Is this how you clean the engine ?

Pan is pretty good.

Many ways to skin a cat. This works.

Regarding products, over the year I have tried many things. Started with Meguiar's Super Degreaser. Then purchased a concentrated grease cutting liquid locally, and then tried Super Clean and this year I have tried something new... Dawn dish soap in a sprayer bottle diluted 10:1. Dawn did a much better job than anything else I have used in the past. It creates a lot more suds and it cleans better... and it's cheaper. So no need for fancy chemicals for the engine, just plain old dish washing liquid

Also I have seen videos about foaming the engine with a degreaser, if I remember correctly the guy used an orange degreaser from Zep undiluted in a foam cannon. I think this would be very good to do if the engine is filthy with grease and oil. I have not tried it yet but plan to do it if I come across that kinda of engine.

Yep, I’ve done a very similar process many times.

Pan is goes by OrangeV here on Autogeek.

The only thing I cover is my altinator and open intake filter.

I think wrapping up any and all electrical connections is a bit excessive. They are really fairly watertight.

I would not use a pressure washer, although many do... You should never put more water in your engine bay than what normally occurs while driving while it's raining.
The tried and true method I use is here in this article by Nick@McKee's.

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...how-detail-your-engine-like-professional.html

People are always scared to clean their engine bay and are afraid of water getting on parts. What do you think happens when you drive in the rain and hit a huge puddle? Things get wet. However, a little common sense goes a long way. Don't put the turbo tip on your pressure wash and shoot it into your PCM or other electrical components.

Most if not all cars have engine pans underneath for excessive water and dirt to not get into the engine bay. It's a whole other thing to have continuous streams of water coming from the top of the engine. As mentioned some common sense goes a long way but there's always a risk that water will sit somewhere or leak into something that it shouldn't. I once had an older cars starter not work when it got wet when I sprayed the engine bay down and only worked again when it dried out the next day. After that I didn't spray anymore, at least not with a water hose.

You can also use APC then follow behind it with a rinseless or waterless wash with some lesser towels if you don’t want to use the hose.

Not knowing what the agreed upon
“quote” was to perform this task, I
felt compelled to quit the video at the
point where this statement was uttered:

”...not looking for museum quality engine
detailing just looking to improve the looks...
daily driver...not going overboard...”


Bob

I always disconnect the batteries and wait till things dry out before reconnecting. It doesn't take much for water to be in the wrong spot to cause thousands in damage with these electronic vehicles. Yeah it's a hassle reprogramming the radio but a lot cheaper than the alternative. When in doubt disconnect the power.

Dave