[HOW TO] Detail your Engine - Make it look like the day you bought it.

[Fit 4 JeLLie]

Alright so I was washing my car the other day, and wanted to give the engine that "off the lot" look. Here's the run down, and how things went.

Items Used:
Greased Lightning 4:1 in a Hot Wheels Foaming Spray Bottle
Water in Walmart Bottle
Megs Hyper Dressing 3:1 in a Walmart Bottle
Megs Last Touch Detail Spray 1:1
Wheel/Tire Brush
Toothbrush
Walmart Paint Brush
Microfiber


Time Spent: 30minutes

1. Some people like to work with a warm engine, but I have no problem working with a cool engine. Either way works, for me, its more the time you spend / effort put into the project.

2. If you have bad aim, line your surrounding car body parts with plastic. Then spray degreaser around your engine.

3. As you are letting the degreaser set work on the bottom of your hood, and top of the bumper. Use your detail spray to get that grime off the bottom of the hood and top of your bumper. Here is some of my progression.


4. Go back to your engine, and work by sections. Agitate the degreaser you already sprayed. Clean it with water, then respray if necessary. I use the toothbrush and paintbrush for hard to reach areas. I use the Tire brush for the easy to reach areas, and a microfiber with soap/water as round 2 to the tire brush.

5. Once you have finished cleaning all the areas of your engine bay, make sure you rinse it with H20 in a spray bottle. (I never use the water hose to rinse the engine.) Let the engine dry.

6. Make sure your engine has cooled down. Spray your diluted Hyper Dressing liberally in the engine compartment. I found that Hyper dressing 3:1 gives you that OEM clean look. (I can't remember waht goes first, product or water, but I use 3 parts water 1 part Megs HD.)

7. Let the HD set for 3-5 Minutes. Come back and wipe it down with a microfiber towel.

8. Enjoy

Before:






Cleaned:






Dressed:






My 59cent secret brush.

[Kyle is raaddd]

nice write up

[Fit 4 JeLLie]

I am going to try to make a more in-depth post, especially since this is Fit specific. but for now here is a small break down of what it will cost you to complete this project if you don't have ANY detailing supplies. You can't buy the exact amount you will need for 1 detail so all of this stuff purchased can be used for other parts of the car, but if you use it for engine details only, you should be able to get more than 10 details out of everything I have listed. I have taken out the unnecessary items that you might be able to replace with regular household items.

Greased Lightning 4:1 - 1 Gal (more than enough) is about $6
Walmart Bottle x2 - .97 each
Megs Hyper Dressing 3:1 - 32oz (more than enough) $10
Megs Last Touch Detail Spray 1:1 - 32oz $8
Toothbrush - old toothbrush FREE
Walmart Paint Brush - .59
Microfiber Towels - About $5 will get you 8 at Walmart (you don't need premium towels for the engine bay)

TOTAL - Around $30 (don't forget all of this product will last you a long time)

For the people who want to know where to get the detail spray and hyper dressing I get most of my detailing supplies here:
Auto Detailing Supplies

They have cheaper prices and I just like to stick to one place. Shipping has been fast, and customer service top notch (they replaced and item that was damaged after one use) You can replace items I have mentioned with similar products that do the same job. Good luck with your future details!

[bradthreee]

Great write up but the only thing I would add is to cover all electrical connectors with plastic before applying any liquid cleaners to the engine bay or spraying it down with water.
Just my 2 cents