im givin my car its monthly interior cleaning inspection, and i have a few questions. While im at it, i figured that i will clean my engine and all else thats under the hood. Before i kill myself or mess my car up, any dos or donts? im not going to be taking things apart and buying new stuff...i just want to make it look nicer...waht should i use on the engine...simply water? any other tips would be helpful

im also wondering what you recommend for cleaning the interior...such as door panels and dash board. tryin to get rid of the dust and waht not...thanks

 

man i would love to cover this but just skip over to the detailing forum and go through a few threads and you will find plenty of info, good luck with it, a dirty engine bay is like eating off a dirty plate, if you cant eat off it, it aint clean !

 

agreed ..........

 

thanks for the help...i guess i should have checked there first...haha

 

im just lazy today, lol !

 

i read the other threads and what not. im still wonderin if there is a way to clean the engine bay with any household supplies...and what should i use on the engine bay? wire brush? sponge?...i tried using a little soap and water on a rag, then a sponge, then a wire brush...but nothing worked

i didnt want to hose it down like iread in another thread cuz i really dont know exactly what to be covering up and waht not...im sure ill end up fryin something ... any hints?

 

use a pressure washer. dont listen to other threads that are like OMG tape it all off your gonna short ur car out..... Been using a 1500 PSI washer for almost a year, and it wont screw anything up. Spray some degreaser all over, and I like to use Spray-Nine ( very good cleaner spray ) if you can find it, it cleans all (including the black skin deposits on all ur interior stuff ) It just owns all dirtyness. Even if it takes some doing to get some, do it. I cant stress how much it has made cleaning my car easier. BTW all the local dealerships use it, and if youve seen some before/after's of the 1993 Mercury Villager i used it on at work you would be converted. but ya rant over, pressure washer

 

i worked at a bmw dealership in the detail department and all they would do is spray on some cleaner and pressure wash the engine.

 

brake cleaner, a rag and a hose will get everything off.

 

For the interior, I use Meguiars products for protecting. I swear by these and wouldn't use anything else. I know some prefer Mother's, it's just a personal preference. For sticky stuff (in the cup holder, plastic trim, etc.), dilute some simple green and it will take it right off. To kill dust, head to a computer store and pick up a spray bottle of EndDust. Spray some on a soft bristle brush (like a small paint brush) and run it over your vents, stereo, AC controls, etc...works like a charm to keep dust away.

 

I've just been using a swiffer cloth to dust my dash, then afterwards I use it to clean all the dirt from my door sills/frames.

 

if you have some time, you could get some sandpaper, meguiars aluminum polish and polish the engine block, the part under the spark plug cover

 

how long would u say that would take? do u have to take something apart or can u do it from where it is? i've wanted to do it, but i figured it could take forever...and i dont wanna get my arm hurtin like crazy sanding that thing down...

 

You mean the valve cover?

I've spent a good 3 hours on mine just hand sanding it, and it looks pretty good. It's not like mirror shiny or anything, but it does look good. It manages to stay pretty clean, too. Just use varying grits of sandpaper and then finish with some aluminum polish.

 

do u have any pics of how it looks?

 

I cleaned my engine block and the valve cover and it took me like half an hour. I used 1200 grit. I think there was a thread about it. Use the "Mirror Finish" sandpaper from 3M and some MAAS metal polish. I used in ROTC on my torches and then I said "What the hell?" so I tried it and it came out pretty good.

 

i mite do this then, i always wanted to, but i thought that i mite have to take things apart. did u get every visible part of it? hard to get to places?

 

Do not use Armorall on the interior of the car, particularly on leather. It will dry it out and crack it over time.

 

buy some engine degreaser...spray it on and rinse of with hose or pressure wassher is prefered

 

Wash the engine bay leave everything the way it is. I took Simple Green foamed the s**t out of it let it sit in, sprayed it all off, waited for it to dry, and got to work. Make sure the engine isn't warmed up or hot then the Simple Green doesn't work. Everything will look nice.

 

Just take the spark plug cover off while you do it, it'll be easier. (4 bolts)

 

This is going to sound stupid but I actually bought that book "Car Hacks and Mods for Dummies" and it talked about this. BTW I bought it because it actually is really good for giving you an all around basic understanding of performance on street cars. I considered myself a semi-seasoned performance mechanic but still picked up a few bits from the book... anyhow, he basically said NOT to use a pressure washer on your engine bay, but to take your time and just use some elbow grease. Now, I'm not sure I agree with it though. Everybody on here seems to have had no problems and I've done it on all of my cars, of course your engine can't be designed to die if it gets a little wet, but they don't expect it to withstand 1200psi of water coming from above either. I say go for it as long as you don't stick the nosel anywhere obviously wrong you should be fine. Need to do this on the GF's car really bad actually...