Engine Bay Care/ Weatherstripping Care

[premiershine9]

The engine bay is most likely one of the heaviest soiled areas on your car especially when left neglected for thousands of miles. Proper cleansing and dressing of the motor keeps everything clean and beautiful looking and can be the perfect finishing touch to a properly detailed car.

In this write-up I will discuss and demonstrate the method that I use to clean and dress my client's motors as well as proper weatherstripping and seal care. (You'll see why their related shortly)

Most modern production cars now have electrical connections with rubber seals that seal off any outside water or moisture that might come in contact with the electrical connections. While this is all great and cool we still have to remember that not every single connection in your motor compartment is not 100% water proof.....but instead most likely water resistant. Important to NOTE- it all depends upon the type of motor!!

By carefully inspecting each part of the motor I am going to clean and carefully taking the proper safety precautions I have never had one problem after fully cleansing and dressing a motor.

**ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS make sure your motor is cool before cleaning! Use your judgement!
TIP- The night before you decide to clean your motor, pull it out into that perfect spot on the driveway so that way the next morning, she's bone cold and ready to go!

THE TOOLS:
- Brushes-
- It is your choice to go with whatever brush you choose, you can either pay up and get a soft boars/ horse hair brush such as a Swissvax Pneu or wheel brush or go the route I do- Purdy paint brush with tape around the metal part (to prevent scratching) - Since you are cleaning a motor, especially if its the first time you will see ALOT of soil in your brush....so you might destroy that beautiful brush in one or two cleanings.....just an FYI. For me (3-5 cars a week) its a cost savings to go with a Purdy or well built paint brush.

- Spray bottles- to hold your chemicals of course
- Latex or Nitrile gloves- remember to always wear protection....
- Leaf blower- after rinsing, crank it to 90 mph winds and blow out all the standing water
- Air compressor with nozzle- spray out the remaining standing water and connections after the leaf blower
- MF Towels- to dry and apply your dressing
- Applicator pad or foam brush- to apply your dressing as well
The two easiest (steal them from your mom's kitchen or your wives:
- Aluminum Foil (heavy duty)
- Saran wrap

THE PRODUCTS:
- It all depends upon which product you choose but when it comes down to it your going to choose between 3 different types of chemicals to use:
1) A cleaner- some sort of degreaser
2) A dressing or sealant for after- lets lock in that cleanliness
Optional:
3) For tougher/ HEAVY soiled areas you can also use an adhesive remover or a tar/bug spray such as Tarminator, take caution with these on brittle areas and around rubber materials!

THE PROCESS:
* REMEMBER TO PERFORM THIS ON A COOL TO THE TOUCH MOTOR
- I chose to use the Audi Q7 I detailed this past week as an example.
1) Look around your motor......see any electrical connections? Take note of them
2) Locate the alternator
3) Locate the air intake- is it open or is the filter exposed? If so, lets get that covered
Out of everything mentioned above I would ALWAYS suggest covering the alternator and air intake! Hydrolocking your motor is a great way to kill your weekend.

You will be surprised at hour much water you can soak your motor with and not have one problem...especially on newer cars with the newer connections.

COVERING YOUR ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS AND OTHER AREAS:
- Bring out the saran wrap and foil!
- First: wrap the connection or alternator with saran wrap, this should give you a tight seal
- Second: ON TOP of the saran wrap, layer it with some heavy duty foil
Both the saran wrap and foil can be molded to fit tightly/ wrap around the connection to form a great seal!

*Decals/ stickers- if you are concerned about a decal/ sticker that might get destroyed by a chemical.......tape it off! You can use a gentle tape such as blue painters tape or even better- 3M's green auto tape. If you are REALLY concerned about.....simply don't spray it down with your cleaner or water at all.

*Chrome/ brightwork- if you are unsure about some of your chrome, whether it might be bare aluminum or a delicate surface, wrap it off, tape it off or be careful not to hit that area! Remember that if you do get water or a chemical on it.....it's ok, you can follow up with a gentle metal polish afterwards.

Now that were all covered and all our electrical components of concern are wrapped and protected, lets begin the cleaning phase.

1) Spray on your chosen degreaser/ cleaner. I spray down the motor with a combination of Simple green diluted 3:1 and Zep Ctirus degreaser at 3:1 as well
- I spray on the degreasers first before first watering down the motor because I only want the citrus cleaner and SG to first attack and penetrate the dirt, soil and grease.
2) Wait 5-10 minutes
3) Sprits the motor real quick with a little bit of water
4) Use your chosen brushes and begin to agitate every soiled area
5) You can also keep your cleaner close by and add more as needed!
6) Rinse thoroughly with water
7) Pull out your leaf blower, blow dry thoroughly
8) Remove the saran wrap/ foil from all the areas
9) Using your air compressor, blow out the connections and small areas

*** IMPORTANT TIP/ TRICK***
- After removing everything and blowing dry the motor, leave the hood open and the vehicle in the shade
- Allow a minimum of 30 minutes to go by before starting the motor, the more time, the better
Why? - If any water did happen to rest on an electrical component, with time, the water will evaporate, allowing the motor to air dry is just another step towards preventing damage to the motor and an electrical nightmare.

Enough boring literature......Here are some demo pics!!

Motor before:









Application of Zep Citrus and SG:




My brush: Purdy paint brush (taped off the metal piece to prevent scratching)









After being fully agitated and cleaned, I then rinsed off the motor fully and then blew it dry with my electric leaf blower



Here is the attachment I use with my air compressor to then blow out the smallest areas....electrical components as well.



