ENGINE BAY CLEANING

[Beautiful South Martin 24]

I stopped my valeter steam cleaning engines over a year ago after a very costly fix on a 1.6 TDi Skoda Fabia got water into it.  Just wondering what everyone is doing now in so far as making the engine bay presentable, any special products out there that do a safe job?

 

[Stalker 180]

Pay yer money and take yer chances, just a quick scoot over the engine bay usually does the trick.

No need for a deep cleanse, and knowledge on where tot to go crazy with the lance is a valuable asset.

[New year revolutions...... 197]

i havent steamed cleaned an engine bay since 1997 and that was a ford that went t*ts

milk from autoshine on the placky bits

might carefully wash the inner wings with a well placed hose pipe

 

[MarkTVS 209]

Quick soak with tfr then quick rinse with a pressure washer does it for us, we do 5/10 a week and rarely have issues.

[Mark101 536]

16 minutes ago, MarkTVS said:

Quick soak with tfr then quick rinse with a pressure washer does it for us, we do 5/10 a week and rarely have issues.

+1

Avoid ECU, Coil Packs or electrics in general but people really do buy into a clean engine and bay.

[MarkTVS 209]

24 minutes ago, Mark101 said:

+1

Avoid ECU, Coil Packs or electrics in general but people really do buy into a clean engine and bay.

It’s one of the things you can’t really win with, sometimes we get the question, “why has the engine been cleaned, is it to hide anything?” 
yet it we don’t clean them customers comment on how dirty it is

[Anglo9 26]

3 hours ago, MarkTVS said:

Quick soak with tfr then quick rinse with a pressure washer does it for us, we do 5/10 a week and rarely have issues.

+2 then spray with Plasticote ( I guess thats the same as 'Milk')

[BHM 994]

3 hours ago, Mark101 said:

+1

Avoid ECU, Coil Packs or electrics in general but people really do buy into a clean engine and bay.

Most definitely! The number of people who lift the bonnet, see it beautifully presented (usually better than the bodywork tbh) & then declare the engine perfect is a surprise. 

I pressure wash every engine bay, usually when hot & running, then finish off with Finish. However I know what not to spray the water at. 

Only ever had one problem & that was just in January on an Alfa 159. Parked up afterwards for a month, found to be in limp mode, found to be the engine fan had seized - full of water. 

[Mark101 536]

56 minutes ago, BHM said:

Most definitely! The number of people who lift the bonnet, see it beautifully presented (usually better than the bodywork tbh) & then declare the engine perfect is a surprise. 

I pressure wash every engine bay, usually when hot & running, then finish off with Finish. However I know what not to spray the water at. 

Only ever had one problem & that was just in January on an Alfa 159. Parked up afterwards for a month, found to be in limp mode, found to be the engine fan had seized - full of water. 

My valet likes Finish, I prefer WD40 so we use both

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Mark101

[JA Trader 58]

11 hours ago, Mark101 said:

My valet likes Finish, I prefer WD40 so we use both

 

I presume we aren't talking about the dishwasher tablets ?

[Mark101 536]

7 minutes ago, JA Trader said:

I presume we aren't talking about the dishwasher tablets ?

[JA Trader 58]

3 minutes ago, Mark101 said:

In all seriousness Finish ?

[Mark101 536]

2 minutes ago, JA Trader said:

In all seriousness Finish ?

AutoSmart Finish. I imagine it is the same as that "Milk" mentioned earlier and it looks like Milk.

[JA Trader 58]

5 minutes ago, Mark101 said:

AutoSmart Finish. I imagine it is the same as that "Milk" mentioned earlier and it looks like Milk.

Thanks another thing onto the shopping list.

Does it work well with tyres as well ???

Edited March 13, 2020 by JA Trader

[Mark101 536]

2 minutes ago, JA Trader said:

Thanks another thing onto the shopping list.

Does it work well with tyres as well ???

No, good for plastics but you need Hi-Style for the tyres. Nothing I have tried comes close.

[JA Trader 58]

2 minutes ago, Mark101 said:

No, good for plastics but you need Hi-Style for the tyres. Nothing I have tried comes close.

You on commission for autosmart ?

[Mark101 536]

3 minutes ago, JA Trader said:

You on commission for autosmart ?

