What's the best way to clean under the hood? No real messes, but I just haven't dealt with it yet.

Advice please.

Thanks,
Phil

 

Be VERY careful. I found the paint under there VERY soft and willing to come off down to the primer. I would NOT use anything other than a general wipe down as a result of the painted bits. You may not have these paint issues but I would test in an inconspicuous area first. I saw a couple of Mini's at Steve's pulley party with a little rubbed off paint under the bonnet, too. Proceed with CAUTION.

Matt

 

I use a damp terry cloth to wipe things down.Then apply a quick detail spray to painted surfaces.Any good rubber cleaner will keep hoses and such looking good.
Some where on this forum is info on a product you apply,close the bonnet,wait 1/2 hour,and most things look great.

 

See this thread:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=41844

 

Thanks one and all.


Phil

 

Or try here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=37303

 

There are going to be a lot of different opinions on this topic, so be ready!

You have to try several things and find the one you like best. I, for one, don't like to spend hours and hours in the engine compartment -- there are too many other things to do; like in the interior, wheels, and paint, and on, and on, and on....

So, what I do is the following, starting with a cool engine.

1. Make sure your wipers are down on the windshield and not "out." Raise bonnet. If you don't, your wipers will scratch your bonnet when you open it (I learned that the hard way with an old CRX.)
2. Cover the alternator with a small towel or plastic bag and stick a small towel into the air intake.
3. Take small tweezers or needle-nose pliers and retrieve dead bugs, rocks, and other gunk from radiators and crevices. (I have a cool pair of plastic tweezers you can get at Lowe's that work well with smaller chance of scratching stuff.)
4. Lightly spray down the entire engine, hood, everything visible with the hose (I use a gardener's nozzle that has a "shower" setting -- really gentle while still having some pressure) getting into every nook and cranny. Water's not going to hurt anything in there -- just don't spend a lot of time around the electronic parts.
5. Spray down everything with Simple Green. I know, some say this will leech water out with time, but I only really do the engine about once a year and always condition stuff later in the process, so I don't worry about it. Simple Green is relatively gentle while being powerful, so I like it. I don't use degreasers or anything too aggressive.
6. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so. Usually go grab a beer during this step.
7. Mix up a little bit of car wash (I use NXT wash) and grab a small microfiber towel.
8. Lightly rub (no need to scrub) the paint surfaces down with the car wash with the wet towel.
9. Lightly rub (no need to scrub) all other things down with a fresh, wet microfiber towel with some freshly sprayed Simple Green.
10. Spray off everything with the hose, on 'shower' setting again, really well until all water is running clean and not "Simple Greeny."
11. Let drip/air dry for about thirty minutes. (Drink aforementioned beer.) You can close the bonnet, start the engine, and let idle for a few minutes to speed the process along - If you do this, just remember to remove the towel/bag in the air intake and over the alternator.
12. Take a drying microfiber and get all the standing water in little holes, cracks, etc.
13. When everything is dry, I spray down anything that isn't paint color liberally with NXT protectant or whatever you favor. I like NXT because I think there is some silicone in it and it produces the level of shine I like in there -- personal choice. I used to use pure silicone in a spray can, and that worked pretty well too. Anything you get on a metal part, exhaust, etc. is going to either burn off quickly and not hurt a thing or leave a nice shine.
14. Uncover alternator and get towel out of air intake.
15. Let soak in and stand for about 15 minutes. (Might get another beer.)
16. Wipe off excess protectant and spot check stuff.

BOOM, done.

I go and clean other things (vacuum, detail inside, condition leather seats, etc.) during some of the waiting times. Other than some of the "wait" times, it really goes pretty quick.

Just don't be afraid to get in there and clean. Engines are exposed to all sorts of things and aren't a fragile as you might think. Another thing I do is remove those little label tags from some of the wires. The only people replacing anything in there ought to know what they are - myself included! I look at them like matress tags. (Yes, in the photo, there is still one on the bonnet grounding wire. Oops. I'll get it next time.)

Trust me, when you drive the car the next time, I swear it runs better!

 

I tried to find Meguiars engine cleaning products at Advancedautoparts and Autozone, but both of them do not carry them. So, I bought some two stage engine cleaning spray instead. I am worrying that the stuff that I bought is too strong, so I hope you guys could lead me to the right direction. Many thanks

 

You got a PM! I want to check out the Hyper Dressing too, but the Meg's website says that it only comes in gallon jugs for 40 bucks, and furthermore the 'Dealer Locator'

http://www.meguiars.com/dealerlocato...cedlocator.cfm

on their site showed no local outlets for that product. Just for fun I'm going to hop back over there, and search out some other products that I KNOW are locally available.

edit: the locator is of limited usefulness it seems. I can get to a listing of loads of places that I already know carry SOME of the products. But, when I look for a certain product, say a common Wal-Mart one like Scratch-X, it comes back with "sorry no dealers in your area..." Oh well, we tried.

Let's make a deal, I'm in Chicago.

