Hi guys,

 

I've never detailed an engine bay before, but mine is getting a bit mucky and with the nice weather I thought I'd give it a go. 

 

I've read a couple of threads but never had any pics. I'm quite a car novice so wondering if anybody could give some ideas of what areas I would need to cover with tin foil?

 

The lady in question is a Octavia RS Mk.1

 

Would find it really useful if anybody can takes the pics I've attached and highlight it or put a red border around those areas in MS Paint or something?  

 

thanks in advance!!

 

YS

I woldnt use tin foil, personally i'd use plastic carrier bags for the battery mainly.  If you can try avoid using hose/pressure washer.  Get a spray bottle and a 'detailing brush' then work it in with that leave it for a bit then wipe up. 

I use plastic bags too. Just wrap any electrics, and don't use any high pressured jet washers.

Have a warm engine (not hot), wrap electrics, wet engine bay ( I use the shower function on my hose pipe head), spray with APC and agitate with a brush, rinse with same hose pipe head and that's the job done.

Remember, engine bays are dssigned to get wet, so don't worry too much, but at the same time don't go ballistic in there. Avoid electics, no pressure washers and light aggitation with a detailing brush.

This is just my opinion of course. Some people happily use pressure washers in there, but you risk compromising protective surface finishes, electrical and mechanical seals and forcing moisture into places where it can cause corrosion and ultimately component failure. As with all things, each to thier own.

HTH

You haven't mentioned what products you would be using; I spray Autoglym Engine Degrease over the engine compartment, agitate with the supplied brush, then gently rinse off.

I follow this up by spreading with AG Rubber and Vinyl treatment over the engine bay and leave to dry. Takes no more than 10 minutes.

I just use Megs APC buddy, diluted at 10:1. I don't spray onto moving engine parts, especially degreasers, which will strip the lubrication away in there and cause issues. An engine bay should be a greasy area of the car, so I just clean the plastics and paintwork really. Just keep sit looking nice yet preserves the life of the components in there. I dress with Aerospace 303 Protectant.

 

Like you say though mate, 10 mins and it's done, it's not a long task.

An engine bay should not be greasy unless you have leaks! I doubt there is anywhere on a modern car that is exposed and greasy. Grease just attracts dirt which in turn wears components out quicker. greased parts are generally behind seals or boots so you should be able to Clean everything up. It's much easier to spot leaks appearing when you keep everything clean.

10mins will freshen up a cleanish engine bay but if a previous owner has never touched it then they can be royally manky and take some cleaning. Thankfully yours looks like it will clean up pretty easily

Totally agree that all boots should seal exposed moving parts. But seals and boots, if dried out by degreasers will crack and fail. Which will in turn cause issues.

 

On aircraft, when refitting seals, we put grease onto them to slow down the ageing process on those components. I think of it as applying wax to paint. If not, it can oxidise. Same with seals.

 

We had a conversation about it before and everyone seems to differ slightly on this. I look at it more as preserving the life of the seals and components in there over the lifetime of an engine, some people prefer a tidy  engine bay. I like a tidy engine bay but not enough to want to fail the intergrity of all the things inside there. So compromise on the 'I would eat my dinner off that' front.

Please don't take this as being argumentative. I'm not slagging anyone off for using degreasers etc, but from my engineering background there are issues with it, when you think of seals drying out and the fact that all exposed metal parts will have gone through an oil bath of some sort to protect it against corrosion from road salts etc. If you want a spanking engine bay, degreasers will do you an excellent job and are the correct chemicals for that task. Each to their own.

I wasn't trying to be argumentative either so no worries. Everyone has their own way of doing things. I always use 303 protectant on my rubber boots and pipes in the engine bay as well as plastics to protect them after using an APC as I know these can be pretty harsh.

I was thinking you were implying that an oily old engine and bay is how to have it. But I suppose to get to that stage you have to have leaks and these require attention so new seals would be required anyway. Although I must admit some of the old cars and bikes with huge oil leaks have had the least corrosion once ived cleaned them up lol

Also I wasn't implying cleaning with nasty cleaners frequently as a quick wipe with a damp old MF will get dust and general grot off before a buff with 303 or similar

I just used to cover the MAF and Throttle body and use the hose on a weak setting, with AG degreaser and AG vinyl and rubber cleaner, never had problem that way.

 

 

But don't go mad with the hose.

I wasn't trying to be argumentative either so no worries. Everyone has their own way of doing things. I always use 303 protectant on my rubber boots and pipes in the engine bay as well as plastics to protect them after using an APC as I know these can be pretty harsh.

I was thinking you were implying that an oily old engine and bay is how to have it. But I suppose to get to that stage you have to have leaks and these require attention so new seals would be required anyway. Although I must admit some of the old cars and bikes with huge oil leaks have had the least corrosion once ived cleaned them up lol

 

 

Cool beans.  

 

Oil and grease all over the show would be bad, wouldn't it. I like these discussions, where we look at it from another side of the coin from a detailing perspective. I would imagine the use of harsh chemicals on wheels would not only cause the bubbling of the paint on the wheels, but damage the rubber brake hoses and CV Boots behind the discs too. All these products need to be treated with a little bit of causing I guess.

Cool beans.

Oil and grease all over the show would be bad, wouldn't it. I like these discussions, where we look at it from another side of the coin from a detailing perspective. I would imagine the use of harsh chemicals on wheels would not only cause the bubbling of the paint on the wheels, but damage the rubber brake hoses and CV Boots behind the discs too. All these products need to be treated with a little bit of causing I guess.

Indeed they do. And your right pump action sprayers can get their contents everywhere so care should be taken around wheels not to soak everything. The bubbling of paint is probably down to using aggressive chemicals around damaged or compromised paint and not protecting afterwards though. When the wheels or any paintwork is protected by wax or sealant the need for these chemicals is much less or non existent which helps.