I should be. I really rate the products to be fair. I can't be arsed with getting Windowlene (one for the older boys there) from place a, tyre shine from place b, wash n wax from c etc just because one is slightly better/cheaper/whatever. They come to me once a fortnight and replenish stocks.

[Halfpenny 114]

Most modern car engines are well sealed against water so long as you don't go mad with the pressure, that is with the exception of the alternator. So avoid washing the alternator.

We have a valeter and my instructions to him are low pressure wash on cold or slightly warm engine (never wash hot engine). Then blow off excess water with airline. Then start engine and run (with A/C on) for 5 minutes to dry off. Let it cool down a bit and then apply some engine dressing.

Had a bad experience with a washed engine a few years ago. I had a hospital appointment. Someone was using my car so grabbed the keys to an Alfa that had just been valeted. Drove about 4 miles into town with no problem.  Arrived at the busiest junction in town. Cars all around me. Alfa starts missing and cuts out right when I am in the centre lane in the middle of the junction. Bloody nightmare getting it to the kerb. Nobody helping just blowing horns.  Seems water had got blasted under engine cover onto coils. Let it dry out and it was OK. Missed my appointment though.

[MattR 177]

I dont clean the engine bay. If they ask to look at the engine, I explain when I'm popping the bonnet (and theyre taking a minute to find the latch to open it) that I don't believe in mixing water/steam and electrics. Rarely is anyone bothered. I Had one punter ask me to get it cleaned before he picked it up a couple of days later, so I asked my valeter to wipe it over, which he did. The punter didnt even check when he collected.....

[JA Trader 58]

32 minutes ago, MattR said:

I dont clean the engine bay. If they ask to look at the engine, I explain when I'm popping the bonnet (and theyre taking a minute to find the latch to open it) that I don't believe in mixing water/steam and electrics. Rarely is anyone bothered. I Had one punter ask me to get it cleaned before he picked it up a couple of days later, so I asked my valeter to wipe it over, which he did. The punter didnt even check when he collected.....

I am torn with this exact argument.

I used to detail engine bays spend ages doing it all up until one day a punter walked away because the engine bay was to clean and thought i was hiding something.

[justina3 518]

2 hours ago, Mark101 said:

I should be. I really rate the products to be fair. I can't be arsed with getting Windowlene (one for the older boys there) from place a, tyre shine from place b, wash n wax from c etc just because one is slightly better/cheaper/whatever. They come to me once a fortnight and replenish stocks.

Next time the van is around you might want to try Kril for engine dressing it works better with the heat finish tends to water down to much. 

[BHM 994]

9 hours ago, Mark101 said:

No, good for plastics but you need Hi-Style for the tyres. Nothing I have tried comes close.

One size fits all here for my gems. I use Finish for everything. Inside, outside, wheelarches, tyres & under the bonnet. Tbh it’s bloody good stuff & really does finish off the cars (pardon the pun).

More than half of my cars go to the valeter but the rest (the quick & easy ones) I do myself.

[have a word with the wife 299]

11 minutes ago, BHM said:

One size fits all here for my gems. I use Finish for everything. Inside, outside, wheelarches, tyres & under the bonnet. Tbh it’s bloody good stuff & really does finish off the cars (pardon the pun).

 

Agreed, up down inside, everywhere 

 

22 hours ago, Mark101 said:

My valet likes Finish, I prefer WD40 so we use both

 

compare the cost per 5 litres, bearing in mind you mix 50 50 finish with water then your seriously overspending on wd40

Edited March 13, 2020 by have a word with the wife

[D&M 66]

On 3/13/2020 at 9:45 AM, Mark101 said:

No, good for plastics but you need Hi-Style for the tyres. Nothing I have tried comes close.

Try Fusion.

Neat for tyres and external trim, 50:50 for interior dressing.

[BHM 994]

On 3/13/2020 at 7:43 PM, have a word with the wife said:

compare the cost per 5 litres, bearing in mind you mix 50 50 finish with water then your seriously overspending on wd40

How much do you pay for Finish? I buy a 25ltr drum at a time & was recently charged £100+VAT which was more than usual. It was a different lad on the van & admittedly that’s all I buy from them though.