Quickstep Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Hi everyone. We spend a lot of time cleaning and detailing the exterior and interior of our vehicles but I was wondering about how to clean and detail what’s under the hood as well. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 mc2hill Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 I use pre-mixed Rinseless Wash (at wash strength) in a pump up sprayer, with lots of work MF towels and a few brushes. I use VRT 'milk' (VRT mixed with distilled water at 50/50) as a spray dressing on the plastics, and wipe level with a MF. You can also use In & Out Spray to dress the engine. If the engine is dirty (yours is NOT!), you need APC or Tire & Rubber Cleaner. Quickstep and shane@detailedreflections 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 GXPaycheck Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Check out the Adams video on the subject! Quickstep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Chris@Adams Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Your engine bay is super easy to clean with Our APC and dress with our VRT AND In & Out spray.....Check out the videos. Quickstep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Rich Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 VRT and In and Out is what I use in mine. Brilliant Glaze on the chrome. Quickstep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ZMAN024 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 One area you'll want to avoid getting soaking wet is the sound / heat blanket on the underside of the hood. If you do, you run the risk of it sagging and possibly pulling through those plastic plugs and coming loose, not to mention there is no quick way to dry it. Quickstep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Rich Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Agreed. No need to touch that with anything other than a soft brush unless you get a spot that needs removed. Quickstep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Quickstep Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 Thanks for the great advice. I will definitely check out the videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 falcaineer Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 More good advice in this post/video, namely what to cover, if anything: And one more video, just in case: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Mariner Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 The Eco APC is my favorite to use. It foams up nicely. Quickstep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 VetteDream Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I use the Eco APC, just as in the video. Rinse down, spray with APC, and I use the lug brush in the tight spots. I did not have enough grime to need the wheel brush. Then I rinsed off, and closed the hood while I did the rest of the car. Once it was dry, as others have mentioned, I use VRT and In & Out Spray. On the Vette, you will love how VRT works on the air intake under the hood vent, and how well it works on all of the trim between the windshield and firewall. In & Out spray works great on the throttle body, and around the fuse box. Quickstep 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Quickstep Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 Hey thanks so much. As you can imagine, the thought of spraying water on my vette’s engine is terrifying. Since it’s new it doesn’t really need much yet. I’ll try it out first on my truck and once I gain some experience I’ll eventually do the stingray too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 zw470 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 My former Mustang. I kept up with it enough that all I had to do was wipe everything down with Waterless Wash then apply some VRT/In & Out spray. Eventually I gave up on the dressing step. My wife's Traverse is much more neglected. This was cleaned up with Eco APC and junk towels/brushes, then wiped down with Interior Detailer for a little extra shine. I'm not looking forward to doing my F-150 after this winter alexA5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Quickstep Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 Wow! Looks great. I'm going to try it out on my Nissan Titan this weekend. I'm hoping for results like yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 kaj41354 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 All the advice here on engine cleaning is great and works well on newer vehicle however, in the case of an older vehicle like my 59 Morris the engine bay has a lot of electrical connections. I have had some people tell me that the waters ok since it is no worse than what happens if you drive in the rain or on a wet road but, I wanted to get advice on the best way to clean the engine bay. I am planning to do some repainting of the stuff you see in the picture that needs it but, I still would like to keep it clean. Any advice would be greatly appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 falcaineer Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 27 minutes ago, kaj41354 said: All the advice here on engine cleaning is great and works well on newer vehicle however, in the case of an older vehicle like my 59 Morris the engine bay has a lot of electrical connections. I have had some people tell me that the waters ok since it is no worse than what happens if you drive in the rain or on a wet road but, I wanted to get advice on the best way to clean the engine bay. I am planning to do some repainting of the stuff you see in the picture that needs it but, I still would like to keep it clean. Any advice would be greatly appreciated I don't know for sure, Kurt, but I can guess directly spraying water on non-water tight connections isn't the best idea. I'll defer to others on here. But I will mention that WW (or RW diluted 16:1) and some old towels could be a good alternative. kaj41354 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ZMAN024 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 (edited) The thing you want to watch is spraying water directly on any unprotected electrical connections. It will take some time, but you can mask off those connections with plastic bags and waterproof electrical tape, and that will give you added protection you need to clean the engine bay with APC and water. As falcaineer mentioned above, you can then clean up any of these covered areas with a rag and WW or RW. Edited April 22, 2018 by ZMAN024 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Beemer Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 On 3/5/2018 at 7:30 PM, zw470 said: My wife's Traverse is much more neglected. This was cleaned up with Eco APC and junk towels/brushes, then wiped down with Interior Detailer for a little extra shine. Is there a motor in there? Mariner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 kaj41354 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 3 hours ago, ZMAN024 said: The thing you want to watch is spraying water directly on any unprotected electrical connections. It will take some time, but you can mask off those connections with plastic bags and waterproof electrical tape, and that will give you added protection you need to clean the engine bay with APC and water. As falcaineer mentioned above, you can then clean up any of these covered areas with a rag and WW or RW. Thank you for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Liralen Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 11 hours ago, kaj41354 said: All the advice here on engine cleaning is great and works well on newer vehicle however, in the case of an older vehicle like my 59 Morris the engine bay has a lot of electrical connections. I have had some people tell me that the waters ok since it is no worse than what happens if you drive in the rain or on a wet road but, I wanted to get advice on the best way to clean the engine bay. I am planning to do some repainting of the stuff you see in the picture that needs it but, I still would like to keep it clean. Any advice would be greatly appreciated I have a portable steam cleaner that I can use to get in and treat specific areas without spraying down an entire engine. It is just a store bought one that attaches to my steam mop for the house. kaj41354 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 zw470 Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 9 hours ago, Beemer said: Is there a motor in there? No, only sadness ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 ZMAN024 Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 8 hours ago, zw470 said: No, only sadness ? That's too bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 kaj41354 Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 9 hours ago, Liralen said: I have a portable steam cleaner that I can use to get in and treat specific areas without spraying down an entire engine. It is just a store bought one that attaches to my steam mop for the house. I have a small portable steam cleaner. I will have to give that a try. Thanks for that! Liralen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 davered00ss Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 Diluted simple green rinse, armor all. I haven't tried any adams products under the hood yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Beemer Posted April 25, 2018 Share Posted April 25, 2018 sVRT is SOOOOOOO much better than ArmAll. You gotta ditch that greasy stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Rich Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 In and Out Spray does wonders in the engine bay. And VRT will make that engine bay look new again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Quickstep
Hi everyone. We spend a lot of time cleaning and detailing the exterior and interior of our vehicles but I was wondering about how to clean and detail what’s under the hood as well. Thanks in advance!
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