Are they safe to use in engine detailing? Are they ok on the hoses and wires? Will it cause them to come brittle and crack? I'm concerned they might lose their integrity do to the heat. It seems like a better solution than water on the electrical. I'm trying to get all the wires and stuff to look better but how do you clean them when you gotta keep them covered when doing the hose down deal?

 

tk2...

Good question. I'm not 100% sure myself but, what I am sure of is that the steam is water and thus, I think it'd still pose a potential threat to anything under the hood that sensative (ie: electrical etc)...

As for the hoses, I can't really see why they'd break down. Naturally, you'd want to keep the genie far enough away from the engine compartment to prevent any 'cutting' with the head (similar to that of a power washer).

RP

 

Hey, Rock what about wd-40. Is it safe to wipe down the electrical wires? Will it attract more dust in the long run? How about electrical contact cleaner or some kind of silicone spray?
Do you have any recommendations?
thanks-Todd

 

Hey TK2...

I like to coat the compartment with a quality dressing like Meguiar's #40 or Vinylex after cleaning the engine compartment.

Here's a post that I made a while back referring to detailing the engine compartment...

Meguiar's Application Bulletin - Engine Compartment

Let me know if you have any questions tk!

RP

 

Thanks, that was an good write up. My main concern is with the wires itself. You know how they get dingy and grimey over time. With the wires looking like that it still makes a just cleaned engine look 2nd rate. You know what I mean. Every article I read says to cover the wires. I need to know how to clean them after I did the other steps. Do I just spray them down with the dressing? I have 303. Would that be good to use?

 

I hear that 303 is EXCELLENT stuff. I've only tinkered with a few free samples of the stuff and thus, I really never got a good feel for it. I think that's a sure-fire keeper.

On the electrical, I'd wipe it down with a wet towel. Just be ultra careful not to 'hang' on anything or pull any plugs out of wack. A light mist of water could be used in this case as well... like from a spray bottle or similar. Pressurized flow is what will screw up your components... not a damp situation (your engine compartment, for the most part, isn't anywhere near water tight and thus, a light mist shouldn't, in any way, have the potential to harm it).

RP

 

Water on a engine is not the greatest thing to use specially on elect wiring, steam even worse because steam expands real quick when exiting the nozzle that creates a high atmospheric pressure that can send water up elect wire connections.
You can steam clean a engine but just don't bring the nozzle by any elec wiring, even if the wiring is covered while steam cleaning.
What I do to clean real dirty engines is use a citrus cleaner (d-limonene) in a spray bottle, let is soak for a while, scrub with a med to soft brush or mitt. Be careful with the citrus cleaner if you mix it to strong it can dull the paint. I have a small hand held sharky streamer works great detailing small areas, cuts the dirt & grease real good.
There is spacial elect cleaning solution in a spray can you can get at a auto store.

Yes wiring can be degraded by using a vary strong degreaser, wiring today is coated to help prevent being degraded by degreasers/chemicals, just make sure the degreaser is not a strong degreaser.

Most of the engine degreasers on the market (like superclean) I have seen that just takes the paint off or just dulls the heck out of everything. If your engine is just covered with just dirt use hot car soap let soak, soft large brush or mitt & rinse. Wallah your engine will look just like when you bought it, if you havn't screwed it up already.
Here is a good tip on using citrus cleaner what has d-limonene, d-limonene is a great for cleaning or brightening up aluminum, like the aluminum intake.
Use your favorite QD on a engine

 

Do you know the name or have a pic of this product?

 

Probably something along these lines...

POLYWATER

But, there are oodles of them on the market.

I'd be careful with this type of product around plastics...

RP

 

Would this be safe on the wires itself? It says safe on plastics(see electrical parts cleaner)
http://www.crc.co.nz/frame_catalog.asp?id=2