What is the SAFEST and most efficient way to detail a car engine?

G

gregdavidson

New member
I've been searching high and low for an easy but safe way to detail a car engine. Most of the videos and articles I've viewed on the subject tell you to either wash the engine off with water or to steam clean your engine after you covered certain parts. While there are many people who swear by these methods. there's always another person saying that these methods can damage certain types of cars and should not be used. Is there any fool-proof method for detailing a car engine that is almost guaranteed to cause no damage?



P.S. Some guy from another forum just told me to spray engine degreaser all over the engine and to use compressed air to clean it off. This sounded good for a second there however I don't feel compressed air will be able to remove everything.
 
ive always cover all eletrical parts, then soak everything down real good. trash bags are good for covering stuff. spray a heavy degreaser on all the motor parts and parts that were nasty. let it soak in a few mintues, then agitate it with various brushes. then, rinse it off with low pressure water (i use juut running water). you can use reular car soap or a mild degreaser on the painted parts. also.....wet down the outer fenders incase any chemical splash out there, you dont want a heavy cleaner hitting bare paint.



after everything is rinsed off, i like to turn the engine on, so any water that gets into nooks and crannies that could POSSIBLY damage something is evaporated by the engine heat. leave the motor on for prob 5-10 minutes, let it get nice and warm. while its running, you can take a leaf blower, compressed air, whatever....and blow everything off the best you can. then once its dry....dress it however you please!
 
Have you tried the light rinse way. Like covering your electricals and stuff and then doing super small areas at a time? I use Optimum no rinse liberally and using this with a degreaser in very small spots with a sponge is safe and effective. Even on sensitive engines or exposed ones. It takes a while longer than the douse,spray, aggitate, douse method obviously but for me its safe.
 
OPC 3:1 sprayed on the surface areas, agitated with a brush and then hosed down with a gentle stream of water or wiped clean with either damp or dry rags. Dress with 303. It works well for me. :)
 
I agree with the others, and we usually use an air hose to blast off the electrical items and remove water pooling up. Good luck.
 
you have an air filter, it wont really hurt anything. but i dont guess it would hurt to cover it up either if the filter is exposed (aka not in an airbox)
 
The Enforcer said:
you have an air filter, it wont really hurt anything. but i dont guess it would hurt to cover it up either if the filter is exposed (aka not in an airbox)
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You're a ****ing retard.



If you don't cover up an air filter and just spray water down the intake, then start the car, you have a ton of water in the engine, meaning that engines going bye-bye. BTW, learn how to speak english.
 
wow, big guy behind a monitor. i swear, some people on here and the most rude, arrogant, worthless pieces and crap i have ever ran across in cyberspace, and its all bc they hide behind monitors. when he posted that, i was picturing a normal car that has an airbox with the filter inside. not the ricer crap where the filter is exposed. read what i have posted in my first reply, and youll see its the right method of doing this.



i guess youre the retard, with your statement about "spraying water DOWN an intake." why would anyone spray water down the intake anyway..you want to clean the inside? theres a difference in completely soaking an air filter, and just getting a light mist on it from washing surrounding parts. do you think air filters always stay dry? ever heard of ram-air induction? do you think that maybe, just MAYBE those air filters see the slightest bit of water? yea....but it doesnt make it through. my car has ram-air and the filter gets wet all the time, theres just no way around it. believe me, i know what hydrolock is, and also know what makes motors go "bye bye" as i have rebuilt my share and know them in and out. im not sure what language you think i am speaking in, but it is indeed english. i'm not sure what other language it would be? was anyone else aware that i am indeed speaking another language?
 
not to thread jack, but i think this could start some help. i reciently detailed a jaguar xjs, and i refused to touch the engine. why? it looked like this...



2682694289_cedd585bf9.jpg




any tips as to how to make an engine detail safe on a motor like this?



"edit" this is not my picture, just something for comparison. :2thumbs:
 
trippmann said:
not to thread jack, but i think this could start some help. i reciently detailed a jaguar xjs, and i refused to touch the engine. why? it looked like this...
Click to expand...



+1, I just don't have the balls to detail older engines.



I did a make over on an 84' 944 a month or so ago, the entire car came out great but it killed me to leave the engine bay dirty because I didn't want to risk damage.



Any insight on how to clean older engines safely would be much appreciated...
 
