I do not endorse any of the products found in these articles however there are some good points and precautions listed that I think are valuable information.

If you have additonal information, or comments please by all means post it.


How to detail your engine

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-engine.html

How to detail polished metal and trim

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-trim.html

How to detail your tires

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-wheels.html

 

Good articles all. That's basically how I do my engine bay but I use Meguiar's Hyper Dressing after cleaning it with Meguiar's Safe De-Greaser.

As for metal polishing, here's what I did on the tail pipe of an S2000 at the Meguiar's clinic a bunch of us SoCal Crossfire owners attended recently. This was about 5 minutes work with Meguiar's Hot Rims Mag & Aluminum Polish. Not bad, huh?

 

I love that stuff...it's such a fine polish too, it's great on other items that are soft, like plastics (think headlights and tail lights).

 

I have been told on other forums that you should never use an engine degreaser as it may damage the finish of different areas under the hood. I have since started using citrus based cleaners with very good success.

 

Some costic degreasers will damage bare aluminum and leave them with an oxidized (foggy) appearance. The big thing with degreaser is that it strips the natural oils out of your rubber hoses and belts and will cause them to get brittle, turn brown, crack, then fail (over time). If you must degrease use a gentle degreaser and just take more time (simple green, ORANGE, etc). Use harsh degreasers only when absolutely nessecary. And after degreasing always coat your engine with an engine dressing product (or armor all) after degreasing to give your rubber hoses and belts their oils back.

 

Thanks for the tip!

 

Which is why I use Meguiar's Safe D-Greaser from their Detailer Line. Strong stuff, can be diluted to a variety of ratios, and safe for plastic and rubber surfaces. Since my engines are never allowed to get very dirty to begin with I dilute it 10:1 so a gallon that costs me $12.99 really ends up being 10 gallons for that price. Hard to beat. I understand it is being/has been replaced with a product called Super De-Greaser so once I've used up what I have I'll be buying some of the newer product.

 

Thanks for tip.