Car Engine Compartment Detailing

The engine bay is the driving force behind your vehicle, figuratively and literally speaking. However, it is also that specific part of your vehicle that is subjected to intense amount of wear over long period of driving. It is therefore important to extend your auto detailing maintenance onto the car engine to keep in top running condition.

You will find out more about how this is performed, along with additional guidelines to keep in mind.

What You Need

Below are some of the materials you need to prepare before detailing your car engine:

• Plastic bag
• Water hose
• Water
• Metal polish
• Engine degreaser
• Wax
• Microfiber towel
• Vinyl protectant
• Wire brush

Prep Work

To get you started, you need to remove the hood first. Then, place either an aluminum foil or plastic bag to protect those areas on the engine that must not be soaked with water, or else it could suffer from mechanical damage. These parts include the distributors, coils, spark plugs, air intakes, among others.

Once you have secured all parts, spray the engine cleaner solution onto the entire engine surface. Make sure you spray onto the underside of the hood, as well. Let the solution soak for several minutes before proceeding onto the actual detailing process.

Auto Engine Detailing

Once the engine cleaner has soaked completely, take a large towel or wash mitt to scrub against the engine and other hard to reach areas for total cleaning. If you can, brush it thoroughly before rinsing it off with a water hose. Focus on removing all the oil and the dirt off the engine to make it seem brand new.

You need to begin from the underside of the hood and slowly work your way down. Avoid using the wide spray pattern since it is not really as effective in cleaning your engine. To enable it to quickly dry up, you can run the engine for a few minutes and the heat that it gives off should be able to dry it up quick enough.

Cleaning the Engine Compartment

Probably one of the biggest puzzles when auto detailing your car engine would be in terms of cleaning the engine compartment. You need to get rid of the oil, grime, and other substances that are left behind. Whether you are planning to resell your vehicle or not, it will boost the overall market value of your car.

You need to do this in an open area where you can let your vehicle park over a metal pan and you have plenty of room to operate. Then, open the car's hood to throw away any solid materials stuck in there. After that, start your car for about three minutes until your car warms up without getting too hot.

You can now turn it off before heading back to the engine compartment. Cover the air intake, ignition modes, battery, and coils with a plastic to avoid damaging your car engine. At this point, you are ready to spray degreaser all over the compartment then immediately wiping it off with a piece of cloth for easy cleaning process. To rinse it off completely, you can use a water hose or compressed water.

Once you remove all the plastic covering, you have completed detailing and maintenance procedure for your engine compartment.