I was just wondering if it is safe to use the pressure washers at the car wash to clean the engine bay? If so, what do I need to cover up so I don't damage anything. I know this isn't heavy detailing but I just wanna get some of the old dirt and grime off of it before I take pics for cardomain.

 

I wouldn't reccomend it. It will force water into areas where water shouldnt be. A bottle of simple green, a brush, and a regular garden hose will do the job and not wreck anything.

 

Im seriosuly with the blue guy here..i do car detailing professionally. I refuse to power wash engine bays on customer cars EVEN if requested..offered money..name it..thats not a risk im willing to take. With a very slow flow of water, and takign my time to tape everything up i can regualte exactly whats getting wet and whats not as well. Mucxho safer, check the engine bay thread, i posted in there with a means of cleaning your engine bay i can GUARANTEE you, you wil be happy with
-Brian

 

DON'T use a power washer on the engine bay. I don't even use a hose. I just use cotton towels, water, and degreaser. Metal polish by hand on metal areas.

 

Definitely not. VG/VE/VQs have too many electronic components that could be damaged by a pressure washer.

 

water hose method -

hmmm, i do this all the time ? i guess if these guys say look out dont do it then you should not, i use tin foil and rubber bands and seal up everything electrical. use walmart bag over intake filter and rubber band that. put a floor mat upside down over your intake manifold area, and dont spray water directly on the alternator. you just want to wet the engine down, then spray simple green (100%) or castrol super clean (50/50 mix with water) onto the engine. get to scrubbing like a dog, then spray off. then take some armor all and spray all over the place, and then rub down ( armor all is mainly for plastic and rubber hoses to get them looking like new).

check for water and dry it up in certain areas but this way you shouldnt have anything to worry about, you can do all the IM area after removing the mat, like these guys said, and this is if you are just wanting to do it.

you will need lint free towels, a good scrub brush (a few different size ones makes it better), and much will power !

 

Ive used the local carwash power washer numerous times on many cars ive worked on. Using the powerwash to clean, then scrubing down with simple green, and then rinsing with water yielded good results. I cover up the intake filter and do not spray directly on electronic parts. The only problem I ever had was a high idle on my '96 that went away with a few minutes of driving afterwards.

 

I cleaned the engine in my ford probe with Gung foamy engine brite, and a brush. Turn on the car and let it run for a few minutes to warm up the oily stuff on the engine. Shut off the engine. Spray on the engine brite and let it sit for ten minutes. Scrub if necessary. Since I didn't have access to a garden hose (I lived in an apt.), I just filled up an old ketchup bottle with water. Therefore I can rinse the engine and still be pretty acurate with the water. Also try not to wet any wiring and cover up your cone intake with a plastic bag and a rubber band (if yo have a cone filter). Next, I think this part is necessary. They make a rubber conditioner that re-lubricates the rubber. This is made by a company called CD-2. The engine brite tends to dry the rubber parts out. OKay, spray the CD-2 on the engine. Use more if you want the plastic and really shiny or less if you just want just a satiny finish. Drive around for a while so it can bake in. Open your engine bay, it should look really shiny. This was for my ford probe, but I guess the same things apply. I wouldn't recommend a power wash or steam, because the water will squeeze into parts of the engine where water shouldn't be. And don't dump really cold water on a really hot engine, I've heard of warped heads due to this. I used warm or room temperature water and it worked fine.

 

u dunt wanna stay cleaning a engine with a cotton ball lmao.. for hours get some gung while its cold.then rinse turn on ur engine and rideeeee.

 

First off english helps. Second, he said cotton towels and thats how alot of people do it, including me. And I think you need to read around this forum first before you start giving advice on detailing because ive seen some of your last posts and they are doing nothing but give advice on how make things worse.

 

yeah I prefer to do things the safe way on my customers' cars. I don't want to f*ck anything up and have my profits and reputation ruined.
If that means I have to do everything by hand, that's what I do. I voluntarily do that method on my car, so obviously I don't consider it much of a hassle.