Moving to Wash and Wax.

Simple green works wonders, just don't spray H20 directly on electrical connectors and the alternator.

 

First, STAY AWAY FROM SIMPLE GREEN. I cannot stress this enough. Simple Green has a widely known reputation for staining (and even degrading) metals such as aluminum. Just because it hasn't happened to you that only means it hasn't happened to you yet.

Second, engine cleaning is very easy. A lot of people have already mentioned most of the steps, but here's a quick "how to" . . .

• Stuff a towel in the air intake because you don't want water in there. Plus know where the alternator is because you want to avoid spraying it with anything.
• Spray down the whole engine bay with a gentle degreaser like Meguiar's Safe D-Greaser (check for it in small sizes at Autodetailingsolutions.com). Then let the cleaner dwell for a few minutes.
• Scrub everything you can reach with either a toothbrush (for tight areas) or a body/wheel brush.
• Hose off using a gentle spray from your garden hose. Do not leave the stream in one place for more than a second and be careful not to soak anything.
• If engine is still greasy in some areas repeat the previous steps, but chances are it will now be clean.
• Remove the towel from the air intake and turn on the engine. Let it run for 10 minutes with the hood closed. The heat from the engine will help to dry the engine bay.
• Towel dry any remaining water.
• Spray a quality vinyl dressing on everything in the engine bay. Meguiar's Hyper Dressing (also available in small sizes on ADS) is a popular choice, but my personal favorite is CD2 Engine Detailer.
• Run the engine with the hood closed again for 10 minutes to dry the dressing.
• Towel off any excess dressing.

I've done this to many, many cars without a problem. Here are some additional tips for getting the best results.

• never clean a hot engine
• make sure to clean the underside of the hood
• Be careful around stickers. A brush and some cleaner will quickly remove them which is not a good thing.
• Be mindful of electrical connections.

 

slightly Warm engine
bucket of hot water with a little soap
watch cloth
wipe over 2 times
rinse with low pressure garden hose
Towel dry for 5-10 minutes
drive around the block for 1-2 minutes
turn off and re-dry spots

I've read on the can of Spray silicone, good for plastic and rubber....
let dry over night... wipe in morning any excess

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/als.aspx

 

What's a watch cloth?

Also, while I'm sure silicone has served you well, I would have two concerns about dressing my engine with it. First, lubricating parts which should not be lubricated. Second, silicone tends to sit on the surface of plastic/rubber so it would attract a lot of dust making the need for engine cleaning more frequent than necessary.

 

I agree. Personal experience with another car... do not use Simple Green.

CD2 is awesome.

 

Honestly, those are the people you should be most afraid of. If you only knew how clueless honda dealers are in regards to the s2000, you would have a coronary.

 

Another tip is to cover any sensitive electrical components (alternator) with aluminum foil, just to be extra safe about not getting them soaked. Just make sure to remove before staring the car up of course.

 

Cover electrical items with cling film (sarran wrap) spray AutoGlym engine and machine cleaner everywhere, leave to soak for a few minutes then work in with a brush ( i use AutoGlym Hi-tec wheel brush and a short/stiff bristle detail brush) rinse off with hose then spray everywhere with AutoGlym vinyl and rubber care and leave to dry.

Results on an 80,000 Mile 7 year old S2000.

 

many ways to skin a cat - carwash soap, or Dawn dish liquid, or any cleaner will work. even simple green diluted 1:2 is fine, after all you are spraying the stuff on, scrub a bit and then rinsing everything down within 5 min.

 

would using the foam gun with soam gold class soap be a good idea?