Cleaning the Engine bay

[lemoncoke]

Hi,
What is the best method to clean the engine bay? Please advise.

Lemoncoke

[OctaneGuy]

I use a good car wash soap, and a body brush, the kind sold to wash your paint, and several sizes of nylon brushes, like the kind used for the wheels.

I cover the alternator and ECU and use a gentle flow of water. I prefer to use a bug sprayer type where you fill container with water, pump several times, then you can use wand to expel water. 1/2 gallon is all you need to rinse and wash engine bay.

I also use Meguiar's APC (All Purpose Cleaner) or Safe D-Greaser to remove oily residue.

Watch the first video on this link to learn more about how to wash your MINI.

http://www.showcargarage.com/

Richard

Quote: Originally Posted by lemoncoke

Hi,
What is the best method to clean the engine bay? Please advise.

Lemoncoke

[*Vikki*]

i take thats your MINI in the video? very nice! great video btw , got some great tips from it!

[OctaneGuy]

Thank you! Yes, that's my MINI. I just bought new wheels, so it looks a little different now with black wheels with polished lip. =)


I took the above photo before I made these MINI covers



Richard

[TOGWT]

Quote: Originally Posted by lemoncoke

Hi,
What is the best method to clean the engine bay? Please advise.

Lemoncoke

Cleaning Methodology:
· I would recommend wearing a pair of Nitrile powder free Micro Textured gloves when cleaning
grease and grime, always protect your hands while working on the engine compartment. Road
grime, tar and grease are very difficult to remove from underneath your fingernails, outside of the
garage your hands shouldn't look like you need lessons in personal grooming
· Remove any excess debris, leaves and etc from the hood, grille or air-vent openings
· Spray electrical connectors with WD40 which repels moisture / water (avoid spraying on belts)
· Use cling-film or Saran wrap elastic covers to cover any sensors, electrical black boxes, electrical devises that could cause an electrical short-circuits if subjected to water spray.
· This will not guarantee that you won’t cause a problem when cleaning an engine bay but it will greatly reduce the risks.
· Start and run the engine to get it warm, not hot, this will enable the de-greaser to work more efficiently on a warm surface.
· Apply an engine de-greaser (Autoglym Engine Cleaner) or a citrus-based general cleaner (P12S Total Auto Wash) by lightly spraying the lower parts of the engine first and then working upwards.
· Enable the cleaner to work by allowing dwell time (but do not allow to completely dry)
· Do not allow the de-greaser to dry or remain on painted surfaces, and be sure to dilute with water before drying with a cloth.
· For heavily soiled areas agitate with a nylon engine cleaning brush and a diluted citrus-based cleaner (P21S® Total Auto Wash)
· When the grease and grime is dissolved and you're ready to remove it, spray with a light (garden type) pressure water hose.
· Use the blower side of a vacuum (avoid area that may be sensitive to a forced air flow) or allow the engine compartment to air dry and then thoroughly wipe down all accessible surfaces and then remove cling-film or aluminium foil.

· When everything is dry apply a vinyl/rubber protectant
to hoses, shields and wires, and wipe engine parts with
CD2 Engine Detailer
· Wipe off any excess with a clean cloth and apply a wax/sealant protection to painted surfaces.

Note- Apply a vinyl dressing to hoses etc (no diethyl silicone fluid based dressings (DS) should be applied in the engine compartment. Use only water based polydimethalsiloxane (PDS) dressings and do not directly spray on to engine parts, spray a cloth and wipe

[SiBradbury]

Quote: Originally Posted by TOGWT

Use cling-film or Saran wrap elastic covers to cover any sensors, electrical black boxes, electrical devises that could cause an electrical short-circuits if subjected to water spray.

Tin foil is sometimes a good alternative to clingfilm as it is easier to shape around stuff!

[PrplPplEtr]

togwt, i'd like to read your post, but the blue type on the black page just makes it a headache to read. i'm sure you have good things to say, why hide them with the difficult color?

