to get it back to that OEM shine, Looks great. Please list the chemicals/methods you use. And a DIY would be greattttttttt, I always wanted to know how to detail a motor.

 

Thanks you guys, much appreciated. Here is what you do and I PROMISE you can make your engines look like this.

I first went to a do it yourself car wash because I needed a super high pressure washer, something stronger than what I have at home. So first, cover the intake filter with plastic wrap so you don't get water in it.

Next, blast the engine bay with high pressure water to clean all the loose dirt out and to help cool off the engine from the drive over. Pay extra attention to the really dirty areas on the engine block. I then let the car sit for 15 minutes. Once I know it's cooled down, I spray the engine down with Gunk Engine Brite and I mean I cover everything with it. let that sit for about 10-15 minutes depending how dirty the engine bay is. If some spots are really dirty, take a tire brush and work those spots a little. Then I rinse it of with another blast of high pressure making sure to get everywhere with the water and to wash away all of the Engine Brite out of every nook and cranny. When done, make sure to remove the plastic wrap from the intake filter.

Then I will run the engine for 10 minutes or so to heat things up and dry things off. What I didn't get a picture of was the underneath part of the hood. I wipe that down with Megs Quick Detail spray or something like that to get the underside all shiny and clean too. I like to use Meguires Hot Tire Shine on the hoses up front in the engine and for the back section I take the Armor All Fierce Tire Foam and I cover all the hoses and basically everything else in the foam. I let that sit for 15 minutes. All the foam will have dripped away leaving everything VERY shiny. If you're not into the ultra shiny look you can wipe things down with a cloth but I like shiny.

Then I take some metal polish, whatever kind you like, and I work some of the area on the engine in front that are easily attainable and shine those spots up a bit. Then I take the Eagle One Nano Protectant and wipe down the cowl, all the plastic parts where the wipers sit on the windshield, so that's nice and clean. Then I wipe down the battery cover with the Nano Protectant and the fiberglass section right above the radiator too. For the CAI I just used Megs Tech Wax.

I think should pretty much cover it. I promise it's not hard to do and you won't believe how it comes out. Feel free to hit me up if anyone ever needs any detailing tips. Thanks and good luck!

 

turned out really clean!

 

nice work!

 

You really don't need a high pressure washer. Just some APC, Wheel brush and terry cloth towels should do. I myself use ONR to clean the engine bay. Sometimes the high pressure from the pressure washer can remove the weather seal around the connector and cause it to short.

But really nice Job. A+++

 

Thanks! I only used the high pressure washer on this because it hadn't been cleaned in at least a year and it saves a LOT of time because there is a lot less scrubbing that needs to be done after you pressure wash it. Normally I just use my hose at home and if a persons engine bay is only mildly dirty that would be fine. However, in extreme situations pressure washing is the way to go. ONR is decent on cars but I don't know any other detailers that use it on engine bays. Defiantly wouldn't use ONR on a heavily soiled up engine, it's just not strong enough or made to effectively cut through oil or things of that nature. Again, if the engine was mildly dusty then I can maybe see using it but it's really not made for that kind of application but if it works go for it.

 

danggggggggg! like night and day!

 

so, all we need to protect is the air filter? nothing else? what about all the plugs and electrical stuff? i'm too paranoid to clean y engine bay with a hose, afraid water will get into something and mess it up.

 

That's a fair concern. Engines these day can take it pretty easily. Old cars had more electrical components that were exposed where as newer engines can take a good soaking without problems. It does feel a little strange when you're soaking an engine down but I've done TONS of them without a single issue ever.