HELP fast, I need advice on engine detailing

S

sftempest66

New member
well I've done one engine before, but I've got a car on sunday in which the owner wants the engine detailed, (its a 2005 CL55 AMG) and I'm not too experienced on detailing engines, what products, degreaser if any, etc...could I use to clean it up, I've got some simple green and heard about the simple green treatment, but what steps would you recommend taking and is there anything locally that I can get which will give me a great finished product?!?! ANY help would be appreciated
 
There are plenty of threads on here on how to do a proper engine cleaning just use the search button or use the autopia guide to detailing.



But for that new of a car, it should not be that dirty. Here are some helpful hints.



1. Have the owner sign a waiver he wants you to do the motor and that you take no responsibilty in case it will not start up. (I have heard from several reputable detailers, the owner of the car could already have a problem with the car, and than blame you for just cleaning it, you just never know, or you might even screw up the engine by getting water somewhere it shouldn't be also).



2. Put aluminum foil over the alternator and/or cover up electrical connections. Some people spray the connections with Wd-40 to insulate them from water. But cover the alternator.



3. If the engine is not too dirty (like yours probably), a good all purpose cleaner APC, should be able to get most of the grime off with a good brush, if you have a steamer that would also help. Lightly rinse the car off, but DO NOT CONtinuously soak the engine with water.



4. Coat the engine with some time of protectant, my favorite is 303 aerospace hands down, I have used tire dressing, Megs hyper dressing, and numerous other things. But so far the 303 looks damn nice and it adds protection to the hoses. Plus it doesn't smear or leave smudges like other products.



5. Also, if you have the time, use a paint cleaner to do the paint on the underside of the hood, it does make a difference when the paint shines on underside of the hood. You could use Megs Color X, Aio, Vanilla Moose, etc, whatever, just clean and protect the paint. Before that, you might use a APC to get the grime off in that area. Just use common sense in the engine, if you screw up and the engine doesn't start, you are in BIG TROUBLE.



Don't get water near spark plugs either, but on the new cars, it seems like everything is covered up.



This is the short version of it. Just be careful. It's not that difficult or time consuming unless the owner wants a concourse detail, but than he wouldn't be driving it.



Sounds like you got a nice car to detail.



Good luck, and do a search on detailing engines, you want to make sure you do it right on such a nice vehicle, (but you will like 303 especially for engines, it doesn't attract dust even over time)
 
alright, can I get the 303 anywhere in town? I know I've seen it on autogeek, etc..but I'm not sure if there are places in town in which I can purchase it...and I've done one or two engine details, I'm not really good at them and since its a new car I dont have to cover up much becasue they already have covers on them, and most of the alternator and electrical harnesses are covered up, I'm just worried about getting a good shine/glow that will last and the owner will be happy with....and you're right, the car is new and the owner takes good care of it, I saw the car today and it wont be that hard to clean :spot
 
Wal-Mart wont carry it, but another place to check is car dealerships. I know that alot of the Toyota dealerships I've been to around here have some and other nice products, usually in smaller sizes though. Try calling other dealerships besides Toyota though if you don't find it there.
 
If you can not find 303, a good tire dressing will due. Check the 303 site for places that carry their products, camping word I think has it, boating supplies, I know Patrick at Excel carries it and is reasonable on shipping costs, but you need it on Sunday. There are other good products too. Just do a search, I think I have heard people use CD2, not sure if it was too clean or protect. I would imagine most of CL55 engine would be black plastic, so whatever you use to clean and protect plastic interiors would probably work just fine, or whatever you use for fender wells too.



But in the future, I like the durability and looks and dust resistance of 303 for engines. For whatever reason, I have gone away with it on interiors lately, I have found easier products to use. But I still like it for door rubber sills, and outside vinyl and plastic.



PS With other products besides 303, you just might have to wipe down the products, like you do with tire dressings. That's another reason I like 303, it seems to soak in pretty good for me on most engines, just spray and than I am done. (not the case with interiors though) :nixweiss .



Don't sweat the engine, no matter what you use, it's gonna look a lot better than it did before. Just check it before you give it back to the customer, and wiper it down if it needs it. PS I like to blow off the excess water before I apply the dressing, so it is not diluted.



Goodluck on Sunday!
 
I'd think twice about using Simple Green for this, it can discolor aluminum. You sure don't want to get stuck with the bill for replacing anything under *that* hood ;)
 
Agreed. Simple Green stained my Injen polished aluminum intake on my Maxima. I had to polish the staining off with aluminum polish, but of course the Simple Green and water can cover every inch of the aluminum, while you cannot possibly reach every inch with a towel and polish. It never looked the same after that incident. :(
 
hmm alright, well I think there is an Ace hardware around here, if not I'll lightly mist it with some water, then I'll wipe it down with an apc that wont stain the aluminum (assuming there is any) and then I'll either use my interior detail or i'll use the 303 if I can get it by sunday! thanks guys (I'm sure the engine is in great shape, the owner takes great care of the car and it probably wont be a problem, I"ll have pictures up sunday night!)
 
Unless it's an Autopian's engine bay, there's probably bits of grease and oil scattered about the engine bay, and compressed air isn't going to have any effect on dust or dirt that is being held by grease or oil. I've never tried it, but I don't think it would be beneficial either.
 
White95Max said:
Unless it's an Autopian's engine bay, there's probably bits of grease and oil scattered about the engine bay, and compressed air isn't going to have any effect on dust or dirt that is being held by grease or oil. I've never tried it, but I don't think it would be beneficial either.
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Detailing 101 - 1st blow off any loose debris from the engine compartment. Then(after washing) blow off the xs h2o.

One of the worst things to do is having to picking out small wet leaves(small ones) that were scattered throughout the engine compartment because you didn't spend the 2-3 minutes 1st removing them.
 
Yeah well I clean engines by hand anyway, so there are no soaked leaves in the engine compartment before OR after I'm done. How many engines have so much loose debris in them that you can't just pick it out by hand?
 
White95Max said:
Yeah well I clean engines by hand anyway, so there are no soaked leaves in the engine compartment before OR after I'm done. How many engines have so much loose debris in them that you can't just pick it out by hand?
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You've never detailed a vehicle with leaves, stems, branches or bugs in the cowl area? Especially one that is parked anywhere near a tree. If you blow them loose and away 1st(before getting it wet), it saves time later having to pick them out by hand. It's a major pain in the butt picking wet debris out of a screened in cowl vent. Air is also a good tool to blow out the plug ports on top of DOHC motors like Proteges, even if you're using a garden hose to clean it. Try it, you might like it. :think2
 
Sure I have. But I just pick them out by hand. I don't have an air compressor to use, and it's not worth it to me to buy cans of compressed air for that purpose. Even if I did have an air compressor, I think it would be quicker to pull the debris out than hook up an air compressor and drag it out to the vehicle.
 
Heh heh, the debris in the M3's engine compartment and behind its fender liners was unbelievable :eek: I started by hand using tweezers for some of it, then compressed air...all the while sucking away with the wet/dry vac. Finally blasted it with water which still flushed out even *more* stuff, especially when I back-flushed up from the drain points. No way to pick it all out as I couldn't get back into the deeper recesses where it was really packed in there. The whole thing took well over an hour and that's after I'd pulled the fender liners. All the drain holes were completely clogged, had I not done all this it would've eventually had a rust out and/or water in engine compartment components. As it is I found a few patches of rust that I'm still working on...
 
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