Clean Under the Hood

[goodcar]

Any suggestions for cleaning under the hood, engine. Gunk degreaser, Gunk foamy, any good?? Keeping water out of electrical?? Thanks

[JayJay]

I use Formula 409 for most cleaning, Simple Green for the tough stuff. Toothbrushes and lots of rinse water are your friends.

[German guy]

Any normal household de-greaser works. As little water as possible.

[nkaminar]

Soft water will not leave spots. Detailers have a water softener that attaches to the hose.

[Bob Bidonde]

From my experiences, Dawn liquid soap or Simple Green liquid soap with warm water are excellent de-greasing agents. Gunk works well too.

[al's28/33]

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lightly dilute in a bucket with warm water first, you don't want a soapy residue leaving streaks .... and lots of elbow grease, wax on, wax off. Sometimes multiple applications are needed.

[serocontra]

Originally Posted by Bob Bidonde

From my experiences, Dawn liquid soap or Simple Green liquid soap with warm water are excellent de-greasing agents. Gunk works well too.

letting acetone anywhere near your car paint is crazy.

[Tacoma Bob]

Believe it or not Totally Awesome cleaner works very well both in the shop and the house. $1.25 a bottle at Dollar General. I bought 10 bottles just yesterday

[Bob Bidonde]

Single stage urethane paint is immune to acetone.

[jeepguy1948]

Rattle can wheel and tire cleaner works well. Spray it on and let it do its thing. No real need to rinse it off because it leaves a nice “just detailed” look including belts and hoses. Use it somewhere that drips don’t harm the floor or use a drop cloth or tarp to catch them. Do as many times as you want until you get the level of clean you want. This is what the “professional” detailers use.

[rackops]

For my "driver" Model A, I used to wipe down the engine after each drive using Crocodile Cloth wipes. They are excellent at removing any road residue, oil, etc., and they're also great at cleaning hands! I keep a container of them in all of my cars and in my shops as well. I buy them at Home Depot.

[BW]

If you don't have an air compressor you can use a leaf blower to blow things dry under the hood. I would put plastic bags over anything that you don't want wet.

[ModelA29]

When I was going to detail an engine compartment on a car to sell I'd use oven cleaner. I'd spray it on drive to the quarter car wash and spray it off when I got home it had dried and was clean enough to paint.

[David in San Antonio]

FWIW I saw Crocodile Cloths at Costco yesterday.