Engine detailing?

TomsNeon · Post by **TomsNeon** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:24 am

Quick question guys.....I saw a pic recently of a pristine engine bay (guy busted a PS hose and it soaked the bay) after it'd been cleaned up and I think it'd be awesome to do the same to mine. Mine right now is of average "dirty-ness" - if that's even a word - with the usual road grime, dust, dirt, etc. but no oil from any leaks which is good but I'm wondering which brand of degreaser or cleaner works better than another? I don't mind making a day of detailing the engine and the bay but I don't want to become a 4 day project either. So....any suggestions??

hotrodlarry · Post by **hotrodlarry** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:09 pm

I've had good luck cleaning engine bays with Simple Green, then spraying everything down with CD2 Engine Detailer.

TomsNeon · Post by **TomsNeon** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:27 pm

hotrodlarry wrote:I've had good luck cleaning engine bays with Simple Green, then spraying everything down with CD2 Engine Detailer.

Sounds good....I was thinking along the lines of buying several cans of Gunk Engine Degreaser and a ton of rags but if this is more efficient in cleaning and time taken to do so, then this is a way to go. Thank you!

TomsNeon · Post by **TomsNeon** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 1:35 pm

Essentially this is how mine looks now (had the airbox off repairing the park/neutral safety switch) and how I'd like the bay to look once it's cleaned up. **Don't recall where I got the clean pic, think it was on here somewhere but thought it looked awesome and how my bay needs to look as well.

Mine:

The cleaned up Neon bay:

NEON PARABOLA · Post by **NEON PARABOLA** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:58 pm

^ to get that, you're gonna have to dis assemble nearly everything and run it thru a dishwasher or a parts washer

TomsNeon · Post by **TomsNeon** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 4:12 pm

A dishwasher!

Right on LOL! Nah, I figured a few cans of degreaser and tire shine should do it. I was looking for a sure fire way to not spend 20 minutes wiping down each individual thing to get as close to that pic as I could. Thanks Neon Parabola!

NEON PARABOLA · Post by **NEON PARABOLA** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 4:33 pm

you mean you don't have a dishwasher in your garage?

TomsNeon · Post by **TomsNeon** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 4:35 pm

LMAO no, sorry I don't. Only in the kitchen.

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:30 pm

You should soak the battery tray attaching bolts with penetrating oil, and remove it, either coat the heck out of it with rust o leum or replace with a less rusted one. With it bolted against the frame rail, it may cause the rail to rust out there. Anti seize all the attaching hardware while it is out.

TomsNeon · Post by **TomsNeon** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:33 pm

Wow, yeah rusting would definitely suck so thank you for the heads up on that and the anti-seize stuff.

Post by **occasional demons** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:51 pm

Any good hardware, or parts store should carry it. Just about anything you remove should have some applied, the next time around will go much easier.

Another tip: IF you can get the headlight screws out, with out snapping them off, coat them liberally with the stuff. Even then, they may still seize. I ended up buying new ones from the dealer to get them to keep from becoming one with the tie bar.

NEON PARABOLA · Post by **NEON PARABOLA** » Sat Oct 20, 2012 7:09 pm

occasional demons wrote:You should soak the battery tray attaching bolts with penetrating oil, and remove it, either coat the heck out of it with rust o leum or replace with a less rusted one. With it bolted against the frame rail, it may cause the rail to rust out there. Anti seize all the attaching hardware while it is out.

Or send it to me to be powdercoated for super low prices!

TomsNeon · Post by **TomsNeon** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:34 pm

All done....not exactly as shiny as I'd hoped but it still looks a lot better.

Before:

After

JeffM · Post by **JeffM** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 3:48 pm

Looks much better! The next time you clean it, it should be much easier.

DetergentCandy · Post by **DetergentCandy** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 3:49 pm

Bravo!

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 10:12 pm

The "shiney" like in the above pic, is in most cases from the spray on stuff they sell. Basically it is just a film.

A lot of used car dealers use that stuff to make a used car look like it has actually been well cared for. It hides a lot of grime and dirt you would normally see. It wears off after a week or two of use.

You can use tire black or similar on the IM and hoses if you want them to look good for a little while. Like anything else it needs re applied.

Aluminum polish works well on the A/C lines. I have used MAAS ? and it keeps the lines looking good for months. Beats white rust.

As for the firewall, and other painted under hood sheet metal, a decent wax, and brave poking of hands into tight areas helps keep that looking nice.

Polobear305 · Post by **Polobear305** » Fri Nov 09, 2012 3:53 pm

Looks the same to me ....

TomsNeon · Post by **TomsNeon** » Fri Nov 09, 2012 4:17 pm

occasional demons wrote:The "shiney" like in the above pic, is in most cases from the spray on stuff they sell. Basically it is just a film.

A lot of used car dealers use that stuff to make a used car look like it has actually been well cared for. It hides a lot of grime and dirt you would normally see. It wears off after a week or two of use.

You can use tire black or similar on the IM and hoses if you want them to look good for a little while. Like anything else it needs re applied.

Aluminum polish works well on the A/C lines. I have used MAAS ? and it keeps the lines looking good for months. Beats white rust.

As for the firewall, and other painted under hood sheet metal, a decent wax, and brave poking of hands into tight areas helps keep that looking nice.

Occasional Demons - thanks for the input. As always, very helpful info! I had a radiator leak on the top driver side where the bracket bolts on (I call it a pole, no idea what the technical term is) and that side of the engine bay is now cooper colored - literally - from using Bars Stop Leak Liquid Copper crap. CRAP I say! LOL! I ended up taking literally pea size amount ot JB weld, wiped it around the "pole" I guess you could call it (where the bracket for the airbox and rad itself hook on to, it has a + in the middle of this pole thing) and now no leaks but man is it a freakin mess! Will take me at least 3-4 hours to clean everything. Upside is my kids think it's cool that Dad's engine is copper color now on one side LOL!