Detailed my engine compartment today

[Pdwight]

I did this stone cold and have not yet started her up. I used orange blast and a soft brush, used small amounts of water from a garden hose (no pressure washer) as I did not want to flood the engine compartment. I Used old towels to keep overspray off the trunk and interior. I used a new product on the plastic that does not leave an oily residue, after all if left oily it would simply collect dust and particles at a greater level than if left dry. I am pleased so far...we will see how this holds up.

[BruceH]

Looks very nice. I used the same process. Some orange cleaner and very low pressure water, soft brushes and rags. It's been awhile since I did it, probably time to do it again!

[Shehadehd]

Wow! That looks great!

[JayG]

nice job Dwight !
Time to keep up with the Jones'

[rah rah 986]

What was the name of the product that you used on the plastic?

[Pdwight]

Tire Black, comes in a small rattle can and packed in a box. 10 bucks and change. Dried to a very dry to the touch finish in about 2 hours.

Turtle Wax Black Tire Shine: Auto Detailing & Car Care : Walmart.com

I also masked off my flaps on the front and back and cleaned them and treated..they look great...we will see how well it holds up

[epapp]

Will the tire black stuff just burn off or do something funky in the 180 degree engine compartment?

[Pdwight]

We will see....it has to be better than the layer of dirt and dust that was there and better than armorall

[epapp]

Yeah, I'm interested to see as well. If it holds up fine then this is a great solution to keeping the engine looking good.

The other option is to use ceramic/high heat engine paint or gloss, but then you risk chipping and eventually it will look like crap

[Pdwight]

I would only go that route if I had the engine pulled and could paint individual components. I have never seen a engine painted installed that looked really good. If I were going that extreme I would get one of the home powder coating systems and do that

[mcdandc]

Looks great. I haven't looked at the engine compartment yet, only get home once a month, too little time....

[mikesz]

Looks AWESOME! My engine is filthy and it drives me nuts. Been busy on other projects but you have inspired me. this is on my to-do list. then I can think about a clear cover like Shehadehd. I think that is soo cool!

[Perfectlap]

problem with the Turtle Black is that in my experience it still attracts dust and there's plenty sloshing around in there... unless you live somewhere where there's not much rain and not too much heat.
I would use a product like Klasse VLRP next time or similar from autogeek.net or some other detailing site. But maybe your result will be better since its a closed space.

Your pics make me wish that Porsche had incorporated a visible engine into the 981 design like the Ferraris.

[Topless]

I did that a couple of times. It looked pretty good for about a week and then shortly looked like I just ran Paris-Dakar.

I wondered why this motor gets so nasty so fast? Then I looked at engine compartment ventilation. Oh my... those little rubber flappy things under the trans pull air from inches off the road and circulate it up, creating positive pressure in the engine compartment while cooling the trans, rear brakes and engine oil cooler. Our cars are like little street sweepers vacuuming up a ton of road grime and depositing it into the engine compartment. This explains the Paris-Dakar level of filth.

I still wipe down the engine when I open it up but no longer use detailing tactics. All my good work will be completely dusted over in one good canyon run up Angeles Crest Hwy.

[Pdwight]

I plan on adding rear speakers in the next 2 weeks. I will pull the cover off ands see how it is fairing

I know when I buttoned it back up the finish felt very dry to the touch and slick.....only time will tell. I also did my engine compartment on my E36 so we can see how that holds up as well

[mikesz]

I want to clean my engine but what about water and electrical parts under the hood? did you cover anything off so it wouldn't get wet? Did you just use a simple green type of cleaner? then hose it off?

[jb92563]

Maybe some of that slick Nanolex Nano technology coating will prevent the dust from settling and sticking as much. Its incredible stuff but not sure how it holds up to heat.

I somehow doubt that there is anything that will really prevent the dust from getting in there and settling out on the engine.

Nobody seems to care about dust on top of the transmission and I see that a little less frequently than the top of the engine so...

Just get out the compressed air and blast it out before washing the car
or servicing the engine in front of your friends.

I'd love to see snapshots of the look on peoples faces when they see some dust on top of your Boxster engine.

[986ohana]

Looks Good, are you planning to do a clear cover

[jcslocum]

Originally Posted by mikesz

I want to clean my engine but what about water and electrical parts under the hood? did you cover anything off so it wouldn't get wet? Did you just use a simple green type of cleaner? then hose it off?

This is the best way to clean up sensitive parts as well as extremely dirty greasy parts. Amazing how good the steam is and how little water it really uses. The heat and the pressure just blasts the dirt away. the tool comes with different brushes and other tips. It can also be used around the house :-)

[joecal]

Looks Great! I bet it runs better too! Dirty engine compartments bother me too, and its a lot nicer working on a clean engine.