As long as you aren't trying to shoot Old Faithful into the intake, spark plugs or into the fuse box, some common sense will go a long way. Don't use a hose if you aren't comfortable. Use another spray bottle with plain water to rinse. Cover the alternator with aluminum foil would be my biggest piece of advice. Anything you don't want directly hit with water, spray your solution onto a cloth or brush. Don't stream water directly at the alternator or distributor. Carbs? Aluminium foil again. Or, plastic bags and rubber bands. But I find aluminium keeps it's shape without help.



I personally like the following: APC (3:1 and 10:1, accordingly), rinse, motor-run dry, then spray CD2 and let dry naturally. The CD2 gives the plastics a nice sheen.





Before:

pic7.jpg


021.jpg


After:

007-1.jpg


008.jpg




The above was with little to no agitation.
 
Darkstar752 said:
You're a ****ing retard.



If you don't cover up an air filter and just spray water down the intake, then start the car, you have a ton of water in the engine, meaning that engines going bye-bye. BTW, learn how to speak english.
Click to expand...



WOW, I think you should apologise for this, very childish.

An engine can suck up an amazingly large amount of water without doing any damage, a wet air filter simply isnt gonna do it.



I run the engine for a few a bit to get it warm *not hot!* cover electrical components with aluminum foil *be very carefull not to contact any positive terminals, such as the one on the alternator!*

I spray strong degreaser on the really dirty parts, let it sit for a bit, then mix a soap-like degreaser in my foam gun and apply it to the rest of the engine.

I use a turbo nozzle on my pressure washer to rinse, then start the engine and blow dry most of the engine avoiding sensitive components like the fuse box and alternator. Keep running the engine with the hood up fo about 10 min to get everything nice and dry.

Last, I spray Opti-Bond on everything via an HVLP paint gun.
 
CocheseUGA said:
As long as you aren't trying to shoot Old Faithful into the intake, spark plugs or into the fuse box, some common sense will go a long way. Don't use a hose if you aren't comfortable. Use another spray bottle with plain water to rinse. Cover the alternator with aluminum foil would be my biggest piece of advice. Anything you don't want directly hit with water, spray your solution onto a cloth or brush. Don't stream water directly at the alternator or distributor. Carbs? Aluminium foil again. Or, plastic bags and rubber bands. But I find aluminium keeps it's shape without help.



I personally like the following: APC (3:1 and 10:1, accordingly), rinse, motor-run dry, then spray CD2 and let dry naturally. The CD2 gives the plastics a nice sheen.





Before:

pic7.jpg


021.jpg


After:

007-1.jpg


008.jpg




The above was with little to no agitation.
Click to expand...



Looks great! Your advice on using aluminum foil was very helpful and seems to make more sense than using plastic bags. Aluminum foil is also made to be in hot areas.
 
Here's what I've done in the past where the customer requests for an engine detail, I don't regularly include it.



I use the same process as the two bucket wash, but use an apc instead of car wash shampoo. With an old microfiber or terry towel and a brush for hard to get to areas I get at it. If I run into some heavily grased areas I'll spray degreaser or higher concentration apc. For rinsing I spray H2O with a spray bottle.



For dressing I use a water based dressing also diluted about 10:1.



just my .02









*****you beat me to it cochese, I had my post open too long**********
 
carn00bie said:
WOW, I think you should apologise for this, very childish.

An engine can suck up an amazingly large amount of water without doing any damage, a wet air filter simply isnt gonna do it.



I run the engine for a few a bit to get it warm *not hot!* cover electrical components with aluminum foil *be very carefull not to contact any positive terminals, such as the one on the alternator!*

I spray strong degreaser on the really dirty parts, let it sit for a bit, then mix a soap-like degreaser in my foam gun and apply it to the rest of the engine.

I use a turbo nozzle on my pressure washer to rinse, then start the engine and blow dry most of the engine avoiding sensitive components like the fuse box and alternator. Keep running the engine with the hood up fo about 10 min to get everything nice and dry.

Last, I spray Opti-Bond on everything via an HVLP paint gun.
Click to expand...



thank you sir for helping shed light where it was much needed! looks like we think alike....both with car cleaning methods and people
 
gregdavidson said:
Looks great! Your advice on using aluminum foil was very helpful and seems to make more sense than using plastic bags. Aluminum foil is also made to be in hot areas.
Click to expand...



No problem. You should have seen the exterior.



Thinking about posting a C&B later.
 
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