How To: Detail Engine (w/Video)

June 10, 2011 / Mike / No comments

The last month I have been reviving my 2006 Acura TSX and I was looking to do a video. I decided that I should take care of the engine bay since I haven’t done that yet. The engine bay was really in good condition I just wanted to make a video about engine detailing. You don’t have to use the same exact products I use, just use something similar.

Time: 45 minutes

Tools
Pump Sprayer (Lowes $7)
Generic Fender Brush
EZ Detail Brush
Swissvax Wheel Brush
Costco Microfiber Towels

How To: Engine Detail

Directions
1. If your car has a hood liner, start cleaning that by grabbing an upholstery cleaner, then giving it a quick scrub. This will help loosen any dirt that might be embedded within the liner.

2. Rinse the hood liner. Might need to run over it twice just to make sure you got the majority of the dirt out.

3. Degrease your engine bay. I work in 1/4 sections of the bay.

4. Agitate the area you are working on. Really take your time here, you want this engine looking fresh.

5. Rinse the area you just cleaned. I do not use water from a hose. All of my rinse water comes from a pump sprayer so that the water is more controlled.

Repeat steps 3-5 on the remaining sections.

6. Blow dry engine. If you don’t have access to forced air, move on to step 7.

7. Hand dry the engine bay. The forced air won’t get the bay 100% dry, so go in and dry the rest with a microfiber towel.

8. Liberally spray dressing in the engine compartment. Let the dressing sit, we will come back to this.

9. Clean, Polish & Wax painted areas under hood.

10. Remove any excess dressing in the engine bay. With this step, take your time, this is the other step that by taking your time, you will really bring the engine compartment back to the day it came off the factory lines. Wipe down every hose, and get to those hard to reach areas.

11. Clean & Treat all rubber seals.

Enjoy your fresh engine bay!

Here are a few pictures of various engine bay that I have detailed using this exact method.

Review: Chemical Guys Waterless Wash

January 2, 2011 / Mike / No comments

I recently did a test on the Chemical Guys ECOSMART Waterless Wash system.  I had about a 2month daily driven car to test with.  The car was quite dirty, in fact possibly a bit more dirty than a car should be using a waterless wash system.  With that said, this waterless wash system has its limitations.  Bird droppings, Dirt and Road Grime were no match for this cleaning solution, however the ECOSMART solution met its match when it came to hard water spots.  While the ECOSMART washing system was able to remove a majority of the water spotting, it wasn’t able to remove as much as previous washes have done, and with that said

I give this product a 4 of 5 stars.

Check out the video below to see some before and after results.

How To: Eco Waterless Wash Your Car

January 1, 2011 / Mike / No comments

Take a peek at this video I put together about waterless washing.  This method will remove dirt, water spots, bird droppings, dead bugs & road grime.  While using this technique remember the following tips:

  1. Spray plenty of wash solution on the vehicle.
  2. Work one panel at a time.
  3. Wipe solution off lightly. (no pressure)
  4. Turn towel to a new side often.
  5. Get a new towel when needed.
  6. Buff off haze.

Instructions Listed below.

  1. Start with a mildly dirty car (dust is okay, mud is not)
  2. Pull your car into a shaded area.
  3. Put your waterless wash solution in a spray bottle (or pump bottle like shown)
  4. Start spraying an upper panel of the car (work top of the vehicle down)
  5. Use a clean microfiber cloth, and gently wipe the solution away. (DO NOT wipe over dry areas)
  6. Buff off haze.
  7. Repeat until entire exterior is clean. (solution works on windows & wheels as well)

Items Used in Video

  1. Chemical Guys Eco Smart Waterless Wash – $20
  2. Pump Sprayer (available at Lowes) – $8
  3. ADS Premium Microfiber Towel – $1.20/ea

Video: Time Lapse Car Wash

December 30, 2010 / Mike / One comment

Just a fun little video of me washing my car about 2 years ago.

How To: Deep Clean your Carpet on a Budget

December 30, 2010 / Mike / No comments

So imagine you are headed to work with your morning cup of Joe, and you hit a bump you couldn’t see. #@!**.

It’s okay we all have bad days, so you get home and call the first person you know can clean this mess up. Here I will go over the steps to clean the interior of your car, clean or not so clean.

Items Used
Shop Vac
Bissell Little Green Clean Machine – LGCM
Folex Carpet Stain Spray
Oxi-Clean
2 Buckets
Interior Scrub Brush
Microfiber Towels

1. (Optional) This step makes the rest 1000x easier. Remove the seats out of the car. Usually it only takes a couple of bolts.

2. Give the interior a through vacuuming.

3. Pre-treat all of the stained areas with your folex spray. Make sure to give the areas a liberal spray so that lifting and removing the stains will be easier.

4. While the pre-treatment is working itself in, fill your 2 buckets with HOT water. Water from the tap will do just fine, no need to boil it.

5. Take one of the buckets with hot water and add 1 ounce of oxi-clean/16 ounces of water. Let the oxi-clean dissolve into this bucket, and leave the other bucket just plain with water.

6. While the oxi-clean is dissolving, take your interior scrub brush and scrub the pre-treated areas. Give them about 15-20 second scrub each area.

7. With your hands, or a small bottle, scoop out some oxi/h2o solution and pour it into the affected area. Work one area at a time. Make sure you get enough solution in the area, and then start scrubbing. Once you think you have scrubbed enough, scrub some more, and then suck up all of the solution with your LGCM.

8. Now take some of your water only, and pour that in the same area, then suck up the water with your LGCM. This is your rinse cycle. If the water coming up from the carpet is totally clear, then move on to the next area. If not, repeat step #7. solution/scrub/rinse until you are happy with the results. The water coming up from the carpet will most likely never be totally clear, but it also shouldn’t look like chocolate milk, you be the judge.

9. When doing your final rinse cycle, suck up all the water you can, your carpet/seats should be moist not wet.

10. When you are finished with all of the areas spray febreeze under your seats, and under your floor mats (if applicable)

When you are finally done you should have something that looks similar to this.

Welcome to MDetail

December 23, 2010 / Mike / No comments

Hey there!

Welcome to MDetail.  Just to give you a quick intro to this site, MDetail is all about improving everyone’s knowledge about car-care.

Ever since I was 12 years old I have been washing cars.  My Dad had planned on giving me his 1987 Honda prelude with over 300,000 miles on it, but the paint and interior were in great condition.  When I would go to his house about once a month, I would spend a half day or so washing, waxing, and caring for the car.  Over the years my knowledge on car care has expanded more than I could have ever imagined.  This love for car care turned into an obsession, then turned into a business.  I don’t do as many paid detail jobs as I used to (I have a full time job), but I still love it just as much.  I wanted one place that the everyday consumer could come to for advice, techniques, tips and an unbiased opinion on car-care products.

Please be patient over the next few weeks as I work to get much needed content on the site.  I would also like to invite you to contact me for any questions you have, or any how to’s you would like me to produce, or reviews on products you would like to see.  I hope to see you around soon!

 

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