How To: Detail Your Engine Like a Professional

[Mobile detail]

Nick,

Very nice write up! One question...

I have a Master Blaster. If only one motor is turned on, is it safe to use for drying the engine bay?

Thanks,

Dan.

Yes, I use it all the time to dry the motors and blow out the water on the coils and sensors. Its super important.

Also, I have found that my Tornadror filled with some super dressing works wonders in getting in all the nooks and crannies. There is nothing better than a clean engine and its the type of thing that customers don't realize how good it can look until its done.

 

[Ted S.]

Hey Nick, have you tried PERL as an engine dressing? Stuff looks amazing.

Great write up as well.

 

[Nick McKees37]

Hey Nick, have you tried PERL as an engine dressing? Stuff looks amazing.

Great write up as well.

I have actually, and it does work great. I prefer an aerosol-based dressing for engine bays especially because it allows me to make sure no plastic, rubber or vinyl surface goes untreated. :dblthumb2:

 

[crash93ssei]

Good writeup and great looking engine now!

I will say though that I wouldn't really recommend foil to cover the alternator. There is a stud on the back side of an alternator that a positive wire bolts to and is directly connected to the positive side of the battery so it is always energized, even with the key out of the ignition, unless the battery itself is disconnected or removed. This stud does have a black rubber boot in it to protect it from being shorted out and should be perfectly fine on newer cars, but I have seen many older cars that this boot has deteriorated to the point of falling off or the stud poking through it and even people just removing it all together when they replace an alternator as they think it is just a stupid extra part. I think that if you want to cover the alternator up then you should use plastic wrap or a shopping bag just to be safe.

 

[Nick McKees37]

Good writeup and great looking engine now!

I will say though that I wouldn't really recommend foil to cover the alternator. There is a stud on the back side of an alternator that a positive wire bolts to and is directly connected to the positive side of the battery so it is always energized, even with the key out of the ignition, unless the battery itself is disconnected or removed. This stud does have a black rubber boot in it to protect it from being shorted out and should be perfectly fine on newer cars, but I have seen many older cars that this boot has deteriorated to the point of falling off or the stud poking through it and even people just removing it all together when they replace an alternator as they think it is just a stupid extra part. I think that if you want to cover the alternator up then you should use plastic wrap or a shopping bag just to be safe.

Great point! If you're unsure about exposed components in your engine bay, it's better to play it safe and do some research first. I was familiar with the location of said components in the Canyon and I felt comfortable using aluminum foil. If you're not familiar with your vehicle's mechanical and electrical components, it's a great idea to find someone with the same vehicle to see if they have any tips on the location of sensitive components. That's where forums come in handy.

 

[SR99]

Great write-up, and best of all I learned of a new "tool" (those lake country detail sticks).

Here's my engine on my (original owner) 12 year old truck (though I cheated a bit and have always kept it this clean)

One advantage of always keeping it clean is all the bright metal retains its brightness, whereas if you neglect it and clean it after a decade of grime has been sitting, even though it's clean it just doesn't have that original brightness.

 

[mcochris]

Beautiful engine bay SR99! And it's 12 yrs old? Wow, looks better than new! One of the nice things about a truck is more room to work in..

 

[hoyt66]

Excellent write up. Now I want the side kick! Great :laughing:

 

[BookemDano]

Yes, I use it all the time to dry the motors and blow out the water on the coils and sensors. Its super important.

Also, I have found that my Tornadror filled with some super dressing works wonders in getting in all the nooks and crannies. There is nothing better than a clean engine and its the type of thing that customers don't realize how good it can look until its done.

Thanks. That's good to know.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[megacabcummins]

Warm/hot engine leaves water spots ur betterboff on cool engine.

I have to somewhat agree with Jaretr1, especially if you're cleaning a heavily soiled engine like the diesels I am always working on, not just road grime.... Oils and Fuels are much easier to remove from engine surfaces when the engine is warm. I've always pulled my plugs apart and put a dab of dielectric grease on the seal and the socket just to keep water ect ect out. I got some work to do to make mine look like SR99's though.... Mine is clean but DAMN :dblthumb2:

NICE Writeup Nick !!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Second, for some reason I envision the alternator as being directly connected to the battery, so this isn't the case and foil on it won't give you a big jolt?

I will say though that I wouldn't really recommend foil to cover the alternator. There is a stud on the back side of an alternator that a positive wire bolts to and is directly connected to the positive side of the battery so it is always energized, even with the key out of the ignition, unless the battery itself is disconnected or removed.

This stud does have a black rubber boot in it to protect it from being shorted out and should be perfectly fine on newer cars, but I have seen many older cars that this boot has deteriorated to the point of falling off or the stud poking through it and even people just removing it all together when they replace an alternator as they think it is just a stupid extra part.

I think that if you want to cover the alternator up then you should use plastic wrap or a shopping bag just to be safe.

The shopping bag is a good tip and a great way to get more use out of all the plastic shopping bags that tend to accumulate over time.

I also use these to cover up side mirrors so you don't fill the inside of the mirror housing up with water that will then drip the rest of the time you're detailing the car. Simply cover the mirror housing before washing and then use a spray detailer to actually clean the exterior of the housing and a glass cleaner on the mirror.

