I've never been much of an engine cleaner and I am put to shame by those photos. I must mend my ways.
What is the best stuff to clean the engine/bay with?
For an initial clean Brake Cleaner works wonders for getting off thick grease, tar, general grime and splodges! I use it with fragance free (Tesco own brand are best) baby wipes, as you can throw the dirt away without contaminating hundreds of clothes.
Just be careful to keep it away from black plastics (it will dye them grey if you rub it on them) and be careful not to rub it on stickers or silicone sealant/bonding as it will eventually rub it off with elbow grease.
After that I use Aerospace 303 protector on the black plastics, and a general spray on detailer such as Meguiars Bulk 5l Detailer (much cheaper than buying a 500ml bottle from Halfords).
All the above you can get from cleanyourcar.co.uk careful though, its a slippery slope!
Nick
That is a wonderful job you have done above and below the bonnet in making a Series 1 look its very best. In fact you have done a great job in bringing the Series 1 back to the top of the Talk Morgan news.
I would like my engine bay looking like that, but did you mention "elbow grease", is there not a magic bullet that you spray on and wipe off.
Thank you for the kind comments, she really does look like a different car now!
Aaah yes, I must post slightly less... hehe
Brake cleaner is pretty magic, and works great on the ally bits as well to get the dirt off, I would say it cuts any elbow grease down to a minimum.
The bonnet wings, inside, seems to be in a different color.
It's just a primer or a "full" paint but different?
In mine they have the same color of the rest of the car (even if it looks less finished)
As Shooter mentioned you could choose to have them blue, this is something I might change in the future if I get her resprayed for super mintyness..
I've never been much of an engine cleaner and I am put to shame by those photos. I must mend my ways.
What is the best stuff to clean the engine/bay with?
Careful or you will get sucked down the detailing road! In a moment of weakness after buying the Ferrari, I bought a basic detailing kit. Fancy shampoo that costs way more than the stuff I use on what little hair is left to me and much more than the washing up liquid previously used. And I have now to have two buckets since my wash mitt ( sheepskin and looks like a cross between a sporran and a cod piece you stick your hand in
) has to be rinsed in one bucket to get any specks of grit out before being dipped in the liquid gold in the other bucket. I have special fly removal fluid and special wheel protection fluid plus IronEx to get rid of brake dust. And fleece towels for patting ( not rubbing) my baby dry.
Actually I have cheated on the latter using a load of nice fluffy human towels - we have the thin bald ones in the house.
So leave your engine alone. Let God wash the car - thats what he made rain for. Dont buy yourself a sheepskin cod piece or if you do, save it for washing down the wife or girlfriend.
It is a very slippery slope, my garage cabinet is almost full of different polishes and potions...eep.