After letting the motor dry for around 2 hours further I then chose my dressing and sealant of choice

303 Aerospace Protectant
- A UV protectant dressing that seals and protects all plastic- WITHOUT the greasy mess.





Afters:








Weather stripping and seal care:

- Not only can you use Simple Green or a general degreaser to help cleanse the motor but the same products can also be used to clean and protect the rubber weather stripping and seals found underneath the hood, around the doors and in the trunk area.

First, gather a couple MF towels, your cleaner and your dressing/ sealer of choice. To prevent overspray, spray the cleaner directly onto an MF towel and wipe the seals. Follow up with a dry MF towel. Avoid doing this in direct sunlight as the cleaner might dry to a haze leaving behind a residue before you have the chance to wipe it clean with your dry MF towel.

After cleaning the seals, take a MF towel and spray your chosen dressing/ sealant of choice (303 in my case) and wipe down the seals. If they have never been treated before, you most likely will need 2 coats.

Tip- Pick up a foam brush from Home Depot and saturate it in your sealant/ dressing, weatherstripping will usually be folded and intricate, using a foam brush can allow you to reach every nook and cranny!

Why 303- It's more than just a dressing:
- An excellent UV protectant and dressing for vinyl, leather, rubber and plastic surfaces
- Leaves behind a beautiful matte finish that is not greasy, shiny or oily
- Treated surfaces resist dust, soiling, staining and also repel water
- Most commonly used on interior dashboards, center consoles, door trim, leather seats, and in the engine bay
- Works great on vinyl convertible tops, plastic rear windows, clear bras, and tonneau covers

Use on Rubber: Tires, neoprene, latex, door and trunk seals, weather-stripping, EPDM rubber roofs, CV boots, waders, wet suits. Vinyl:Convertible tops (and the clear vinyl windows), isinglass, marineseating, tonneau covers, car bras, covers, spa covers, pool covers.Inflatable boats: Hypalon, PVC and urethane blends. Gelcoat fiberglass: Boats, RV's, snowmobiles, jet ski's. Plastics, acrylics, polycarbonates: Lexan® and acrylic panels, windows, , windshields, covers. Carbon-fiber/resin composites: Fishing rods, "nude" bike frames. Finished leather: Upholstery, motorcycle leather, trim, tack, fine apparel. Pool & Patio: Plastic furniture (not fabric), pool inflatables, slides, covers. Sailcloth: Dacron® and monofilm.

So, not only will you now have a product that you can use on any seal or weatherstripping to properly seal and protect it from fading or cracking, 303 can be used on all exterior trim as well!
ITS A GREAT VERSATILE PRODUCT! The great thing- a little goes along way!

Note- I chose to only cover the alternator in this Audi write-up, I wanted to demonstrate how well the newer electrical connections found in most cars are today against water.

**Still don't feel like touching the motor with a garden hose? Is your motor already spotless or not in need of a complete cleaning? No problem.....
- You can still use the same brushes/ tools.....just subtract the hose.
- Using MF towels, have one designated towel full of a cleaner such as a degreaser or other wash media such as ONR (Optimum no rinse)
- Wipe the area with your cleaner or degreaser, then wipe dry.
- Follow up with your dressing or sealant of choice

Here are some cleaner/ degreaser products I would recommend: All VERY versatile products
- Zep Citrus (diluted)
- Simple Green (diluted)
- Optimum No Rinse
- Optimum Power clean (all purpose cleaner)
- P21s total auto wash
- 1z Einszett all purpose cleaner- Blitz
- Chemical guys grime reaper

Dressing/ sealants:
- 303 aerospace protectant
- Prima Nero Dressing
- Adams Super VRT
- Adams in and out spray

Metal/ brightwork polishing:
- Eagle one Nevr Dull wadding- gentle yet effective cleaner
- Adams metal polish
- P21s polishing soap
- Mothers mag/ aluminum

Cheers guys!

[ScottyB]

most excellent. great call on the foam brush for the big seals or weird folds.

i was at my local store and they didn't have 303 (what i was looking for), but i did pick up Meguiar's Natural Shine Protectant. has alot in common with 303 and looked great on my FIL's engine bay in his Durango. might be worth trying for the convenience factor.

i have great luck using diluted Simple Green and P21s TAW on the really soiled stuff. i've heard great things about Prima Nero, i'd like to give that a try sometime.

question - how do you deal with that foam padding/sound deadening on the inside of the hood and on the firewall (in the case of the Durango i mentioned). do you get that wet at all, or just avoid it entirely?

[premiershine9]

i have great luck using diluted Simple Green and P21s TAW on the really soiled stuff. i've heard great things about Prima Nero, i'd like to give that a try sometime.

X2!! My supplier has the full line of Prima and just about any brand out there, going to pick up a bottle before I head down to school again.

question - how do you deal with that foam padding/sound deadening on the inside of the hood and on the firewall (in the case of the Durango i mentioned). do you get that wet at all, or just avoid it entirely?[/quote]

The foam padding I generally always try to avoid getting soaked with water, I never want to take the risk of soaking it heavily OR getting a chemical on it, saturating foam or any type of material with a glue/ adhesive backing to it might eat away at the adhesive backing (hence why you should NEVER spray directly onto the headliner but onto a MF towel instead) and cause it to fail or sag. I'm no expert at the different types of hood insulation but I can imagine that they all differ somewhat.

In the case of this audi, I clayed and also sealed the underside of the hood, specifically around the hood insulation, i did not use a hose but a spray bottle with H2O and another with my clay lube. Sprayed down the areas with the water solution....wiped dry. Sprayed on my clay lube....clayed and then wiped dry. Followed with a IPA wipedown, then applied BFWD paint sealant and finito.