Anyone know where I can find a guide to cleaning the engine bay up (I think they call it detailing) not to a ridiculously anal level, but just so it puts an additional smile on ones face when bonnet popped up (as rest of my car does).
For details of the car in question, see separate post on Jag XJS.
I would love to get the engine bay looking better in time for a Jaguar event coming up.
I realise it is a whole world itself, and some people spends £1000s on this, but not me, I just want to know what I can do myself with the right cloths and detergents or WD40 or whatever.
Guy
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Have you tried www.detailingworld.co.uk ? If you click on the forum, there are alot of good hints and tips on the forums over there.
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as Johnny Cash would say
do one part at a time
only move to the next item when you are happy with the last
start with cam covers
dont worry about detailing world
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Can you put some photos up on Flickr ?
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I would start by degreasing everything. Engine bays look a lot better when the painted bits are uncovered. The usual products are Gunk (brown and smelly) and Jizer (clear but still quite pungent), which you brush on and rinse off with water. This usually leaves a thin (wet) emulsified film that you can polish off and/or coat with WD40.
Alternatively, use paraffin, but you might need a tray or similar to catch the resultant mess as it drains off!
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Not a fan of obsessive detailing but I've always been known to keep engine bays nice in a non-damaging and practical way.
I would use a spray-on degreaser (aerosol can gives a bit of pressure better than trigger spray) over everything. After a few minutes agitate any heavily oiled areas with 1/2" brush. Rinse off with water from a normal hose with spray head (not pressure washer).
Next I spray it all again with a strong warm water/detergent mix.. then rinse again with the hose. This seems to remove the streaky/matt deposits the degreaser can leave behind.
Then take the car for a run to blow out the water from crevices.
Finally spray everything with WD40 (or your chosen alternative) and rub over areas that you can reach with a cloth buffing up any platic engine covers.
I do this about every two years. Makes things look cared for rather than tarted up and if you have a breakdown poking around under the bonnet is less mucky.
Edited by M.M on 25/01/2010 at 14:50
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Just be careful where you do it. The drive beneath will never be the same again.
JH
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I have a 1984 XJ12 and have been through this exercise. What you should avoid is splashing a lot of water around the engine. A very useful tool is an electric steam cleaner. The one I have is like a large electric kettle that has a flexible hose and a nozzle. I use a range of small brushes and engine degreaser to loosen dirt and oil in a small area. Then I arrange some absorbent cloth to one side of the area and use the steam cleaner to move the degreaser and dissolved oil and dirt into the cloth. It's not fast, but it does a good job without water getting into the electrics. Enjoy your XJS!
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