How Do I Clean Under The Hood?
 

Hey all

Whats the best product or type of product to clean up everything under the hood?
What paint can u paint headers with?

Thanks
Josh

Detailing the Engine
Engines can be tough to clean, especially todays cars with all their computer systems and hoses all over. It make's it real tough to get in there with your hands. My hands are constantly cut up from trying to get in closer!

Before your get started, cover any sensitive equipment with heavyduty aluminum foil. If you're using a pressure washer don't spray them directly, you'll might blow them right off or blow a hole in the foil!

For at-home cleaning a pressure washer may help but isn't necessarily needed, a hose will do just fine. If you can't find a heavyduty degreaser, use kerosene mixed 50/50 with water as a degreaser. With the engine warm(not hot!) apply the kerosene mix to stubborn grease deposits before you wet it down - water will dilute the mix and reduce the cleaning strength. Use a pointy brush to get any stubborn deposits off the valve covers, etc... You may want to repeat this step a couple times. Let me add that this kerosene mix can also be used to degrease door jambs, as well as a pre-soak for tar & bug removal. Nothing like high speed bug splatter on the front end of that mustang! If you get some degreaser on the paint, rinse immediately.

NOTE: I recently came across a really good cleaner/degreaser at Home Depot (a large do-it-yourself home supply store) and they had a very good citrus based degreaser called Thistle. I tried it out and it works nice. Environmentally safe as well. Costs about $14 bucks for a gallon. My original intention was to use it a concrete cleaner but found it's degreasing ability to be a big bonus - well worth it IMHO.
Once you're satisfied with the degreasing and have rinsed well, start up the motor and let it run for a while with the hood down. The heat will evaporate a lot of the water. Use your shop vac to blow off any remaining water, have a rag handy to degrease the parts you had covered earlier. Lowering the hood will help speed the evaporation process.

Now it's degreased and ready for rubber dressing. Silicone will work best here. Spray everything really well(except the belts!). You may want to apply some wax to the painted areas. If you don't want a shiny look, you can wipe the silicone down, just let it soak in for a while first. STP protectant liberally applied works well here.

Some detailers actually repaint certain parts of the motor, and then clearcoat everything, but I'm personally not in favor of this. This paint starts to flake off after a short while and anything you do to remove it later won't be enough, short of pulling everything out! The silicone leaves a new-car look. This is just my style though!

Also, some guys like to get out steel wool and brass brushes. This is usually done on motors that are for show, and these guys sometimes pull the motors before every show! It depends just how far you want to go ...

You can use this - (Home Depot)

http://a113.g.akamai.net/v/113/10142.../000007256.jpg

or this.... (Canadian Tire)

http://consumer.simplegreen.com/imag...on_img_pro.gif

A wash mitt just for under the hood will also save your hand from lots of cuts

any combination of engine degreaser, brake cleaner, simple green and a toothbrush.

you can use high temperature engine paint to paint the header.

there are companies that make engine detailer that gives a wet, shiny look to your bay, kinda like armor all.

Your next post will be:
"Just detailed engine bay - Now car won't start"

^ LOL This Is why I havent attempted it on mine

i just hit mine with a pressure washer and crappy tire degreaser on a warm engine, i have never covered anything and let the degreaser sit for about 10 min and wash away!

Not if you do it correctly....

I would not dare use brake cleaner since this may discolour various plastics as well as any painted surfaces... Most brake cleaners are much too harsh to use as engine bay de-greasers.


After everything is clean and dry, top it off with -

http://www.carbrite.com/images/WaterBased.jpg

C044T SUPER DRESS-IT-ALL

DESCRIPTION:

A thick, water-based, high gloss, ready-to-use dressing that is white, unscented and contains silicone. Can be diluted 1:1.

KEY FEATURES

• Ready-to-use
• Contains silicone
• High gloss
• Fast drying
• Unscented

KEY BENEFITS:

• Effectively shines and protects rubber, plastic and vinyl surfaces
• Water-based formulation contains no harsh solvents
• High gloss gives deep, rich shine

HOW TO USE:

Interior & Exterior

1. Moisten a clean applicator pad and wipe on vinyl, plastic and rubber surfaces.
2. Allow to dry, or wipe dry with a clean cloth.

Tires

1. Spray product on applicator pad.
2. Apply product to tire with pad.
3.Allow product to thoroughly dry before moving vehicle.

Engine

1. Spray entire engine using a consistent pattern to ensure even coverage
2. Wipe down with a soft clean cloth.

^ hey man ur in richmondhill lol can u just do it for me :D?

Well, I am in Ottawa until the end of August.... so it cannot be until then... but if I am going to do this, I need pics of your engine bay.... I want to see what condition its in.... dont expect miracles man....

I am not Jesus.

^ muhahaha I hate it when people ask me to do theirs..its not hard!!!

Here's a couple of pics of my engine bay when I first got the car..

Before:
Attachment 25341

Attachment 25342

After:

Attachment 25343

Attachment 25344

I used a steam cleaner, a bottle of simple green, an old toothbrush and some water and voila!

Steam cleaner is nice if you have one.....

haha ok I know end of AUG is cool its been dirty since i got it. hmm how severe is it? id say... i cant even explain it.I'll take pics and u tell me, I personaly dont think its that bad.

Ok man.... put of the links....

I'm sorry? "put of the links"? what links?

brake cleaner will remove paint. hopefully the instructions are read before use. but it does work handy on parts that are covered in grease/oil if you feel like being lazy.

Sorry man, I did not have my suger-free Red Bull this morning...

Put up the links of your engine bay shots....

Thats what I meant to say.

Heres my dutty engine
Attachment 25326
Attachment 25327
Attachment 25328
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../underhood.jpg

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Its going to take some work.... but I will try my best.

lol sorry :D hahaha i know it looks scary but maybe my cam didnt do it justice?

Damn that's dirty. Good thing it looks mostly like a lot of dust/dirt instead of grease and oil.

It's do-able. Lazy man's way pressure washer and car soap :D

look its just sand ok :| some oil but not much im afraid my car wont start if i try to clean it even if I cover the correct places(i think i know which ones)

The car will start, I will bet the farm on it.... if I had one.

Bet your Teg on it and maybe your first born then I'll believe ya!