# Engine Bay Cleanup - Before and Afters



## rcwilson (May 13, 2011)

Hi,

After asking the question before - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=250050

This was my first job yesterday to tackle after reading the advice of members on here. My process was as follows -

1. Start car and open bonnet
2. Lightly hose with hose gun (Didn't feel the need for a power hose)
3. Spray APC (3:1 - Water to Flash with Febreze) 
4. Agitate with small brushes (Valet Pro Brush Set) 
5. Rinse (used as little water as possible on an indirect spray pattern)
6. Spray APC again on areas missed before hand 
7. Agitate with small brushes again
8. Rinse (repeat rinsing as above) 
9. Turn engine off and allow to dry
10. Close bonnet to aid with the drying with the heat from the engine 
11. Spray dressing on and leave to dry ( Simonix Back to Black)
12. Apply and buff Quick Detailer on exposed painted areas (Autosmart Reglaze)

Work in small sections and take your time my advice would be, most of the engine bay here is covered so I was cautious but at the same time quite confident I wouldnt do damage.

I understand there are better products to clean and dress. I haven't got any Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber (303 overpriced and double the price - not double the product IMO) and engine degreaser with a bit more bite to it may help like that of GUNK or the likes. 
The simonix back to black is a silicone dressing but for now will take the bad look off it. I will redo it at a later date.

Pleased with the results

Before -










After -


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Good result with that


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## happypostie (Jul 1, 2009)

good job done . i do my vectra c and have not found the need to keep the engine running . also i just use autosmart finish on the black bits .spray and give it a wipe after a few mins to get any excess off . does a good job and is cheap enough .reglaze is good as i use this as well . this is mine 7 years old and 85 k on it .


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## rcwilson (May 13, 2011)

The Mini Dooper has 41k and is 4 years old, was gonna buy some Autosmart Finish but its the same money as Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber. How do they compare??


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## happypostie (Jul 1, 2009)

rcwilson said:


> The Mini Dooper has 41k and is 4 years old, was gonna buy some Autosmart Finish but its the same money as Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber. How do they compare??


im sure if your using a autosmart rep then it will be a lot cheaper than the ag one . imo they are as good as each other , did you the ag one before i got the other .


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

Great result there mate. 
APC is such a good/cheap product to use under the bonnet it's all I ever use on engines which are not caked in grease.


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## stnilsson (Feb 23, 2012)

The first pictures are from when I bought the car from italy.
I then painted the soundproving bit at the end of the compartment
and the I used Megs engine dressing did not really like it, it was messy
to work with and hard to control

The result was ok but next time i´m going to use some other stuff


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## corsa_carl (Dec 1, 2011)

great job done  im still worried about cleaning my engine bay up using a hose or pw, by hand wont be good enough due to it needing serious degreasing and after all the winter weather it needs all the salts and road debris removing


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## Strothow (Oct 29, 2009)

Nice work.

Carl, Corsa C is pretty safe tbh mate, just don't blast electrics


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

*Nice one...*:thumb:

I always meant to do a cleaning thread on the polo as it had never been done however having gone to change the temp sensor on the coolant on the polo.

While the Air box was off i had to do all the bay with trigger spray G101 at 10 to 1 cheap envy style brush and a pump sprayer for rinsing.

Dressed with Neat Pearl... dont know how long that will last on the polo but still holding up on the rover with its under tray for 8 months.

even waxed under the bonnet....:lol:


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