sorry for all the stupid cleaning questions lately, you would think iv never washed my car before.... but iv never really done it right....

just ordered a zaino kit... cant wait.... i think i got that part all down... but my next question is.. how do you clean the engine?? what do you use on all the black plastic parts? just some sort of armor all? can the engine get wet? etc thanks

 

Use some Gunk engine shampoo, spray the hell out of it . Top bottom, sides and all turn wash gun to soap wash it off then to wax and clean it up. Mine ran fine after no probs.

Good luck

 

yep what he said. Then I wipe everything down with 303 for a nice luster.
http://www.properautocare.com/303-16.html

 

I use simple green and not so high water pressure...works great......................JR

 

Scrubbing Bubbles

 

 

Can't be serious about scrubbing bubbles are you?

I've cleaned mine from day one with nothing but car wash and wash mitt...

There are some spots that I can't reach too well and maybe scrubbing bubbles would do the trick... do I use a toilet brush like in the house?

For the hard to reach spots I bought a BBQ sauce brush... which is nothing more than a broom stick with a rag-mop type of material attached to the end... it's about 18" long and I use it in the engine compartment and to clean the rear shocks (like that yellow and blue to be clean) along with the other stuff back there.

 

I concur. Simple Green.mist all over engine and spray down with low force water. Works great.

 

i thought that you are not supposed to hose down the engine because u could get the coil packs wet.

 

The coil packs are sealed. You're not gonna hurt them.

 

Use a leaf blower or compresor to dry off those areas.

Remember - our engine bays aren't sealed off to the elements, they still get wet in a rainstorm. By using a low pressure mist to wash off the Simple Green, you're really only doing the same thing as driving in the rain (minus the engine running).

I've done this to the engine bay a number of times with no ill-effects.

 

Bob's seen my engine bay, so the pic is RIGHT ON !!!

I just bag up the air filter and let fly with the bubbles.

One thing I didn't like about Simple Green is it turned
my hoses a bit white ...

 

I use some quality engine cleaner/degreaser. I use my garden hose and my lawn leaf blower to blow out the excessive water and debris from the engine. This is very important because you don't want any excessive water to get stuck in your electrical connectors and other vital engine areas. COVER YOUR MAF SENSOR CAREFULLY FROM WATER.

 

muriatic acid, acetone, MEK, Xylene - works wonders on the paint too!! J.K.
I've always used a basic degreaser cut 50/50 with water. But i'm not looking for "car show" finish. I'm looking to loosen rinse away dirt when doing my own engine work.