How to quickly detail your engine bay

[John M.]

This is great! Really helps me out! May I ask though, what about when doing older cars? I have a couple of guys in my town with some old classic cars that Im trying to get as customers, would I need to treat their engines differently? Or when it is a show engine and lots of chrome?

Oh and one more, do you treat the painted areas you dont see normally with anything? After the detail that is, like a cleaner wax?

[Luster]

Originally Posted by John M.

This is great! Really helps me out! May I ask though, what about when doing older cars? I have a couple of guys in my town with some old classic cars that Im trying to get as customers, would I need to treat their engines differently? Or when it is a show engine and lots of chrome?

Oh and one more, do you treat the painted areas you dont see normally with anything? After the detail that is, like a cleaner wax?

With really dirty, greasy older engines I like to use Gunk Foaming Engine Cleaner.

Most restored classic cars have pretty clean engine bays so I still use Todd's method on them.

I don't put anything on the underhood painted areas, just clean and wipe dry.

[th0001]

Originally Posted by John M.

This is great! Really helps me out! May I ask though, what about when doing older cars? I have a couple of guys in my town with some old classic cars that Im trying to get as customers, would I need to treat their engines differently? Or when it is a show engine and lots of chrome?

Oh and one more, do you treat the painted areas you dont see normally with anything? After the detail that is, like a cleaner wax?

Great questions John, let me take them one at a time (so I don't miss anything).

May I ask though, what about when doing older cars?

Doing older cars does repesent some more challanges (depending on the goals of the detail and specific car). In general you will want to be very careful spraying water in the engine compartment as some of the seals and electrical components may have aged or where not that great to begin with. You may choose to avoid running water all together, and instead use something like Meguiars All-Purpose Cleaner and a damp cloth to wipe everything down. Then follow with a second damp cloth and finally a dry cloth.

Or when it is a show engine and lots of chrome?

The good news is that show engines should be pretty clean to begin. Usually using the above method will work. The majority of the time will be spent cleaning the metal parts and waxing the painted parts. You can spend days in an engine bay if the level of detail demands it.

On this Ferrari Boxer BBi, I spent almost a full day on the engine compartment.

Oh and one more, do you treat the painted areas you dont see normally with anything? After the detail that is, like a cleaner wax?

In general yes as it will clean the negelected paint, increase the gloss, and protect it. If it is a concours level detail and my clients want better, I am may machine polish (if I can) the paint, seal, it and wax it. Depends on the goals and the level of the detail.

[RustyBumper]

Hello, amigos. This is a great thread. Thanks for starting this topic, Todd. I used some of the advice I learned from here to work on my engine bay last week and it turned out fairly nice.

I've got a question for you guys. I think I may have gotten in over my head because I asked a friend of mine if I could detail his GMC Envoy to gain more experience and he said yes. Because of his work, he often has to drive to rural areas where there are only dirt roads. I think it's pretty safe to assume that the engine bay is going to be pretty dirty, because of this.
I can't clean the engine here at my house because I'm pretty sure that it would stain the driveway. If it does, I know that my landlord won't be happy about that. He doesn't share my enthusiasm for detailing. My only other option that I see is to go to a car wash and do it there. What do you guys suggest for working on a hot engine? I know to cover up everything as much as possible, but what else should I do or what other cautions should I take?

[Luster]

Originally Posted by RustyBumper

I can't clean the engine here at my house because I'm pretty sure that it would stain the driveway. If it does, I know that my landlord won't be happy about that. He doesn't share my enthusiasm for detailing. My only other option that I see is to go to a car wash and do it there. What do you guys suggest for working on a hot engine?

There are a lot of guys who pressure wash their engines at the car wash with good success. I use the "Todd" method because I don't like water pressure in the engine bay and I don't like working on hot engines.

What I do to prevent staining is to put down, on the driveway, a large flattened cardboard box with an old sheet over it. Then drive the vehicle over that and start cleaning.

What the sheet doesn't soak up, the cardboard will.

If you do have a little spillage to clean up, use cat litter and grind it in with the sole of your shoe.

[RustyBumper]

Awesome!! Thank you, Bill. I've give that a try instead. That will save my a lot of time and some money as well. Hmmm...I wonder if my wife would notice a missing sheet?

[Jokeman]

Ok, time for my lesson to Todd.....wrap the metal on your paint brushes with electrical tape to protect against accidentally scratching the paint under the hood.

[Luster]

Originally Posted by Jokeman

Ok, time for my lesson to Todd.....wrap the metal on your paint brushes with electrical tape to protect against accidentally scratching the paint under the hood.

Good plan! I'm going to do exactly that!