 

As a detailer for Volvo, it's really simple. If you have a pressure washer and an automotive degreaser you will be fine. Just do a quick spray on the engine cover your intake if you have an aftermarket intake. Spray degreaser all over the engine bay, wait for a minute, then spray off. Quick sprays, do not spray directly, back and forth a few times should do it. Then take some tire dressing and spray it over the plastic parts and wipe it down with a rag. Once done, you will have to rinse the car again, because tire dressing gets all over the place, you name it, windows, roof, body, everywhere!

 

Mission completed, hope this stuff lasts.

 

i have the hardest time getting those paint colored parts clean. They are porous so the dirt seems to just sleep there. I've tried clay and Klasse, the Klasse worked wonderful, but still some spots. Do you think the simple green will take care of this?

 

ZeroFighter, I like 2 things about your post. First, it seems inexpensive (pressure washer is a big "if" though), and 2nd you said "simple", which I luv.

However (and I forgive you in advance for not doing this first time around)... 'round here it's rather customary to name names, "brand" names that is... Do you recommend a degreaser or 2?

Dude that looks really good - same question though, what did YOU use??

Thanks you guys, inquiring minds want to know -
Tatt

 

Hi, I used Gunk 2 Stage Engine Brite. Indeed, I was very skeptical before I tried this product. So, I did not let it stay on the paint too long and washed it out with soaped water. On tough stains, I used a toothbrush with a direct spray of the solvent and most of the stain came off. The product cleaned very well after rinsing. However, I would not use this product for dressing again. I was advised by my friend to use Vinylex, it gives you a safe matte black and not glossy. I think it would be safer on the plastic parts also.

 

I've only heard Good Things from Vinylex users, though I've never checked it out myself. I think it's very similar, both in user-satisfaction and in applications, to Meguiar's #40 (Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner and Conditioner, I think it's called). 303 Aerospace Protectant (free samples on the way here as we speak) is also a good 'un.

One possible caution though, Vinylex contains silicone, which you might not want in a vinyl/rubber cleaner/conditioner. Silicone is one of the reasons "ArmorAll" is so shiny and attracts so much dust - not to mention the slippery feel that not everyone is crazy about, and the temporary nature of the slick clean appearance. I think I read that due to chemistry, over time silicone is a bad thing at least for a dashboard. For all I know, the silicone might make it perfect for use in the engine bay, but still...

Anywho that's a very nice looking engine compartment eurazn, I totally hear you about not wanting to use overly strong stuff more often than necessary.

Edit: I stand corrected - Lookie what I found, courtesy of BradB some time ago:

"Let me clear up a few things about ArmourAll and (several other protectants for that matter). Many people think the "danger" in ArmourAll is the silicones. It's not. Silicones are found in a great many trim dressing products and most waxes on the market today. They are what give the product gloss. There are different kinds of silicones. Most are inert. Most are known as free silicones. They float continously and do not bond with anything else. That's why paint shops hate silicones. Get silicones near a paint job and they cause fisheyes on the surface of the paint-but that's another story. Anyway, none of that will harm rubber or vinyl, but since they float on the surface they are temporary. They look shiny for a while and then they wear off or wash off.

The BAD part is that many silicone products also have CLEANERS in them and the cleaners are petroleum based products. The petroleum based products leech into the rubber and vinyl, carried by this roaming silicone, and then eventually dries up and evaporates. This dries up the rubber and vinyl causing it to crak and become damaged. Hence the ralationship with ArmourAll and other silicone products doing damage to the vinyl. It's not the silicone, persee, it's the mix with the petro products.

Technically, the safest products to use are WATER based products. Vinylex and 303 Aerospace are examples of these. Someone mentioned UV protection, 303 has the highest UV protection of all of these.

303, however, is more of an interior-use product because of lower durability. But has a great matte finish. Vinylex is a tad more glossy, but not fake shiny."

So, my memory isn't completely zapped, but a little info in the wrong hands can be a dangerous thing, LOL.

Vinylex on, dude,
Tatt

 

You can get a pressure washer for about $200 canadian, or mine was anyway. I am pretty sure you can get away with it using your garden hose with a nozzle gthat ives some pressure by making a smaller hole. As for the degreaser, at work I have a product from Car Brite, I am not sure if it is available in where you are located. Although, I am sure any brand of degreaser that is automotive should be safe. Otherwise get a can of Gunk which is in an aersol can and is label engine cleaner/degreaser.

 

Tatt, do you think 3 gal. of Vinylex is enough?

 

String,

I hope you meant to remove the towel that is blocking the intake BEFORE you start and idle the car??

Otherwise great writeup!

 

I second that question.

 

Hmmm.... is that why I can't start the car?




Fixed it in the write-up. Thanks!

 

LOL, well now, i suppose that depends on what you're gonna DO with it

 

What do you think caused this problem? Is it covered by the warranty?

 

More pictures

 

In this picture:



It looks like there was some scrubbing involved that took off the paint and some of the others seem to have signs of chemical use that stripped the paint. Its definitely worth a try to have the dealer repair it but they may say it was caused by improper maintenance.

How old is the car?

 

The car is a 2003 MCS