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Interior Cleaning and First Time Engine Bay Cleaning


stalebreadjr

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So, I've been on the forums for a couple months now.  Slowly building my Adams detailing gear and materials.  I posted in the newbie forum ("new to this game")and had some great discussion.  Before I go any further I do want to say thanks to @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin @falcaineer @RayS and many others on the forum for being so helpful and responsive.  @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin provided a very detailed write up on my post that I would say anyone should read, detailing steps for Exterior prep and Ceramic Spray Coating.  Thanks all!

 

For this thread, I will be focusing on the Engine Bay and Interior steps that I have taken so far on my full detail.  I will be completing the exterior and Ceramic coating later on this week (after the rain blows through)

 

I was very hesitant to even attempt the engine bay cleaning but I did a ton of research, talked with forum members and watched Adam's videos over and over and came up with my plan.

 

Here is what I used:

Engine Bay:

  • Eco APC
  • VRT "milk" (my ratio was 30% VRT/ 70% distilled water)
  • Block Applicator
  • Lug Nut Brush
  • Wheel Brush
  • Oil-Less Air Compressor
  • Adam's Step Ladder (I'm short, so this makes my life easier :D )

 

As I said, I was a little skiddish to try this but I just used common sense and followed the videos that I had seen describing methodology.  I started here on the engine bay because I knew I would get the truck wet in the process and figured I would have overspray.  So why not start here and work outward.  Here is a video that I like of Adam demonstrating.

 

I first removed all leaves and debris from the bay.  I set my water hose on the "Flat" setting which gave me a light mist of water but it was forceful enough to move dirt while not dumping a ton of water on my engine and components.  I chose not to use my pressure washer mainly because I wanted more control of what I was doing.  I sprayed all the loose dirt that I could see off.  I then soaked the bay with the Eco APC.  Using my soft wheel brush I agitated all of that and followed up with my Lug Nut brush on all the spots that I could not reach without banging the brush around on stuff.  Using the "Flat" water hose I then rinsed off all the APC.  I followed up with my air compressor and blew out as much water as I could.  It was not COMPLETELY dry but it was not standing water on any of the engine bay.  From this point I sprayed the VRT "milk" over the entire engine and closed down the hood.  I went on about my business and started cleaning the interior of the vehicle and mats and such (detailed below).  Once I was done with the interior I opened the hood back up and used the block applicator to knock down the wet shine or places where there was more product than I personally wanted.  In the spots I missed I used the block applicator to apply there.  Here are the before and after pics of the engine bay.

 

Engine_Bay_Tools.jpg.a249e9c31eac16c870279addfaec8c1b.jpg

Engine_Bay_Before.jpg.2ef6827423afafa4ddf7711c4f29e0bc.jpgEngine_Bay_After.jpg.e18262773448fd8fcae6e13611132aee.jpg

 

So, while that was marinating, I moved on to the interior of the vehicle.  Below are the materials that I used:

Interior:

  • Leather and Interior Foam Cleaner
  • Interior Detailer
  • Glass Cleaner
  • Tire and Rubber Cleaner
  • Tire Brush
  • Leather Conditioner
  • Microfiber towels
  • Vacuum Cleaner w/ attachments

I started here by removing all the Rubber floor mats from the truck.  I also removed any and all pieces inside that would make them easier to clean.  I have several coin holder type rubber inserts in my truck and they are all removable.  I also pull all of my headrests off the seats to make the glass in the back of the truck easier to reach and also make them easier to dress at the later stages.

 

So, I saw this video of Adam doing a winterization on a SUV in a public, pull up, pressure washer bay.  In this video he had a tip to take out any rubber mats and hang them up on the wall using their clamps and spray them down with TRC.  Then use the Tire Brush to really scrub them down.  So I "RE'd" something of the sort here at my house and did just that.  A good spray off with the water hose and then soaked with TRC and scrubbed with the Tire Brush.  Then I hung them up and let them soak while I worked on the interior. 

Video:

I stated with a thorough vacuum of the entire truck.  I used to not do this part first but I found that I kick up dust doing this as a last step and end up with dust on my interior pieces after they have been wiped down.  So after a thorough vacuum of the carpet, I moved on to cleaning all of the glass in the vehicle.  I tried both types of glass cleaner that Adams has and I think I like the Green Spray bottle the best.  I can get a real fine mist with a full pull of the trigger where the can gives me a wide foam spray.  Next I moved on to cleaning my leather seats and any other heavily soiled parts of the interior of the truck.  I used the Leather and Interior Foam Cleaner and a microfiber towel and it worked great.  I did want to try the Interior Detailer (got both of these in a Mystery Bucket BTW) so I grabbed a second microfiber and used that on all my plastic pieces in the truck.  It also worked very well.  I controlled both of these products by introducing them into the MF towel and then wiping on to the desired surface.  After cleaning, I then went on to the Leather conditioner and wiped down all the leather in the truck.  This is where having the headrest removed also helped.  I could really get all the way to where the leather ended at all parts of the truck without smearing on the glass or other surfaces.  I could also hold the headrest in my hand and use the conditioner outside of the vehicle.  Now I moved back to my Rubber floor mats.  I hosed them off thoroughly and hung them back on the rack to dry.  It was at this point that I moved back to the engine bay cleaning as mentioned above to visit and assess the shine of the VRT "milk".  Here are some pics!