See this article,


The lowly plastic bag tip

The idea or practice behind using plastic wrap and tinfoil is you always FIRST cover the component with the plastic wrap, that's the "waterproofing" portion of protecting components.

After wrapping anything you want to protect with plastic wrap then you can use tape and/or tinfoil around the plastic to help secure the plastic in place.

I've never just used tinfoil and don't teach this in any of my classes, it's always plastic wrap first and then tape or tape and tinfoil over the plastic.

And you're right about older cars, if they did have the protective rubber cap over the stud and wire on the back they are often missing or punctured and this would cause a short problem to put a conductive tin foil cover over the alternator by itself.


Another tip...
Don't disconnect the battery in a customer's car without first getting permission as you risk losing anything saved in any type of memory device, for example station pre-sets in the stereo at a minimum.

When in doubt about any car engine and what should be protected, check out this article,


Engine Detailing

How to use a Discussion Forum to Detail an Engine

 

[Nick McKees37]

The shopping bag is a good tip and a great way to get more use out of all the plastic shopping bags that tend to accumulate over time.

I also use these to cover up side mirrors so you don't fill the inside of the mirror housing up with water that will then drip the rest of the time you're detailing the car. Simply cover the mirror housing before washing and then use a spray detailer to actually clean the exterior of the housing and a glass cleaner on the mirror.

See this article,


The lowly plastic bag tip

The idea or practice behind using plastic wrap and tinfoil is you always FIRST cover the component with the plastic wrap, that's the "waterproofing" portion of protecting components.

After wrapping anything you want to protect with plastic wrap then you can use tape and/or tinfoil around the plastic to help secure the plastic in place.

I've never just used tinfoil and don't teach this in any of my classes, it's always plastic wrap first and then tape or tape and tinfoil over the plastic.

And you're right about older cars, if they did have the protective rubber cap over the stud and wire on the back they are often missing or punctured and this would cause a short problem to put a conductive tin foil cover over the alternator by itself.


Another tip...
Don't disconnect the battery in a customer's car without first getting permission as you risk losing anything saved in any type of memory device, for example station pre-sets in the stereo at a minimum.

When in doubt about any car engine and what should be protected, check out this article,


Engine Detailing

How to use a Discussion Forum to Detail an Engine

Great tips Mike. :dblthumb2:

 

[shoeless89]

Great work Nick!

 

[Nick McKees37]

Great work Nick!

Gracias! Im the MAN

Since I had plenty of Detailer's Engine Degreaser and Detailer's Trim Detailer left over, Jason went ahead and detailed the engine in his Toyota Tundra last Saturday.

Before

During

Rinsing

Dressing

After

 

[silvermesa]

Thanks to Nick's article, I detailed my first engine today!

I purchased the Detailers Pro Engine Degreaser (item#DP-600), Lake Country detailing sticks (item# LC-89-099) and the Daytona Speed Master Wheel Brush Jr (item#DSM-2000). I highly agree that these three items work well for this task.

This vehicle is 8 years old and has only had the engine rinsed a time or two in 8 years so it was really grungy! The engine degreaser worked well on engine parts and underside of hood and cowl painel painted areas. The only two brushes I used were the speed master jr brush and the detail sticks. I did have an old wash rag to also rub certain areas as well. This took me 3-3.5 hours from start to finish on a really dirty full size truck engine. Aerospace 303 protectant was used to finish coat plastic and hoses. This gives a clean non shiny look. It took about half of a 32 oz. bottle of engine degreaser for me to accomplish this on a really dirty engine. I hope to do this again in October and this should go much easier this next time.

Thanks again Nick, Mike and all others who contributed to this thread!

 

[Coakley Carwash]

How much do all those products cost?

 

[Nick McKees37]

Thanks to Nick's article, I detailed my first engine today!

I purchased the Detailers Pro Engine Degreaser (item#DP-600), Lake Country detailing sticks (item# LC-89-099) and the Daytona Speed Master Wheel Brush Jr (item#DSM-2000). I highly agree that these three items work well for this task.

This vehicle is 8 years old and has only had the engine rinsed a time or two in 8 years so it was really grungy! The engine degreaser worked well on engine parts and underside of hood and cowl painel painted areas. The only two brushes I used were the speed master jr brush and the detail sticks. I did have an old wash rag to also rub certain areas as well. This took me 3-3.5 hours from start to finish on a really dirty full size truck engine. Aerospace 303 protectant was used to finish coat plastic and hoses. This gives a clean non shiny look. It took about half of a 32 oz. bottle of engine degreaser for me to accomplish this on a really dirty engine. I hope to do this again in October and this should go much easier this next time.

Thanks again Nick, Mike and all others who contributed to this thread!

Looks great! :righton:

How much do all those products cost?

In my original post you'll find a clickable link to each product in the Autogeek store. rops:

 

[Slicer]

Thanks for the write up, I've been looking for something to clean.

 

[Meticulous-Detail]

I do most if not all of the preventive steps in this write up when I detail an engine but I use different products such as APC (switching to OPC) and a different brand dressing.

I also use a power washer hose nozzle that is about 2 feet long to get down into the bay.

My question is it is a good idea to have the engine running when using the hose to rinse? I have noticed that local car washes will pressure wash the engine before going thorugh the tunnel with the engine running.

What I like to do is hose, then start the engine immediately and use a leaf blower to dry while engine is running.

 

[Meticulous-Detail]

Bump