Cleaning inside the engine bay

[AussieMini]

Does anyone clean inside their Mini's engine bay with water? eg Hosing it out, washing with car wash and chamios dry?

Will this affect electronics?

If so, what's the best way to keep under the bonnet clean and looking new?

Yours in Mini

Danny

[cosworth]

Haven't done my MINI yet, but on a few of my other cars, I've used water. What I would do is cover any items under the hood that might be prone to problems if exposed to water, such as carbueretor ( of which your new MINI has none), wiring, ignition parts. Cover any of these items the best you can with Saran wrap or aluminum foil, not easy to do, but neccessary. I would do the ignition wires, and any other wiring you may see where you think you may rinse with water. Use tape, rubber bands, whatever it takes to cover these components. Now, while the engine is COLD, spray it down with "Simple Green". Make sure the motor is cold, otherwise the Simple Green just evaporates off, leaving stains in its wake. If you have stubborn areas of dirt or grime, you can work the Simple Green with a flux brush, or small paint brush. Chop down the bristles short to give more scrubbing power. Once you are satisfied that the compartment is clean to your liking, rinse off the entire compartment with a hose. Use the brush again if you have to, in any tight areas, to get rid of all the Simple Green and dirt. DO NOT spray the compartment with high pressure! You only want to dribble the water over the entire compartment to rinse it. Once done, remove any large amounts of water left in crevices using towels. Now, remove the plastic wrap or foil, and start her up. Run her for 5-10 minutes to evaporate off any other moisture. Take her for a spin if you want. When all the moisture is evaporated, now you can go over the compartment with a good protectant, like Meguiar's Natural Shine on all the plastic and rubber items. Any aluminum bits can be detailed up with Meguiar's Final Inspection or Mother's Detailer.
This has always worked well for me, but, I too, welcome any other secrets!

[cosworth]

PS -
You might also want to mask off any stickers or decals. Moisture may make them wrinkle up.

[AussieMini]

Thanks for the advice guys, I will get stuck into it this weekend.

Great Stuff

Danny

[goldmbr]

I've used a powerwash on the engine, but was very careful what I sprayed with full pressure. No problems with car, friend used powerwash on his engine, he had problems. I've been looking into small soft brushes (still looking) to clean engine compartment. Simple Green is good, I also like Clear Magic, 303 Aerospace- not tried it yet. I use some biodegradable engine degreaser now (name escapes me).
I now clean engine with as little degreaser as possible (yes I was one of those people that oversaturates the engine compartment, never hurt engine, but could never get all the detergent off). I will spray a little degreaser, cover bumper, painted areas, use a bucket of regualr soapy water used on cars, use brushes and rags to scrub engine and engine compartment. Rinse with a light, very light mist (no more powerwash on the engine for me). Dry as much as possible with towels. Use air compressor or lawn (gas) leaf blower to dry the rest.

[cosworth]

Yep. Like Obehave says, there are some really good citrus cleaners out there now, and they clean like crazy ( wonder what that citrus is doing to our stomachs! ) Petroleum based degreasers are not neccessary if you keep up with the above listed recommendations periodically. You'll basically just be removing residual adhered-on dust and grime. Like Goldmbr also states, better to steer clear of as much petroleum based degreaser as possible. Also, the air compressor tip is a very good one, if you have access to one. In fact, if you don't, it may be a wise investment, just getting a roll-around, in-expensive one. My car is outside, and alot of crap coming out of the trees tends to lodge into the rain gutters, moldings, whatever. Before I wash the car, I hit it with the air just to blow out any of this junk. Good tips!

[goldmbr]

Completely forgot about dishwashing brushes! obehave thanks!

[olddad]

Shower caps stolen from female family members work good on distributers and bundled plug wires.

[goldmbr]

Very cool place! Brushes too stiff, plus not really what I wanted (Target), off to a kitchenware store now.

[goldmbr]

Got there late (had to wash car first) store closed. As I was downstairs filling up my buckets (2 seperate buckets/soap 1 for wheels and 1 for rest of car). I looked up and noticed the perfect brush to clean the tight areas-wheelwells in particuliar. A toilet bowl brush. I did make it to hardware store in time but they did not have a toilet bowl brush to my liking-all had plastic bristles.

I have heard that using a steam cleaner works very well, just keep it off the painted surfaces.

-Andrew