Posted: 7/10/2011 3:24:37 AM EDT
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Does anybody detail engines on a regular basis ?
Looking for the safest way to degrease my Jeep engine. My Method: Start vehicle up and let it just get warm, not hot. Disconnect battery. Spray down with a degreaser we use at work, I use a garden pressurized sprayer. Let that work for roughly 15 mins. Hose off with garden hose, watching certain areas such as alternator, power distrbution bock, ECM ect...... Blow it dry with leaf blower or air compresser. Sometimes I'll spray it down with WD-40 and a rubber protectant. Let it sit awhile then reconnect battery and fire it up.I do this twice a year on our 3 vehicles with minimal problems. Anybody else do this ? |
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Quoted: Ive seen that show, but it was with private "dancers" in the the UK from NDLQuoted: Quoted: This may be an urban myth, but... ...you can use Coca Cola do do this. I've heard of people putting Coca Cola on the tires to make them shine. Kind of like a poor mans Armor All. I've heard of women using Coca Cola as a birth control douche. |
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Yes, I have heard Simple Green works very well. Full strength Simple Green will remove the writing on warning labels, and some caps under the hood. Ask me how I know. How 
I don't believe anyones ever asked. I'd like to try the GM top end cleaner. |
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Yes, I have heard Simple Green works very well. Full strength Simple Green will remove the writing on warning labels, and some caps under the hood. Ask me how I know. How
How I know: At one point in my college years, I had a lot of folks asking me to detail cars for them on the side. Seeing as I had this great plan to "work" my way through college, trying to keep debt down, I took them up. Had a few 'regulars' and I was known for being very thorough. I would do the engine bay up, degrease with Simple Green, and spray it down with 'quick detailer' shit that would dry to a hard gloss. Looked awesome. Really set the job off. Well, since the simple green mixture of 50/50 water to simple green was working 'fine' and required a little scrubbing, I decided I would go full strength, and spray two or three cars at a time, then go back and rinse all of them. Problem came twofold as the now stronger chemical, allowed to sit longer, stripped all kinds of shit. Some were losing paint, some anodizing was etched, and GM shit from the time period would lose all of the writing from the underhood labels. Literally it worked too well. 
Highlight of my 'career' was when detailing a lady's GMC Envoy. Some asshat had broken the fourwheel drive button mounting plate, and when I went to dust it out with a detail brush, the whole assembly fell behind the dash, locking the POS in 4x4. I used a coat hanger, and all sorts of shit, including chewed gum  to fish it out, and reattach it with epoxy. What a time consuming mess.
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Just go to the local do-it-yourself Carwash. They have degreaser for the wand. Then hit with soap and rinse. You don't want oil and grease all over your driveway let the carwash clean it up. If the carwash is close enough sure, otherwise I would be a little worried about spraying the block while the engine was at full operating temperatures. |
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Yes, I have heard Simple Green works very well. Full strength Simple Green will remove the writing on warning labels, and some caps under the hood. Ask me how I know. How
I don't believe anyones ever asked. I'd like to try the GM top end cleaner. GM Top End Cleaner is for internal use, to clean out the intake system. |
| You can save a lot of time by using brake cleaner or something similar on metal parts (not rubber) and wiping off a lot of the serious grease. Just don't use a lot and KEEP IT OFF THE RUBBER PARTS. That will limit the amount of scrubbing that you have to do with soap and warm water. |
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You can save a lot of time by using brake cleaner or something similar on metal parts (not rubber) and wiping off a lot of the serious grease. Just don't use a lot and KEEP IT OFF THE RUBBER PARTS. That will limit the amount of scrubbing that you have to do with soap and warm water. Trying to not be an ass here, but have you cleaned/worked on anything automotive made since 1968? To keep something you spray and splatter off "rubber parts" would require using the product somewhere around the middle of the muffler, and only with a lot of masking paper. 
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You can save a lot of time by using brake cleaner or something similar on metal parts (not rubber) and wiping off a lot of the serious grease. Just don't use a lot and KEEP IT OFF THE RUBBER PARTS. That will limit the amount of scrubbing that you have to do with soap and warm water. Trying to not be an ass here, but have you cleaned/worked on anything automotive made since 1968? To keep something you spray and splatter off "rubber parts" would require using the product somewhere around the middle of the muffler, and only with a lot of masking paper.
Yeah, I use paper and tape, and I was thinking about older engines, caked with oil. You did make me laugh, though. ETA: In other words, you may want to try to get any thick, greasy deposits off with a solvent, and avoid putting said solvents on plastic and rubber parts. Also, don't do this with a hot engine because solvents and hot exhaust parts can cause problems with all of the hair on your arms and your eyebrows. Better? |
