When it comes to cleaning a car’s engine, many people are scared by the thought of cleaning it themselves.
Due to the many electric components and other moving parts that make up a car engine, the thought of detailing the motor makes most of us just leave it to become dusty and dirty.
The good news is that despite all the bad information, car engine cleaning is one of the easiest jobs in the area of auto detailing in general! A few simple steps will go far when it comes to engine bay cleaning.
Car engine's today are not the car engines of yesterday. If you look at your engine you will notice a few critical factors that actually make car engine cleaning and detailing safer and easier than ever:
Much of the engine is covered in plastic shrouding.
Electric connectors are fully protected with sturdy plastic housings and assembled using moisture protecting grease.
Electronic ignitions mean the elimination of traditional distributors and carburettors.
Alternators remain as the only sensitive area with the appearance of exposed wires, etc.
The good news is that any modern day car engine (referring to any car engine within the last 20 years) is well protected from water, dirt, and other harmful elements of car ownership in the real world. The alternator is about the only thing any lay person can identify that would represent some form of risk, and the good news is that alternators represent no risk from direct contact with water.
The good news is that for most of your car engine cleaning it is more about superficial dirt and oil. The days of thick, heavy grease on your car engine is mostly a thing of the past, and any car detailing tasks will be mostly about day to day dirt and grime that will build up in the engine bay over time.
WHAT IS THE SAFEST METHOD FOR CLEANING AN ENGINE
Spray engine with degreaser; a cool to warm engine is preferred. An overly hot engine is not recommended as your engine cleaner will dry too quickly.
Keep chamois or micro-fibre handy to wipe off any over-spray from car paint; or, apply a layer of car wax to painted areas surrounding engine bay prior to spraying any engine cleaner to engine.
Manually agitate excessively dirty areas of car engine and engine bay area with brush for a really clean car engine!
Wash off with water either under normal household water pressure from garden hose, electric pressure washer.
Don't over-saturate car engine with water pressure. Use enough to do the job and apply caution to protected areas such as fuse boxes.
Blow excess water from engine bay with leaf blower, or pressurized air.
Start engine and allow engine to raise to normal operating temperatures for complete and thorough drying of all engine components; also switch the AC on so compressor engages and runs while engine is running. This only takes about 5 minutes of operating time.
Apply aerosol engine dressing shown below if desired
for shiny appearance after engine is allowed to cool. This is what is going to make your clean car engine really pop!