hi all,

want to clean my engine bay as it's tatty and dirty. what cleaning product do you recommend? elbow grease? Must clean the plastic of say, the airbox and intake, as well as the inlet manifold etc and TMIC, an all rounder really.

cheers

 

I did my old golf a while back and just used some cheap turtle wax car cleaning shampoo and wax. Once cleaned i wiped it all aff dry then used some cheap tesco back to black spray for all the plastics. Worked a treat. The back to black stuff is a spray thats more like wd40, rather than the thick paste back to black. Worked well though

 

I use Autoglym engine and machine degreaser first to get rid of as much oily residue and dirt, and then go over with Autoglym Bumper care but fine on hard plastics, also use Autoglym Vinyl/ rubber care for things like the hose pipes.

 

Take a look at this thread on South East Scoobies - Scott aka Silver Surfer just did his with basic kit:
http://www.southeastscoobies.co.uk/v...ead.php?t=7782

 

Im not too sure about jetwashing the engine bay tbh.

 

just use wd40 with a tooth brush on intake manifold,works really well also on plasic and metal parts of engine bay,i could not believe how well it got the **** off my red manifold.

 

use hot water and whatever you use to wash your dishes...washing up liquid is a very good de greaser......but search on here for SwissTony's car cleaning guide, its very good....

 

As nice as a clean engine bay is I don't clean mine. If you show your car and have the bonnet open a fair bit then fair play but the only time mine is open is when I'm checking it or it's at the garage.

When I'm looking at a car to buy it's nice to see a layer of dirt, it takes a while to accumulate the dirt so you can see that it's all original and accident free.

 

Start engine and allow to idle for a minute.
Switch off and cover alternator, fusebox and intercooler.
Apply APC diluted 4 parts water to 1 part APC if the engine is really dirty
10:1 for a previously cleaned bay
Allow to dwell for a few minutes.
Agitate with a selection of brushes.
Rinse off with a low pressure hose.
Repeat as necessary.
Mop up excess water with microfibre cloth.
Lower bonnet and start engine.
Allow to idle for 15 mins
Lift bonnet then apply dressing ( NOT WD40, this is a lubricating spray, not a dressing for plastics. It attracts and holds dust).
Drop bonnet.
Drive for 15 mins to allow dressing to harden.
When engine has cooled, wipe any excess dressing off with a clean microfibre
Once done like this its easy to keep on top of.

 

I was too scared of engine bay cleaner and jet washer after loads of problems I caused on my gsi cavalier.

A lot of elbow grease and patience.

I found motorcycle wheel cleaner for the tough stuff, didn't really like using that and moved on to tcut for the paint work and metal.