What's the best way to detail my engine? It's got 135k on it and is a bit dirty and I want to make it look somewhat respectable so I can pop my hood at car shows and show off my headers.

Uh yeah, I know since it has the opti I can't pressure wash it, what products can I use? what spots should I hit? Elbow, CAI, etc? I'll post pics in a couple days, I have a new digital camera arriving tomorrow.

 

I just used some Simple Green and some shop towels. Then I took some Mothers Back To Black and hit up the hoses and plastic pieces. I also used some Mothers Billet Polish and shined up my throttle body and air conditioning hoses. It takes a while but it looks really good. I usually hit it up with a towel every 2 weeks or so to keep it up.

 

You can use degreasers - just don't go crazy because to rinse, you will want to remove any nozzles and just let it run it off. Rubbing with diluted simple green is always good... If you have any chrome like surfaces, a good metal polish should obviously be used - bring those out. All plastic surfaces should be clean looking...not sure what you mean by what spots to hit - anything in eye sight that you can get at - don't forget the bottom of the hood. Sorry this was slopped - it's late.

Oh yea, once everything is cleaned/etc. spray EVERYTHING down (besides battery terminals and opti...stuff like that) with CD2 Engine Detailing spray (AZone).

 

Tireshine on the rubber elbow looks good, steel wool works nicely on any tough grime, like maybe on top of the intake manifold. The only time I ever used a hose was when I did an opti, now I just maintain it with a towel and some quick detailer. Armor all ultra shine on the plastics.