Yesterday, I spent about an hour cleaning various parts of the engine compartment with a wet sponge and paper towels.
I wish I'd taken a picture before cleaning, so you could see how dirty everything was...
Do you also clean your car in this area?

 

I got a steam cleaner for that purpose. It seems to work not great but it does work out some of the greaser spots out.

 

I try to keep it clean but dirt happens

 

A hand held "swiller" dampened with Simple Green works great for getting into and under tight places.

 

Swiller does not compute.

 

Sorry. Spell checker got me. Meant to write "Swiffer". You know, those magic fuzzy dirt pickeruppers.

 

Some ask me how I keep my engine bay so clean.
With a cool engine temperature I cover the alternator with plastic and lightly spray everywhere with a garden hose and rinse away dust.
Then go for a drive and let the engine heat dry everything completely.
Then simply detail with any product you choose to restore the black surfaces.
***I have NO oil leakage but if you do, spray oily area with Simple Green and allow about 10 minutes for it to penetrate areas applied before rinsing as I did here.
***Note: If you remove your OEM engine cover be sure to cover the throttle body (Air inlet) completely with plastic !!

 

I wipe it clean with soapy water on a microfiber cloth. Then I use another cloth with clean water and wipe it down again. After that I go over all of the rubber parts with McGuire's Ultimate Black, and a quick detailer for the metal surfaces.

 

Everything indicates that in America people take great care to keep the engine compartment and under the hood of their Crossfires clean.

 

Only if it is a special vehicle.

 

I do the best I can with my base model and my truck.

 

I try to keep both engine bays clean enough to eat off of. That means occasional hose sprays then detailed wiping down all the surfaces. Finally a good shining product from Mothers or Meguairs. I do the same for my Ghibli.

2005 Roadster

2018 Maserati Ghibli SQ4 GranLusso

 

I follow Gary's protocol above for the most part. I typically dry off the engine washing using my leaf blower instead of taking the Coupe out for a short drive. Results I get are comparable.