15 Minute Engine Detail Guide

This is the engine compartment for a 2016 Mercedes-Benz S550 Coupe. It's not dirty like most engine compartments but it's also looking drab and dusty. This is the perfect type of engine detailing you want for your business. You don't want a super dirty engine compartment that will take hours to properly clean. You want engine bays just like this where there not to bad, they just need a little dressing up. Most people charge around $75.00 to $100.00 to detail an engine bay, the key thing is to teach yourself how to do a cosmetic engine detail and learn to do it quick, fast and easy. Or if you only work on your own cars, here's how you keep your engine compartment looking factory new. Let me know you how and this took less than 15 mintutes and 4 items. A dressing, a brush, a microfiber towel and a source of compressed air. Here's the engine compartment, there's so much plastic overlay panels you cannot even see the engine, or at least the engine block. You also see 303 Aerospace Protectant and a Wheel Woolies Boar's Hair Wheel Brush.

I use and share this Wheel Woolies Boar's Hair Wheel Brush a LOT. Why? Because it's the most functional brush money can buy. I use this brush for cleaning wheels, cleaning interiors and for engine bays.

First thing - liberally spray the 303 over all the plastic panels.

Technique Tip If you give the spray trigger a HEALTHY squeeze and hold the bottle back a ways, the spray head will do a better job of ATOMIZING the liquid dispersing a much finer spray pattern than if you were to only half-heatedly squeeze the trigger. When you squeeze the trigger weak, it sprays like a squirt gun, that is a stream of product to a small area. Thus give the trigger a strong, deliberate squeeze and test me to see if I'm not right about this.

Here's the engine compartment with a healthy dose of 303 Aerospace Protectant applied all over it.

Next work the dressing all over the engine compartment. Use the bristles to help you get the dressing into all the tight areas plus do a great job on the major sections.

Get everything plastic...

The engine compartment should look like this when you're done.

Now take a clean, microfiber towel with a large fluffy nap like you see here. This is where a large fluffy nap really comes in handy for getting into all the nooks and crannies you just worked all the dressing into.

This is real simple stuff folks - just start wiping. And do a GREAT job.

Next blast all the small, tight intricate areas with some form of compressed air. The Metro-Vac Blaster Sidekick works great for this....

Done.

And now the engine compartment looks as crisp and clean as the exterior of the car.

My comments... When the topic of ENGINE DETAILING is brought up, most people think about some type of process that includes degreasers and a pressure washer. This is old school. It's mess, time-consuming, hard work and rarely profitable and filled with risk. The thing is, most cars on the road today... when you pop the hood they look like the engine compartment you see in the above pictures. That is, it's all PLASTIC. You can't even see the actual engine. This is why you don't do the heavy super degreaser and pressure washer routine, you teach yourself to be an expert at Cosmetic Engine Detailing. With the 4 simple things I shared above, you can tackle most engine in 15 minutes or less. Don't take something that should be very easy and turn it into Rocket Science - it's not, it's plastic man.... lots of plastic.

From this...

To this....

Quick, fast and easy plus... little risk. Mostly just be careful with the brush. Don't knock any thing around like electrical plug-ins, etc.