Thread: Engine bay detailing

I've seen too many cars that had a lazy man's detail job done and I decided I'd share another lazy man's truly effective engine detailing method.

If the engine is just coated with a light layer of dust and gunk I either take it to the pressure wash (note -I am not responsible for spraying cracked coils, wires, etc..).
If the pressure wash isn't your ideal method try getting the engine warm, let it cool for 10-30 minutes (in the 85*+ heat of summer no warm up is necessary).
Soak the entire engine compartment with Simple Green.
** If you are running an exposed filter setup wrap it in plastic or simply avoid spraying it.***

Let it soak on the warm engine for up to 1 hr. Take a hose (better with a spray nozzle) and rinse the engine off.

Let it dry off and see if there are any spots you will need to go after with more Simple Green and a rag or brush.
Once this is done and you are still looking for more shine break out some cleaner wax for the painted parts (struts towers, core support, anything painted) and some Armor All wipes (yellow label/lid) for the plastic parts.
If you are looking for a temporary shine and the cleaner wax and wipes are too time consuming then some Mequiars tire shine on a warm (not hot) engine will work. In order to have it turn out it's best I suggest doing this in the evening when you get home and won't be using the car for another 8+ hrs.
This will allow the tire shine to cure and dry up, thus it will not attract dust and grime as fast and easily and will retain the luster longer.
I highly recommend against the tire shine if you do any driving on gravel roads -it only takes 20 seconds on a dry gravel road to ruin your shine, but if you do find yourself in this situation a simple low pressure hose down (no nozzle) will rinse the dust off.

Hope this helps anyone who's wondering how to do an engine bay detailing.
If anyone has anything to add please do so.

Best of luck everyone.

Does the tire foam rid the engine of crud? No it adds to it and very fast. It is a sticky residue that attracts dust and grime and once it sticks, it sticks.
The truly clean engine has no tire shine and is clean so when you start wrenching on something you don't get your tools/hands/clothes dirty.
I get comps all the time on how nice it is to be able to see the engine when I bring my car in for something like a belt change (ever done a belt change on a 92-99 Bonneville -have fun) or a quick oil change when time is short for me. Not to mention the quality of the work is typically better too.

When I did the 00 SSEi this last August I did the above method and the actual time I spent on it was under 15 minutes.
Spray engine (30-45 seconds).
Vacuum interior.
Soak with Simple Green (2 minutes).
Wash windows inside and out.
Rinse engine (1 minute).
Have a beer and play ball with the nephews.
Apply wax and Armor wipes (3-5 minutes).
Fire up the grille for supper.
Wipe off wax (2 minutes).