Best Way To Clean An Engine Bay

[Marko R1]

hi guys,

my new r32gtr has a thin film of black soot which does come off with polish but it is very stubborn...is there a chemical i can get to remove this stuff?

here is a pic to give u an idea of the buildup, mainly around the top of the firewall (above the engine)

regards

marko

Edited January 4, 2011 by Marko R1

[joeyjoejoejuniorshabadoo]

elbow grease, degreaser and a microfibre will fix that

[NISSAN GTR]

Try spraying with trigger bottle - truck wash detergent 50/50 with water , scrub with wheel/rim brush let soak for 1 hour then gentle wash of areas affected only ,

whatever you do try not to wet your intake filters or any electrics .

[Ty1]

what works best for me is a can of crc heavy duty parts and throttle body cleaner. The dirt literally just glides straight off!

[Marko R1]

thanks for the advise guys

NISSAN GTR - i'll come back to you on that wheel soon, been flat out!

[GTR-N1]

what works best for me is a can of crc heavy duty parts and throttle body cleaner. The dirt literally just glides straight off!

^ ^ ^ Yes, preceded by Kenco Truck degreaser &/or followed by Upper Engine Cleaner by Subaru...

But...

But...

Your car is red, and some reds can change colour slightly by using harsh solvents.

So I'd tend to do a test-wipe first eh?

[Marko R1]

ok - i know that throttle body cleaner is incredibly strong when it took all the grime off my throttle bodies when i had them out, makes your fingers feel tingly as well which cant be good lol

i'll try this & that kenco degreaser

[ZED X]

I would be very interested to know how u end up Marko.

I have the same problem with my gtr, I attempted using a small spot of WD40 then rincing with soapy water and rubbing over with a polish (washed the wd40 off quite quickly).

Appeared to work quite well, however i can see this being quite time consuming. Besides its quite difficult to get a cloth to some of the panels that are quite dirty in mine.

Also dont like the idea of spraying WD40 all over my paintwork.

[Marko R1]

i will post my results

[defari]

+1 interested to see the results - mine is as dirty as the OP

[Beelzebub89]

Kenco Degreaser is fantastic, I used it for my engine bay a few months ago. Spray on leave for 15 mins and give it a bit of a scrub with a wheel brush. Pretty much everything came off. More stubborn spots got more degreaser and a longer soak time.

[Jonno34]

Hey mate,

I just used a degreaser and a high pressure spray (u can go to the pay and spray at a petrol station if u dont have a high pressure unit)

Simple Green is highly recommended by the guys at final inspection, but I've never tried it before, I just used up some cheaper stuff myself really

[NA_Goodness]

Anyone tried JIF before? That would probably work quite well.

[GTR-N1]

Jif can scrape away grime > but it leaves scratches. If you rub it on a piece of glass mirror you'll see it straight away due to its abrasives.

Kenco Truck Degreaser won't scratch.

Carbie cleaner or Upper engine cleaner doesn't have abrasives either, but it strips away any 'Clear'.

[NA_Goodness]

Disreguard that then

[ichizora]

Also just used a degreaser and high pressure water spray to clean my engine bay, and spray it every week or so with WD-40 which keeps it nice and clean.

[debmatt09]

One question here, whats only thing that cant get wet when washing engine bay? Coil packs and all the electrical?

[Jonno34]

i try to avoid spraying too much water as im worried about the electrics etc, just to rinse the degreaser off really

[116.hks]

I've used Jiff in my bay. Came up a treat. My engine bay is white so I didn't notice any scratching. I then polish it and just wipe it over everytime I wash the car.

[GTR-N1]

I have no doubt that Jif will help restore any discoloured white, red or any other colour engine bay.

After all, even Glym Paint Restorer will have 'cutting compound' in it.

Any abrasive cutting compound on paint needs to be followed up by a very fine polish, and that can be followed up by wax, and then by a sealer.

Repeated use of cutting compound on paint and...

In your case, it was wise to apply polish straight after, Brad.