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looking for a good engine cleaner

753 views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  big4 
#1 ·
Anyone know what kinda engine cleaner they use at the carlots and stuff that makes the aluminum look nice and new? I've tried a bunch of stuff but there's something they get that we don't, cause I can never get mine as clean unless I go in with toothbrush and solvent with the engine out. Eagle1 mag and aluminum for cast wheels works really well but it eats all the goldish plating stuff off the bolts. I've searched this and it seems to come up with a bunch of irrelevent threads, if it's been covered before-post the link and my bad.
 
#2 · (Edited)
i work at a dealership and the detailers at my work just use a general engine degreaser and varsol to clean engine bays and greasy door jambs and such.

depending on the age of the metal and how long it's been left dirty, you may have no choice but to do it the hard way, that being remove the engine and/or the individual part and scrub it by hand as best you can. i've used the mother's, eagle1 and meguiars metal polishes and i can't even imagine using them to clean the metal on my engine because you'll spend a LONG TIME scrubbing and buffing. if it's a show car or not a DD and you can afford the downtime then it is feasable to clean it so throughly. however, eventually engine parts get to a point where you can only get them so clean and anything more requires removing the engine and hitting each section by hand with ALOT of heavy duty elbow grease. all the heat and exposure to the wet elements dulls the metal over time so it's nothing we can really help unless the car is bought new (or has parts that are refinished), kept in a weatherproof garage all the time and only driven on dry days.



not sure if this is the answer you are looking for but my personal favourite is SPRAY NINE:



for most medium-to-light duty degreasing and cleaning jobs on cars, it cuts through oil and grime nicely with very minimal scrubbing needed. i used it to clean old oil guarding behind the sideskirts on my EG and aside from some areas where i needed to really scrub it because it was so thick, most of the time when i spray an oily spot, by the 5th or 6th spray it's already dislodged the residue and the bare metal or paint is showing. the nice thing with spray nine is you can use it around the house as well so you don't need a ton of different cleaners. just by one spray bottle for the garage, one for the house and buy the bulk jugs and refill the spray bottles as needed.

if you have some SERIOUS heavy duty cleaning to do, my personal choice is always Castrol Super Clean :TU:

***FAIR WARNING***...CSC is a SERIOUS chemical. modellers use it to strip paint from model parts so it will remove the first layer of your skin quickly (i read that's what the slimy feeling is when you get it on your hand, the cleaner is now partially made up of the former outter layer of your skin :( ). not thinking anything, the first time i used it i didn't have gloves on. subsequently the back of my hands looked like snakeskin for several days and was obviously chemically burnt. but with the proper personal protective equipment like gloves and safety glasses/face shield (yes, it's that good and that strong) it works wonders and makes short work of most degreasing and cleaning jobs.

it will strip automotive paint so rinse it immediately if any gets on a painted surface you don't want damaged.
 
#3 ·
do they sell that in the states? ive never seen it before
 
#5 ·
spray nine is sold in the states i believe. i know up here i can get it at carquest nextdoor to my work in bulk in the huge gallon pails.

super clean i heard was banned in some states because it is so powerful but i know it's still sold down there in most states. here it's sold almost everywhere.

super clean is probably one of the best cleaners you can get but you have to be careful with it. you def dont want to be spraying it carelessly on a windy day type thing. if modellers use it as an alternative to brake fluid to strip paint, it's some serious stuff :TU:
 
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#6 ·
yea i used to have some before they banned it. i kno the owners of the local car quest so ill give them a call and see if htey can get it! thanks steve-o! :TU:
 
#7 ·
spray nine is the first bottle i grab when i need to do some general all-round cleaning. i like it alot because it's readily available almost anywhere and they offer it in various sizes of bulk jugs too (carquest however is the only place i've seen around here that sells it in the huge multi-gallon pails) so you can refill the smaller spray bottles. in additon to saving money by using the bulk jugs, it's nice that it can be used for cleaning around the house as well, thus saving you money again by not having to buy all kinds of different cleaners. and money saved = more money for your build ;) :TU:

super clean is my "only when i need it" choice for those serious jobs when spray nine isn't strong enough.
 
#8 ·
gotcha! ok well ill keep that in mind and look for it! check ur user cp stevo! :TU:
 
#9 ·
Sweet thanks, I've used CSC before, it eats everything though, it will partially eat the anodizing off your aftermarket parts, will dull the paint, and eat your hands too:( It ate my first layer of skin on my palms and it just scraped off easy with my fingernails, really nasty. Where's a common place to score this spray nine, like Mall Wart?
 
#10 ·
stevo says he gets it at car quest. ive never seen it at walmart so i doubt they carry it
 
#11 ·
yes, i get it at our carquest (not sure if it's any different than yours down there). the one next to my dealership has the huge pails of it but they're the only place i've seen with those in stock.

i know spray nine can be had up here a any place that sells automotive car products. it's usually in the same aisle as the waxes and cleaners. i think our wal-mart up here stocks it but i guess you'd just have to call around.

spray nine is no where near as heavy duty as CSC but it does a nice job at getting most things clean under the hood. as with any cleaner, you don't want it to dry or sit on desireable surfaces too long. if you really want to get the gooey and grimey stuff gone, i'd use CSC and just exercise caution how and where you spray it (avoid windy days).

i don't think there's a product that you can spray on that will shine metal that has environmental and surface degredation. even with the great care i took with my car and the fact that i only drove it 3 or 4 winters max up here since i bought it new in 1995 (stored with a car cover all other winters since then) there's still parts of my engine and transmission that i won't get sparkling clean unless i pull the engine and hit it with a bristle brush and cleaner.

the nice thing about cleaning so thoroughly is once you finish it completely and provided you keep on top of it every week or so (i detailed my car once a week and sprayed the engine down as it needed it) it is that much easier to keep clean each time you do.
 
#12 ·
ill check car quest tmw and see what i can find out!
 
#13 ·
Go to a Flying J or Blue bekin(Not spelled right?) truck wash and get them to spray your engine. They use acid/ brightener. I got my wifes mustang done, wow it looked like new after. Plus its a Ford so it had oil all over it. Funny thing its been a yr and still no oil came back.
 
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