How To: Clean & Detail Your Engine
Here’s how I clean the engine bay of my 1994 Buick Roadmaster.
First, I start with a warm, but not hot engine.
Keep the engine OFF.
NEVER do ANY cleaning or detailing with the engine running.
You may be tempted to reach in there with a rag, but DON’T DO IT!
It is way too dangerous. Take your time, play it safe, and do it right.
Once the engine is warm, but not hot, spray it down with Orange Blast Citrus Cleaner *:
Spray this everywhere. Let it soak. Use nylon brushes to loosen any thick grease. Old toothbrushes work great for this. Respray as needed.
Try to avoid the Opti Spark Distributor when spraying the engine.
Orange Blast is strong enough to clean the grease and crud without damaging painted, polished, coated, and chromed finishes.
Next, wash off the engine bay with water. Again, stay away from the Opti Spark Distributor, and the PCM (aka computer).
You don’t want to flood the engine bay, just use a very low flow, and use just enough water to get the cleaner and dirt off.
You will want to use as little water as possible.
Reapply Orange Blast as needed, and repeat with the soaking, scrubbing, and rinsing.
Start up the engine, and allow it to warm up for a few minutes, then shut it off.
Let the engine cool down, and then apply a fine mist of F21 Super Protectant *.
I like this stuff a lot. Much better than Armor All. Leaves a nice finish.
Try to avoid the Serpentine Belt.
Other than the belt, lightly spray the entire engine bay.
Start the engine, and allow it to heat to operating temp.
Once the engine cools enough so you won’t get burned, wipe off any excess protectant where it has pooled.
If you got any protectant on the serpentine belt, you can give the belt a few sprays of orange blast, and wipe it off, while the engine is OFF.
Your engine bay is now clean, but now your windshield and front fenders have dirt and F21 Protectant overspray all over them. Now it is time to give the car a good bath.
Wash and dry the car per usual, then open the hood and enjoy your clean and detailed engine bay!
You may find a few areas where water and / or F21 Protectant has puddled up. Mop them up with a clean detail cloth.
Enjoy!
* If you have Samco Sport Silicone Coolant Hoses, you don’t want to use Orange Blast or F21 Protectant on them.
Here is what Samco Sport says about cleaning their Silicone Coolant Hoses: “SamcoSport only recommend using hot soapy water to clean your hoses. If you do this regularly, the natural shine will be promoted. DO NOT use petrol or any petroleum based cleaning products (including those labelled as Silicone shine or similar) – whilst these may give a short term shine, over time they discolour the hose.”