How To

Show-N-Go: Cut the Grime and Bring Home a Trophy

In our previous General Car Care installments (see "It Takes More Than the Occasional Wash and Wax to Keep Your Car Looking its Best" and "Interior Motives - The Basics of Interior Detailing"), we covered the basics on getting that showroom shine back to your vehicle's finish and getting the interior back into shape. In our final installment, we're going to cover the least-often cleaned part of the car - the engine bay - and for those of you who are fanatics, we'll cover some tips on making your car a show winner.

Most car owners avoid cleaning their engine like the plague - fearing they'll do something that will do irrevocable harm to their car. Thankfully, that's not the case, providing you take a few precautionary measures and take your time.

As before, there are some simple rules to remember. First, if you've already detailed the exterior of your vehicle, cover all waxed surfaces with either butcher paper or moving pads. Degreasers and engine cleaners will strip your fresh finish off faster than a bug splatting against a windshield at 70 mph.

Second, be sure to have a good stock of old bath towels on hand to help absorb the excess water and dry the engine compartment when you're done. Since the towels will be in contact with various oils and possibly corrosive materials, be sure to throw out the towels after you are finished.

Before you start the cleaning process, take a little time to evaluate the condition of your engine bay. Is it covered mostly in road grime, or is there a lot of built-up grease and oil? Are the battery terminals encrusted in corrosion? Depending on how long it's been since you've cleaned your engine and the buildup of grease and grime, you may be able to use a household cleaner (such as Simple Green) or, if the engine hasn't been cleaned in 50,000 miles, you might consider using a heavy-duty, engine-specific cleaner such as Radiator Specialty Company's Gunk or Meguiar's All-Purpose Cleaner.

If your engine is covered in grease, you may want to rent a steam cleaner. A steam cleaner is basically a high-pressure water pump, which heats incoming water in a tank and is usually heated by a kerosene or diesel heater. Just like hot water to your dinner dishes, heated pressure washers literally "melt" the grime right off the engine. The downside is that these units can be quite cumbersome and the high pressures (up to 4,000 PSI) can damage old rubber and plastic parts. When in doubt, consult with a professional detailer.

First off, we need to protect water-sensitive electronics and air intake by covering them with plastic. Using one-quart food storage bags, split the bags in half with a pair of scissors, creating a "hood." Place this over any open air elements, alternator, distributor and coil or coil packs. Cover the fenders and windshield with your butcher paper, using either low-tack masking tape or blue painter's tape.

Next, you should check your battery for corrosion at the terminals. If the battery terminals are covered with a white, crusty, coating, sprinkle the battery terminal with baking soda and water and brush the corrosion away gently with an old toothbrush. Since the corrosion is acidic, be sure to brush the corrosion away from you. Rinse with water and repeat if additional corrosion is still present.

Now we're ready to get rid of the grime. If you've determined that the engine just needs a light cleaning, mix a ratio of 1:1 of either Simple Green or Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner in a spray bottle. If you're worried about carpal tunnel syndrome, pour the solution into a pressurized garden sprayer (that is either new or has been thoroughly washed and rinsed with bleach).

Spray the engine and compartment liberally with the solution and allow it to sit for a couple of minutes. After the cleaner has had a chance to soak into the grease and grime, use an old toothbrush or a small scrub brush to loosen the goop. Be careful around vacuum lines and electric connections, as you don't want to disconnect anything accidentally.

Using a garden hose with a spray attachment, rinse off the engine and components. If additional grime remains, repeat the process, or use an engine-specific cleaner (like RSC's Gunk), which is formulated to loosen and break down the grease molecules. Once the engine and compartment is clean, take the old bath towels and dry off as much of the engine and compartment components as possible.

Remove the plastic you have covering the air intake and electrical components. To get those hard to reach areas dry (the valleys in an intake manifold can be extremely difficult to reach with most factory plastic intake manifold covers in place), you can use the "shake and bake" method - start the car and go for a ride! Before you exit your driveway, be sure all gauges are reading correctly. Sometimes - if a sender has a cracked boot - water can cause the gauge to stop reading temporarily. If that is the case, pull the boot off of the sensor and dry with compressed air.

Now, for those of you who have ever thought about running the car-show circuit, here are a few tricks of the trade that will get the judge's attention.

Depending on the class you've entered, more attention to detail will be given by the judges. Generally, shows, or "concours," are split into three main groups, with distinction given to marque and/or model.

The most common class for daily drivers is "wash and wax." This class takes into consideration the condition of the paint and exterior surfaces only. The next common category is "street show," a class for daily drivers, which have been thoroughly detailed and/or modified, that adds the cleanliness of the interior, tires and wheels. At some shows, the engine and compartment is also included in this group. Finally, the "show" or "concours" class is where the fanatics lie. In this class, the cars are detailed to the max, subject to a full-on white-glove inspection, and no stone is left unturned. All aspects of the vehicle are examined for cleanliness, condition and uniformity - chassis, suspension, engine, trunk, interior, exterior, wheels and tires are all evaluated on a 100-point scale. Competition can be fierce in this group, with one-tenth of a point separating Best of Show from First in Class.

No matter which class you decide to enter your vehicle in, there are a few simple items which can help you earn those extra points that'll push you above your competition.

1. Take a soft and well-used toothbrush to all of the exterior emblems, trim and panel joints that have leftover wax in them. For intricate emblems, a toothpick works wonders on getting the wax out.
   
   
2. Look at all of the screws inside and out of the car. All of the heads should line up, meaning the flat heads should look like "-" sign and Phillips screws should look like a "+" sign. Be careful not to over tighten screws that hold plastic parts, as you run the risk of cracking the plastic.
   
   
3. "Dress" the interior by setting the front seats at the same angle and distance from the dash, align the steering wheel parallel to the dashboard, and fasten all of the seatbelts. Brush your carpet in one direction to "align" the grain and adjust all of your air vents to a "like" position.
   
   
4. Scrub the wheel wells and suspension with either the Simple Green or Meguiar's All-Purpose Cleaner. In the case of a tiebreaker, judges can and will look at items that may not be judged in your class. If a judge notices that the suspension arms are clean when inspecting wheels and tires, you'll probably get an extra point or two.
   
   
5. If you have the luxury of knowing when the judges are about to examine your car, you can quickly remove dust and give your paint a temporary "wet" look by spraying Pledge onto a terry cloth towel and wiping it over the paint. The product will last for about 20 minutes - long enough for the judges to be enamored by the paint on your car.
   
   
6. Attention to detail is paramount. That means going the extra mile, cleaning, polishing and waxing the doorjambs, doorsills, and fender lips. Along those same lines, if you decide to add chrome, paint or polish to any of the vehicle's accessories, add it evenly and uniformly. Judges wince when they see a yellow engine compartment in a red car or a mixture of chrome, brass and gold plating on the same part. Remember, judges like flash, not clash.
   
   
7. If you're going to do the job, do it right. If the exterior looks pristine, but your interior is dirty, you'll lose more points than Greg Louganis performing a belly flop at the Olympics. All judges will evaluate the car as a total package, not just the singular components.