engine detail on the cheap

[fatboyflyer]

Hi all-

I just joined yesterday and thought I’d share a recent experience. I am trying to save up some cash to buy some real supplies and equipment by doing some hand wash/waxes for friends and family. My father-in-law wanted an engine detail, so before I tried anything new on him I experimented with my car first. I went to the 99 cent store (yes, I’m that broke) and bought their house brand engine degreaser--"QC Engine DeGreaser". It is an aerosol foam that shoots out of the can like a cannon. I also bought a 5.5 ounce can of WD-40.

I popped the hood and wrapped the electrical parts with foil and started spraying. I had to spray quick, since the whole can emptied in about 15 seconds. Per the directions, I let it sit for 10 minutes. I resisted the desire to scrub. I know how well I can clean with a lot of elbow grease, but I wanted to see what the products could do without my help. When I do this for my father-in-law I will definitely scrub away. After 10 minutes I rinsed with a light stream of water. I did a little bit of wiping up at this point, since there was some pooling of dirty water. I let it dry and then sprayed about half the can of WD-40 and let dry. Again, I wiped up where it was pooling up.

Total working time- 10 minutes or less
Time from start to finish- 1 hour
Total $ spent- $2.15
I apologize for the poor photos. The camera is borrowed and I couldn`t quite figure it out.

Anyway, it’s not quite up to the standard of this forum, or my standards for that matter, but for the time and effort put into it, and the cost of supplies, I thought it turned out fairly well.

Any input is appreciated.

[sneakrpimp112]

Sometimes you have to do, with what you got. Excellent job on the Detail of the engine. Really love the before and after pics.

[Craigster]

Great thinking, great job. If you are that creative now, I cant wait to see what you do with a trunk full of products...

[Anthony A]

Proof that it`s 90% process and 10% products. Good job.

[njno1badboy]

great job !! but i have a question i am new to this and what is the w ~ d40 used for ? is that not flammable? :flamed

[dislocated]

@njno1badboy
A great stuff. See more at http://www.wd40.com/ . I used it too when detailed the engine, and was very happy how it looked (but at first I was a little scared, though).

@fatboyflyer
Great work. I bet you liked how the WD40 worked and I hope you will be able to get some quality detailing products very soon .

Bosko

[njno1badboy]

thank`s for the info , ok i checked it out and what do you do spray down the whole engine? won`t it smoke alot ? or just wipe down the wires and hoses with it ? thanks again .

[fatboyflyer]

I did my second engine with this process. It was my father in laws’ car. But this time I started with Simple Green did some scrubbing (I figured I’d give the man his money’s worth). As far as the application of the WD-40, the engine is cool by the time it goes on so there is no hazard there. First I applied it without the nozzle straw, just spraying it generously over everything. Then I put the straw on and blasted at the little crevasses that were still holding on to the grime. Then I wiped it down, hoses, belts, wires, and all. It looks great.

It has been two weeks since I did my engine, and it still looks great. I was a little worried that it might attract dirt, but that isn’t a problem so far. But then again I only drive my car 50 miles a week.

[Bob]

Does it smell or send off any type of foul fumes when the WD-40 gets hot?

[dislocated]

I haven`t noticed it. Well, the smell could be felt during first minutes after spraying the engine, but it was gone pretty quick. I did it once, but I`m not sure if I`m going to do it again. I just don`t like spraying it on rubber hoses (although in WD40`s MSDS says it`s safe to use it on all rubber parts).
And yeah, there is a link to thread on bimmer forum where I found this.

P.S. Even if you don`t like using WD40 as an engine detailing spray, you can always use it before washing the engine, to spray a distributor cap and all the other water-sensitive parts (it will repell water).

[hemin8r]

Great job on the engine detail. I too use the WD40 on my engine & undercarriage. My truck is lifted & the suspensions parts are visible. WD40 & a shop rag cleans it up very well.