[Luker2222]

I was in a spring cleaning mood over the weekend and decided to try my hand at cleaning up my engine bay for the first since purchasing the car 2 years ago. In the past I've done light (dry) cleaning but I had never had the courage to go all in. After some youtube tutorials and a trip to the store for some detail brushes and product, I decided to go for it. My process consisted of the following steps.

1) Covered the alternator with a plastic bag and folded over shop towels (just in case)

2) Rinsed the entire engine and hood with the pressure washer (Karcher K1710 cube)

3) Sprayed the hood and engine down with all purpose cleaner (Simple Green)

4) Went to town with detail brushes and long wheel cleaner wand to thoroughly agitate all the dirt and grime.

5) Got the difficult areas clean with a stiffer bristle tire brush.

6) Rinsed everything thoroughly again with the pressure washer. Then, one more lighter pass with the APC and detail brushes followed by a final rinse.

7) Dried everything off with multiple microfiber towels.

8) Sprayed all the plastics down with an eyeballed diluted solution of Chemical guys VRP. Then, lightly toweled off the excess and tried to ensure all the plastics were covered and that's it.

I was pretty happy with the end result and glad I finally gave it a try. I'm sure there are better engine degreaser/cleaners out there but what I used seemed to work just fine. Let me know what you guys think and if there is anything I might be missing to get a better result.

[Ins_328]

Looks very nice, you made me think about it

[Iacob]

Looks great, I did mine earlier this week but with AMMO Plum wheel cleaner and it came out great. Do you think it's necessary to wipe the bay down with a microfiber cloth or maybe let itself dry before you drive it?

[Luker2222]

Originally Posted by Iacob

Looks great, I did mine earlier this week but with AMMO Plum wheel cleaner and it came out great. Do you think it's necessary to wipe the bay down with a microfiber cloth or maybe let itself dry before you drive it?

The main reason I dried off the bay was so that my protectant/dressing would adhere better. I'm really surprised that even now the plastics look fresh and clean after a few weeks of daily driving. Probably not totally necessary, but I think the final result will be better and last longer if you dry and dress as a final touch.