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Yorkshiresxi
Saturday 27th August 2011, 16:33
so come on chaps..
best way you lot clean that sexy 5 cylinder growler.
power washer, sprays, etc..want to do mine but you read some many storys about it going wrong...
in an ideal world i would just bag up the dizzy and coil..start her up..cover her in TFR ( traffic film remover ) then blast her with the jet on the hose pipe or maybe jet wash.
Your input needed please
ta

merc85
Saturday 27th August 2011, 19:40
Hi, I covered the engine ecu box, igntion coil and module, dizzy cap, and alternator.

I dont have the engine running, i used Jizzer degresser left on for 5 mins the Hose piped it all off, then clean and polish away.

Flatout Phil
Saturday 27th August 2011, 19:45
Tricky one this. I always think that cars can cope with more damp than we believe. Cars get all manner of moisture blasted in on the motorway in the rain - so a considered jetwash should be ok. But as you say avoid the electrical bits. On the odd occasion I have had bays jetted the engine has been left running. If I was doing it I would WD40 the electrics before and after and autosol the alloy parts. Then I would do the job on a warm dry morning and give the car a LONG run afterwards to really heat and dry all the nooks and crannies.
Use Jizer or Gunk or whatever modern equivalent is. I used to use a compressor to blast paraffin onto dismantled engines - which is incredibly explosive and not recommended :-0

M-R-P
Saturday 27th August 2011, 20:29
If it's just the bits you can see, use a small steel wire brush (I got a set of three from halfrauds - about 1 1/2" by 1/2", 1 plastic, one brass, one steel bristles) take the plastics off the head and give everything a good, dry, scrub then a blow-out with an airline (my bay is almost completely free of oil spray and runs so it was mainly fluffy white alloy corrosion - made it easier). What I used to bring everything - up was a grey silicone grease aerosol. Imagine copperslip spray but light grey and with a flashpoint of over 2000 degrees. This, applied with a rough cloth and the small plastic brush I got from halfrauds, brought my head and manifold up luurvely. I posted pics in the detailing section, yesterday. http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37425
hope this is of some use.

Wobbly Dave
Monday 29th August 2011, 21:10
I use carlack degreaser http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/engine-and-exterior/carlack-68-special-cleaner/prod_354.html - this is really good for detailing under the bonnet. Rub it on - & rinse with ordinary hose pressure. this reduces the risk of forcing water into electrical parts. I dry it then & use aerospace 303 protectant to bring up the shine on the plastics. I use a standard metal cleaner - autoglymn to polish up the metallic parts.

The carlack is great for bringing up the grease splattered on the underside of the bonnet!

Wobbly Dave
Monday 29th August 2011, 21:16
Here is the 303

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/303-aerospace-protectant/prod_366.html

Haizum74
Tuesday 30th August 2011, 16:11
Slightly off topic but Wobblies thread title made me laugh when I saw it under the 'detailing' section on the forum lists.

Wobbly Dave
Tuesday 30th August 2011, 16:28
Which one is that?

james
Tuesday 30th August 2011, 17:40
i once left a full container of autoglym bumper care under the bonnet ontop of the inlet by accident and the next time i opened the bonnet the same day it was everywhere and the bottle was empty but after id wiped it all off the engine bay looked mint

Haizum74
Tuesday 30th August 2011, 21:00
Which one is that?

This one

T5frankie
Tuesday 30th August 2011, 23:45
i just clean it all with wd40 works a treat

Ross63
Wednesday 16th November 2011, 00:01
i just clean it all with wd40 works a treat

Totally agree with this, I've used it on the swingarms and engine casings of my bikes for years. NOTHING removes oily deposits like WD40.

Peanut1
Friday 2nd December 2011, 21:56
Im a bit particular about the whole cleaning thing and tend to use Meguiars Super Degreaser. Spray it across the whole engine, soak the really bad bits and then grab a brush. Any will do really and just spend ages brushing everywhere to get it loose, reapply degreaser on bad bits. I then turn the engine on and immediately jet wash. I tend to stand back with it a bot so as not to completely blast the engine but give it a quick blast closer on the bad bits. Got to do mine soon so will post up picces etc

This was my A6 Avant i did last year
From this
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp73/m3e3ver/Audi/CIMG0229.jpg
To this
http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp73/m3e3ver/Audi/DSC03600.jpg

And defo 303 Aerospace is the dogs danglies!