BEFORE

Interior_Products.jpg.92a2231acbe8d4961133b837a1352696.jpgInterior_Before_2.jpg.83cb5391dad2e50e13a40bea6c3323b9.jpgInterior_Before_1.jpg.9a6afa6c4b8845ee41467664b246a2ad.jpgMats_Before.jpg.8e334e5a173a401a000681d25f344168.jpg

Mats_During.jpg.98d44e79a9c913492abf5fb802079990.jpgInterior_After_1.jpg.b4e40fda35b036910df353ae057499c9.jpgInterior_After_2.jpg.5bfe5f06c7caa65b52011d1ace930a49.jpgInterior_After_3.jpg.e52dc9537d3fa9a7ea3ba375185e1e0a.jpgInterior_After_4.jpg.cb3d62063e1f98773ffd576c58409c41.jpg

 

 

All in all, I am very pleased so far with the ease of use of all these products, especially for the shade tree novice like myself.  I'll be taking pictures and posting about my exterior process and coating soon.  Thanks again y'all!

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AWESOME write-up and great job. The engine compartment and interior look great.

 

Hmmm, I have a bunch of those pants hangars too. Thanks for the idea.

 

I was also wondering earlier today if I could dilute the VRT for that exact same purpose. Thanks for the confirmation.

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6 minutes ago, SgtLip said:

AWESOME write-up and great job. The engine compartment and interior look great.

 

Hmmm, I have a bunch of those pants hangars too. Thanks for the idea.

 

I was also wondering earlier today if I could dilute the VRT for that exact same purpose. Thanks for the confirmation.

Thanks Donald!  I got the dilution ratio from that embedded video.  I have seen some different ratios used throughout the forum so I'm sure you get different results based on what you like.  Glad my post can help someone!

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Matt, Great write up! Great job on both your interior and engine bay!

 

I think one of the special things about detailing is how you can take something that looks good and make it museum worthy. Like your interior - looked pretty good to begin with, then you take a few quality products and some time and effort, and it looks like it's been untouched!

 

How do you feel after all that? and excited to see your pics for your exterior!

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Thanks @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin!  I appreciate the kind words.  I have always tried to keep my vehicles in as good a shape as possible.  I typically buy new, so it really is up to me, I can't use the excuse that someone owned it before me :D .  My truck is 3yrs old now, and I plan to keep it looking the same.  

 

4 hours ago, Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin said:

How do you feel after all that? and excited to see your pics for your exterior!

 

Very satisfied!  The uncertainty of the engine bay cleaning was on my mind for sure, but after it was done, I was very satisfied and happy that I trusted the experts on this one.  I really just took my time and didn't try to rush anything.  I'm sure I will tweak some things the next time I do it but that is exactly why I wanted to document what I did.  

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3 minutes ago, stalebreadjr said:

Thanks @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin!  I appreciate the kind words.  I have always tried to keep my vehicles in as good a shape as possible.  I typically buy new, so it really is up to me, I can't use the excuse that someone owned it before me :D .  My truck is 3yrs old now, and I plan to keep it looking the same.  

 

 

Very satisfied!  The uncertainty of the engine bay cleaning was on my mind for sure, but after it was done, I was very satisfied and happy that I trusted the experts on this one.  I really just took my time and didn't try to rush anything.  I'm sure I will tweak some things the next time I do it but that is exactly why I wanted to document what I did.  

 

And like I said earlier, they turned out great.

 

FYI, I was sort of afraid to wash the engine compartment as well. I saw where Adam said in a video that using the Pressure Washer was best as the fine mist of water was better than the deluge from the water hose. So I pressure washed mine. It too came out pretty nice. 

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1 minute ago, SgtLip said:

So I pressure washed mine. It too came out pretty nice. 

Did you take any pics?  I'm interested to see!

 

I thought about the pressure washer but I have a multi sprayer hose that had a very similar stream with a lot less pressure so I opted for that option.

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3 hours ago, stalebreadjr said:

Did you take any pics?  I'm interested to see!

 

I thought about the pressure washer but I have a multi sprayer hose that had a very similar stream with a lot less pressure so I opted for that option.

 

No, I thought I had but didn't. I have pictures of the completed exterior after the detail but not the engine compartment. I didn't clean the interior as it was already in good shape. And now I've traded the Subaru so I don't even have it any more to take a picture.

 

My detail was a little different than others as I had a complete color change vinyl wrap on the car. So there wasn't any paint correction or swirl removal, clay bar or anything fancy. Most of the car already had a Ceramic coating applied but I had to put some new vinyl on the front bumper and had to coat that.

 

Your's turned out real nice.

 

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@stalebreadjr Great job on the engine bay and interior Matt.  I appreciate the time to do the detailed write up since it gives all of us an opportunity to see how others are doing things and pick up a new method or two.  I absolutely love your Floor Mat Rack and hadn't thought of using the plastic wardrobe hangers for holding them, great idea.

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36 minutes ago, RayS said:

@stalebreadjr Great job on the engine bay and interior Matt.  I appreciate the time to do the detailed write up since it gives all of us an opportunity to see how others are doing things and pick up a new method or two.

Thanks Ray!  I enjoyed documenting it and hope that it was a good read.  Looking forward to the exterior now!

37 minutes ago, RayS said:

I absolutely love your Floor Mat Rack and hadn't thought of using the plastic wardrobe hangers for holding them, great idea.

:D thanks....who knows....there may be an Adam's Brand Floor Mat Rack spawn out of this LOL!

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