1. Importance of Engine Bay and Component Cleaning
Regular using of your car can make the engine area hot and dank, and these conditions lead to dust, grime, and debris accumulation. Besides, things worsen when fluids starts leaking from these components; thus, it becomes inevitable to clean your car's engine and components to avoid such conditions. Cleaning your engine and components provides you opportunity to have a detailed understanding of your car's anatomy. Furthermore, it helps you to detect problems before becoming more serious. Neglecting engine bay cleaning can cost you a hefty amount in its replacement and fixing. Removal of debris and road salts can avoid corrosion that develops due to accumulation. It is essential to eliminate dust and debris that can cause hot spots on your engine and components, shortening their life span.
Why Cleaning Your Engine Bay is Essential for Performance and Longevity
A clean engine provides excellent work and looks great. Additionally, a car with a clean engine bay offers higher resale value. Cleaned engine bay detects minor problems early for a quick repair to avoid bigger issues. Also, it helps in removing corrosive elements and prevents combustible materials that can affect your beloved vehicle. Engines and its components become dirty with regular running and exposed to environmental factors when driving during windy and wet weather. So, maintaining it will not only give a great look but also increase its performance over time. If you think that engine bay cleaning is not your cup of tea, it is advisable to seek professional assistance to handle this task for high-quality results.
If you decide to clean your engine bay, you can replace all air filters for AC system and cabin, and perform ozone treatment for smell removal.
2. The Engine Steam Cleaning Process Explained
2.1 Blow up buildups with compressed air or leaf blower
The first step is to dry clean by removing all dry material present within the engine bay. Blow up all those dust, grime, and debris properly. Then, clean up cracks and crevices by using brushes to loosen buildup. Fiber brushes are more suitable to synthetic and plastic surfaces, whereas, for metal surfaces, it is the best to use a wire brush. Continue blowing to gather all loosed dust and debris.
2.2 Apply degreaser on engine bay
Apply degreaser by using a spray bottle to the exposed surfaces within engine bay; make sure to degrease those areas with grime buildups. When applying degreaser, it is important to begin from lower to upper areas as it prevents the degreaser to drip on you when cleaning bottom areas. Most importantly, it is always advisable to avoid using harsh petroleum-based cleaners that can cause damage.Once applied, allow the cleaner to sit for 1-2 minutes so that all dust, debris, and other greases soaks. During soaking process, keep an eye so that degreaser won't dry on the surface. When there are mild grease levels, you may not require a brush; however, for heavy soil, you need to use a brush to breakup grimes during rinsing. With a brush, you can move through cracks and surrounding parts for deep cleaning. With Fortador PRO Car Steam cleaners you can apply detergent with steam and make it more powerful thanks to high temperature.
2.3 Clean up degreaser removing dirt and grime
Once you become ready for degreaser removal, lets Steam Clean Engine, use a Steamer in WET MODE with a normal nozzle and a full pressure to clean up the entire engine bay area. You need to clean degreasers without knocking-off the plastic coverings and avoid electrical connections.
2.4 Repeat when not satisfied engine cleaning steps
After cleanup process, if you are not satisfied with the results, you can redo it by applying a degreaser, brushing all areas, and rinsing it with steam.
Upon completion, start your engine immediately and let it on for a few minutes to dry everything. Also, you can remove used plastic coverings applied on some engine components to avoid splashing of water.
2.5 Protect and polish engine components, pipes and plastic covers
Suppose you notice your engine contains rust or chrome parts. In that case, it is necessary to have them polished with high-quality material like Turtle WaxChrome Polish & Rust Remover and carry out polishing using metal polish paste. It is required to dry up your car engine before applying wax or protectants. You can take help of a blower for drying, and after that, with a clean microfiber cloth, wipe down complete section once. When everything is dried, and engine has become cool, you can apply engine protectant to give it a radiant look.
Check this guide for restoration of plastic trims
For plastic parts, you have to use premium protectant or cleaners. Apply it with a terry cloth or applicator, and then remove it using a microfiber cloth; this will help remove small scratches. It depends upon you whether you wish to wax the painted sections or use high-quality sealant. Besides, it is important to use special metalp olish for metal parts. While performing a shine up process, make sure toa ddress visible surfaces like underneath hood, humps, firewall, and fender. It is suggested to use only top quality paint sealant for a shiny look and protection.
2.6 Dry out engine area again to get spotless look
There are several useful tools that you can use for drying your engine like a pressure air or a leaf blower to dry out excess water around engine bay. Upon completion, you can start the engine and make it reach to its normal operating temperature. Moreover, you can turn on the AC and run your compressor to help engine and components dry down within a few minutes.
2.7 Engine bay dressing for a final touch
If you want to perform a more special task, you can take help from engine dressing for a greeter engine look. Spray engine dressing once the engine has been cooled; it is like add on to your engine. Although this step is not mandatory; however, it can make your engine bay look glossier and like new. It offers a uniform look that you cannot get through basic degreasing process and washing.In addition to that, engine dressing acts as a barrier to dust and debris, making it easier to remove during cleaning.
Learn more how to wash microfibers from heavy soil to reuse them again.
3. Important Considerations for Engine Steam Cleaning
When you think of cleaning your car engine, it is relevant to keep certain things in mind for receiving desired results. First of all, when cleaning your engine bay, make sure to protect surrounding components. If you have an older car, keeping carburator covered becomes necessary when performing cleaning work. Moreover, to be on safe side, ensure all electrical components are protected from water because they can easily cut out when contact with water. Also, always avoid washing your engine bay when it's hot as it can stress metal parts and cause cracks.
After cleaning tasks, if anything goes wrong with your engine, never fix it yourself, as it can worsen the condition. It will be a help if you go through manual properly before performing any fixing work, or else you can seek help from professional technicians for best results. Professional technicians have enough experience to deal with any kind of repairing work and know what needs to bed one during such situations. It would be best if you carried out detailed research before cleaning your car engine and components. In case you feel that you do not have sufficient time and knowledge regarding it, then the best thing is to take help from expert technicians for high-quality outputs.
4. Conclusion: Maintain a Clean Engine for Enhanced Performance
Several car owners find that a cleaning car engine is just a beginning to engine enhancement. When you do frequent engine cleaning, it helps to get rid of dust and debris accumulation. With this detailed post, you must have gained required information on how you can effectively clean up your engine and components. Always remember that you are investing by performing a car engine cleaning task. Since your car is a valuable asset, so maintaining it will bring you a lot of benefits.
In order to keep your car's performance great and prevent it from oil leakage, grease, and corrosion, it is essential to keep your car engine cleaned.Cleaning your car engine will not only give your satisfaction but also help to boost its longevity. According to experts, functionality trump over fashion when it comes to car engine cleaning. Besides, everyone who loves their car finds it worth it to let their vehicle stay in good condition.