How To: Engine Detailing with Video

MDetail

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The last month I have been reviving my 2006 Acura TSX and I was looking to do a video. I decided that I should take care of the engine bay since I haven't done that yet. The engine bay was really in good condition I just wanted to make a video about engine detailing. You don't have to use the same exact products I use, just use something similar.

Time: 45 minutes

Tools
Pump Sprayer (Lowes $7)
Generic Fender Brush
EZ Detail Brush
Swissvax Wheel Brush
Costco Microfiber Towels

[video=youtube_share;dI4abN1wQ1s] - ‪How To: Engine Detail‬‏[/video]


Directions
1. If your car has a hood liner, start cleaning that by grabbing an upholstery cleaner, then giving it a quick scrub. This will help loosen any dirt that might be embedded within the liner.

2. Rinse the hood liner. Might need to run over it twice just to make sure you got the majority of the dirt out.

3. Degrease your engine bay. I work in 1/4 sections of the bay.

4. Agitate the area you are working on. Really take your time here, you want this engine looking fresh.

5. Rinse the area you just cleaned. I do not use water from a hose. All of my rinse water comes from a pump sprayer so that the water is more controlled.

Repeat steps 3-5 on the remaining sections.

6. Blow dry engine. If you don't have access to forced air, move on to step 7.

7. Hand dry the engine bay. The forced air won't get the bay 100% dry, so go in and dry the rest with a microfiber towel.

8. Liberally spray dressing in the engine compartment. Let the dressing sit, we will come back to this.

9. Clean, Polish & Wax painted areas under hood.

10. Remove any excess dressing in the engine bay. With this step, take your time, this is the other step that by taking your time, you will really bring the engine compartment back to the day it came off the factory lines. Wipe down every hose, and get to those hard to reach areas.

11. Clean & Treat all rubber seals.

Enjoy your fresh engine bay!

Here are a few pictures of various engine bay that I have detailed using this exact method.

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Cool video! Love the music too. Very helpful and simple to understand. Eventually I'm going to grow a pair big enough to detail my car's engine bay (it's a bmw).
 
Great video! WHat sprayer and blower is that?

Someone already got you on the blower. The pump sprayer is from Lowes. I checked their website, I didn't see it listed there. Its about $7 if you go to the store though.

Nice job, but you should slow the vid down a tad.

I was trying different things. I figured with the text and seeing the vid people would know what I was doing. Plus I wanted to keep some interest. Even at 800x fast forward the dressing removal from engine bay by hand was 50 seconds long. I thought "how long would people really want to watch me do this?" so I cut most of it out. I tried to keep every sections FF portion under 15seconds each.
 
Love the way a detailed engine looks. But as a mechanic, I just cannot bring myself to do it. Great How To though.
 
Cool video! Love the music too. Very helpful and simple to understand. Eventually I'm going to grow a pair big enough to detail my car's engine bay (it's a bmw).

Not a big deal with a Bimmer... The majority of electronics on them are very secure when it comes to water being introduced...

Just don't hit areas that look sensitive with a stream of water...




Great Job on the vid M!
 
Not a big deal with a Bimmer... The majority of electronics on them are very secure when it comes to water being introduced...

Just don't hit areas that look sensitive with a stream of water...

That's what I've been told so I think I may give it a go today. Wish me luck. :xyxthumbs:
 
Nice video and writeup!

I like the small Metro Sidekick blower for areas like under the hood. I use a leaf blower for everything but I can see myself adding one of those to my collection....:dblthumb2:

They look like brand new!! :props:
 
I like the megs hyper dressing you used. I always see people recommend it, now I see why. Spray and walk away and buff off excess later. I am so use to a dime size dot onto a foam pad and working it into every crevice. I might have to try this stuff.

Are there any hood linner protectants? I tend to use aerosol tire dressing.

One last note, you must spend a lot of money at autogeek. Thanks for the vid!
 
I like the megs hyper dressing you used. I always see people recommend it, now I see why. Spray and walk away and buff off excess later. I am so use to a dime size dot onto a foam pad and working it into every crevice. I might have to try this stuff.

Are there any hood linner protectants? I tend to use aerosol tire dressing.

One last note, you must spend a lot of money at autogeek. Thanks for the vid!

The hood liner is more of an upholstery type material. I thought about spraying the 303 upholstery protectant but never did it. I would have to read the label about fire hazards. I have spent a descent amount of money at AG not nearly as much as some others on this board.
 
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