Engine detailers?

Anybody have recommendations for a good engine detailer In greater la area ?

I know great interior or exterior detailers but no one wants to do motor.

appreciate any recommendations

thanks

 

my engine bay needs this asap too, not saying I'm actually gonna do it...

 

Most just spray some simple green around and gently hose it off. Too many electronics and electrical connections under there to be pressure wash.
Good luck.

 

Thanks

I got a few land cruisers and mr2 I am putting up for sale . They are all old, and good engine cleaning would help

I did the simple green and brush - but my “after” is nowhere near what most sale ads seem to have. Thus I think having a professional would help out

 

This surprises me that no one wants to touch it. I've always washed my engine bays at least 1-2 times per year to keep 'em clean and it's pretty easy. I bought my Subaru at 20k miles and after 10yrs and 195k miles the bay looked cleaner than most people's cars with <50k miles.

Post some pics of your bay after you washed it, lets see how bad it is. It may just need another round of cleaning. Cramped bays are tough but on the flipside you don't need to clean as well or as deep since most areas can't even be seen. Pre-sale details and photoshoots have become a kind of fun process for me as I've somehow sold a lot of cars in the past 5yrs. If you were local I'd be more than happy to lend a hand.

Simple green (or other good cleaner) + scrubbing would definitely be step one. Then I hose it off and wipe it down with a clean towel to dry it a little (to prevent water spots) and get any remaining dirt that didn't rinse off. Follow that with something like armor-all, boeshield, aerospace 303...etc to get a little shine for some killer for sale photos.

Also, contrary to popular belief, I'm not scared to use a little pressure in the engine bay. Full pressure hose is no problem. Lower pressure pressure washers (think small elec, not big gas powered) are also fine as long as you're not putting the nozzle 2" from your electrical connectors. Modern cars are VERY well sealed so are nowhere near as susceptible to electrical issues due to water compared to vehicles from we were younger (or worse, what our parent's told us about cars from their era). I never cover anything anymore and just wash away. Never had a problem. Been doing it for 10-15yrs on a variety of different cars regularly.

 

I think I will take your advice and try the pressure washer. I have been scared to use it with the distributor, carb, battery.

I have the simple green and brush. I also have gallons of 303.


All the local deatailers won't come out, unless I pay for a $300 wash/wax. I do my own full detail myself. So I don't need them to touch the paint.

Appreciate your help.

If you are in Lakewood, CA my cars are parked (the ones for sale) about 45 miles north of you (corner of 2/210 - by JPL/Rosebowl)

 

Don't rely on the pressure washer to clean anything. If you're not getting results with a good scrubbing then a pressure washer isn't going to help. In my experience pressure washers only do a really good cleaning if you use high pressure very close up. I wouldn't be willing to do that in the bay. Pressure washers help get the first layer of dirt off, are great because foam cannons and help save water but they never get a vehicle truly clean. For that you always gotta do some scrubbing.

I'm not surprised at all that the detailers won't come out to do just the bay. I can't imagine you could make a living doing mobile detailing without $300 per customer and then you'd still need to be doing a couple a day to make any money.

If you're dealing with older cars (you mentioned distributor and carb) then I would use some caution. Most cars with distributors are pretty modern and should be well sealed but anything old enough to be carbureted I would not expect to be sealed as well and would use caution with water pressure.

 

Yeah cars I am talking about (8 I am going to sell) all range from 1987-1995. Due to the hipster covid market - I should able to buy 2 more rental houses after the sale!

 

With water hose are there certain areas to avoid? Always consider might damage something, moisture in headlights, etc. Not too picky about getting it shinny just hose off some of dust over. Dont like the shinny greasy stuff detailer put on it just ends up sticking more dust.

 

This:
https://youtu.be/PRSoRkM8GcM