[TOGWT]

Cleaning Methodology:
·I would recommend wearing a pair of Nitrile powder free Micro Textured gloves when cleaning
grease and grime, always protect your hands while working on the engine compartment. Road
grime, tar and grease are very difficult to remove from underneath your fingernails, outside of the
garage your hands shouldn't look like you need lessons in personal grooming
·Remove any excess debris, leaves and etc from the hood, grille or air-vent openings
·Spray electrical connectors with WD40 which repels moisture / water (avoid spraying on belts)
·Use cling-film or Saran wrap elastic covers to cover any sensors, electrical black boxes, electrical devises that could cause an electrical short-circuits if subjected to water spray.
·This will not guarantee that you won’t cause a problem when cleaning an engine bay but it will greatly reduce the risks.
·Start and run the engine to get it warm, not hot, this will enable the de-greaser to work more efficiently on a warm surface.
·Apply an engine de-greaser (Autoglym Engine Cleaner) or a citrus-based general cleaner (P12S Total Auto Wash) by lightly spraying the lower parts of the engine first and then working upwards.
·Enable the cleaner to work by allowing dwell time (but do not allow to completely dry)
·Do not allow the de-greaser to dry or remain on painted surfaces, and be sure to dilute with water before drying with a cloth.
·For heavily soiled areas agitate with a nylon engine cleaning brush and a diluted citrus-based cleaner (P21S® Total Auto Wash)
·When the grease and grime is dissolved and you're ready to remove it, spray with a light (garden type) pressure water hose.
·Use the blower side of a vacuum (avoid area that may be sensitive to a forced air flow) or allow the engine compartment to air dry and then thoroughly wipe down all accessible surfaces and then remove cling-film or aluminium foil.

·When everything is dry apply a vinyl/rubber protectant
to hoses, shields and wires, and wipe engine parts with
CD2 Engine Detailer
·Wipe off any excess with a clean cloth and apply a wax/sealant protection to painted surfaces.

Note- Apply a vinyl dressing to hoses etc (no diethyl silicone fluid based dressings (DS) should be applied in the engine compartment. Use only water based polydimethalsiloxane (PDS) dressings and do not directly spray on to engine parts, spray a cloth and wipe

This is black type

[NickG]

Maybe you should read up on website accessibility, and be more considerate of MINI2 members who may not have perfect vision rather than mocking them.

[SiBradbury]

Is there REALLY an arguement brewing over text colour?
Let's all get back to the point of this thread....

Thanks for the post TOGWT despite being like one of those 'magic eye' pics it was very helpful ( i guess it depends which Mini2 Skin you're using deems if it's hard to read or not, i guess you probably cut and pasted it in that colour)

[NickG]

Apologies I forgot about the different MINI2 styles, I thought the TOGWT was being deliberately unhelpful.

TOGWT, you need to post that text into notepad first then copy it into MINI2 that way it will work well with both styles.

"Is there REALLY an argument brewing over text colour?"

If it hadn't been a misunderstanding then I think that deliberately presenting information that is potentially unusable to a significant portion of the population is well worth arguing over.

[SiBradbury]

Quote: Originally Posted by NickG (original)

If it hadn't been a misunderstanding then I think that deliberately presenting information that is potentially unusable to a significant portion of the population is well worth arguing over.

If it wasn't a misunderstanding then he'd surely be doing it on purpose and nobody is that mean!

"Hey everyone, here's loads of useful info for you all! Except you lot with bad eyesite! You deserve a dirty engine bay"

hahahaha!

[TOGWT]

The information is indeed a ‘cut and paste’ from a book (of which I am the © author) with no intent to be unhelpful to those with failing eyesight (which at 60+ includes me) anyone who knows TOGWT will tell you that I post to most of the popular forums with the intent of sharing the knowledge obtained over fifty years of detailing [knowledge unshared is experience wasted] as for being mean I’m far to busy / too old to waste my time.
As you can see I’ve tried ‘blue’ and ‘black’ type so how do I ‘type in a colour that will show up clearly on MINI2’s background?

[Perm]

Just type in white like everyone else....

Perm

[TOGWT]

Quote: Originally Posted by Perm (original)

Just type in white like everyone else....

Perm

The information is indeed a ‘cut and paste’ from a book (of which I am the © author) with no intent to be unhelpful to those with failing eyesight (which at 60+ includes me) anyone who knows TOGWT will tell you that I post to most of the popular forums with the intent of sharing the knowledge obtained over fifty years of detailing [knowledge unshared is experience wasted] as for being mean I’m far to busy / too old to waste my time.
As you can see I’ve tried ‘blue’ and ‘black’ type so how do I ‘type in a colour that will show up clearly on MINI2’s background?