How To: Detail Your Engine Like a Professional

Just curious how often do you guys wash your cars at work?

I would be "testing products" all the time :)
 
I have a 2012 Chevrolet cruze and im in need to detailmy engine. Ive considered all the points nick pointed out for components to cover, but what I was wondering if anyone has the same car I do and has done this task already. I know cleaning an engine is safe as long as you do it right. Just not sure about doing it on my cruze. Im afraid I wont cover up everything I need to and something gets wet that isn't suppose to. The engine has a light to moderate layer of road dust and I hate looking at it all the time. So any ideas and suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
Detailed write up!!! As a 12 volt tech tho I would NEVER recommend cover an alternator with aluminum foil! Its very possible the cover over the battery wire is gone or never had one to begin with and would great a short.
 
Unfortunately, I do not have any "before" photos, but you can imagine what almost fifteen years of dirt and grime would look like.

The engine compartment and inside of the engine lid were the usual oily dirt. Not all that bad because it does stop corrosion, but since this is a summer vehicle and toy like my motorcycles, I like to keep them squeaky clean.

The degreaser I've used since 1986 is made by Swish and previously went under the name Indo 505 and now AT30. Its a water based degreaser that cannot be beat. I came across it when I was a flight instructor at a flying club and we all know how oily the underbellies of training aircraft can get.

Swish%20Facto%20AT30.jpg



I'm not one for using those products that leave the engine looking oily and shiny like those used car lots do. You can't tell if the engine just looks clean or if it actually is.


A preliminary cleaning after a few applications of AT30 using a toothbrush and paintbrush...
Engine%20Compartment%204-XL.jpg




I really went at it when I replaced my ignition leads and decided to remove most engine components in the process. All removed engine components were cleaned in the process as well.

Bare%20Engine%20Compartment-XL.jpg



IMG_0639-XL.jpg
 
Lot´s of info!!! great finish by the way. like I do High Pressure washing jobs also. I have my Portable Hotsy Hot watter P.W

I do a quick blow with the Handblower, the the foil, Pre-spray with my degreaser of choice using my engine degreaser gun at 100psi

Do a nice pass or two. then work with my Hotsy, on Steam mode to get all that mess out.

Final rinse with low pressure water. Blow the excess water. And give the final touch. with my Air compressor at 45psi, my detailers paint gun & my dressing of choice!!

Soo far no problems at all!!!
 
Not sure if its already been mentioned, theirs a ton of good information here. If I need to cover up certain components I have found that a shower cap works really good and you can reuse it unlike alu foil or saran wrap. Also you should be careful when applying dressings under the hood to avoid the exhaust manifold. If you get dressing on the manifold or anything else that gets really hot it will create smoke. If it puts off enough smoke while the engine is running it can throw a trouble code on the engine.
 
Great , needed a thread like this for my engine bay detailing ! Thanx for posting .
 
Thank you for the write up.
Costco has aluminum pop up sheets (like a Kleenix box) so I was going to cover everything with plastic wrap and secure it with pieces of foil.
I like your masking tape idea better.

I am a Megs loyalist. But your writeup deserves giving the Detailer line a "thank you" shot.
 
How does the DC trim spray compare to adams in and out spray. Just curious because I have in and out already

Sent from my SPH-L710 using AG Online
 
Great write up.. thanks for the tips

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AG Online
 
Yeah I honestly can't stand not detailing my engine it's like equivalent to not cleaning your rims.
 
old thread revival but i do have some questions that i didnt see come up after skimming through a couple of the pages of this thread.

what do you guys do about not staining driveways? i detailed my engine bay once and did not realise there was a oil leak which dried up on the driveway..since its my driveways it wasnt that big of a deal but is there a way to prevent this? how about environmentalist or people claiming you are polluting the drains etc?
 
specv10 said:
what do you guys do about not staining driveways?
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I wet down my driveway first and then use a commercial grade water-based degreaser such as Swish Facto AT30.

I'll let my garden hose run under the engine area if I am going to be at it for a while.
 
specv10 said:
old thread revival but i do have some questions that i didnt see come up after skimming through a couple of the pages of this thread.

what do you guys do about not staining driveways? i detailed my engine bay once and did not realise there was a oil leak which dried up on the driveway..since its my driveways it wasnt that big of a deal but is there a way to prevent this? how about environmentalist or people claiming you are polluting the drains etc?
Click to expand...

Great question.

Before I detail an engine I usually wet the ground where the vehicle is going to be parked, then thoroughly rinse the ground when I'm finished with the job.
 
Nick@Autogeek said:
Great question.

Before I detail an engine I usually wet the ground where the vehicle is going to be parked, then thoroughly rinse the ground when I'm finished with the job.
Click to expand...

Great idea, and awesome write-up! :) Thanks as always Nick
 
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