Tips for Cleaning and Detailing the Engine Compartment of your Motor Vehicle

The reliability of any vehicle has everything to do with how well the engine of the car is maintained. Maintaining the motor vehicle’s engine is not only dependent on ensuring that you adhere strictly to the recommended schedule as stated by the manufacturer, but also ensuring that the area where the engine is stored is free from debris, grease, oil, etc and any unwanted elements that will make it very difficult for the engine to “breath” and perform at the ultimate level.

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Whilst the mechanics and the engineers will ensure that the engine is serviced and maintained as specified in the service manual, the onus falls on you, the owner, the ensure that engine compartment is kept in a state that will enable the engine to run smoothly

The question is how do you, as the car owner, ensure that the engine compartment of your car is given all the attention? Well, you can either do this yourself, or you can use the services of a professional valeter or Professional valeting Company to enable you to achieve that goal.

Assuming you decide to do this yourself, what do you have to do?

To enable you to do this successfully, there are a few basic materials you will need. These include:

 Water

Access to water, usually, lots of water is very vital if you want to do a very good job. Ideally, very warm water running through a steam cleaner is the best to use. However, a high pressure hose or even cold water with a bucket can do, even though you will in many cases not be able to get the same results compared to using very warm water running through a steam cleaner

Cleaning Agents and Chemicals

Due to the greasy nature of most car engines, cleaning the engine compartment of your motor vehicle will in many cases require the use of specialist cleaning agents and chemicals. These may include engine degreasers that are capable of breaking down the grease and oil deposits, traffic film remover and car shampoo to help you to get rid of all the dirt and grime that have accumulated in the area over the period. In addition, a high quality car washing sponge to help you rub down the area, and a brush to make it easy for you to reach the tight, awkward and difficult sections will all make it easy for you to make all the difference.

It is recommended that all the exposed components of the engine is given adequate protection after a wash. Thus, in addition to the above, you will also need vinyl and rubber protector or a specialist engine protector, usually applied using a spray bottle.

All these cleaning agents and chemicals are specific to the motor industry. Thus a professional car cleaner or car valeter will have all these in their stock. Hence, you will not have to worry about getting access to these if you decide to employ the use one of these professionals for the cleaning of the engine compartment of your motor vehicle. The good news however is that most of these specialist cleaning agents and chemicals can be purchased from specialist and diy shops, even though we cannot vouch on the quality of these

Other Recommended Materials

In addition to the above, access to a well-ventilated area, drying agents including Microfiber towel, chamois leather popularly referred to as a "shammy" or wash-leather will all help to give the car engine compartment the professional finish and make the final look worth the effort.

Having organised these equipments,  you will then be ready to tackle the job of giving your car engine and its cubicle the look that will give your engine and therefore your car, a new lease of life; hopefully help the engine function a lot better, and possibly, help to prolong its life; assuming you decide not to use the services of a professional car cleaning company, like Motorclean Ltd if you happen to be in the UK.

In the second part of this article, we will look at the process of Cleaning and Detailing the Engine Compartment of your Motor Vehicle to make it look like the car has just been driven out of the showroom

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Understanding Car Valeting

For many car owners, the main reason a car has to be given a valet is to make it look clean, nice and appealing. To many others, valeting a car involves giving the car a wash, a vacuum and possibly waxing the exterior. To the professional car valeter however, valeting a car goes a lot further than that.

This article and subsequent ones will attempt to deal with a lot of car valeting issues and also explain why some of the car cleaning and valeting processes should best be left to the professionals

What is Car Valeting

According to wikipedia, car valeting involves” an extremely thorough cleaning, polishing and waxing” of a car. This process is performed, not only on the exterior of the car, but also in the interior. This process is undertaken thorough in all areas of the car, making the motor vehicle look almost new or as if it has just come out of the showroom.

Why Valet a Car

The main reason why a car has to be given a valet is to make the car look clean and presentable. However, as stated above, this goes beyond that. Other advantages include

Helping to protect the cars finish and paintwork
Driving a car up and down the many roads or even leaving the car outside, as many of us do, exposes the exterior of the motor vehicle to the harsh weather, including snow, rain and the sunshine. The wind blows various debris , many of which are collected by the vehicle on various occasions. A basic car wash may not in many cases succeed to remove all these grime deposited on the car

• Maintaining the paintwork

Exposing the motor vehicle to the harsh weather means the exterior paintwork gradually losing its shine and quality. A car valet will not only restore the paintwork to its former glory, but the polishing and waxing can also help protect the paintwork, making it possible for the car to retain its quality over a longer period.

• Removing scratches from the paintwork

Those of you who have attempted to sell their cars recently or part-exchanged their old car at a main dealers’ will know how picker the car salesmen could be with respect to scratches. A very good valet, carried out by a professional valeter will be capable of removing most of these, if not all the scratches from the paintwork. This could tremendously improve the value of the car, putting you in a very strong bargaining position, giving you the opportunity to extract a higher part exchange value from the car salesman

• Regular Car Valet can extend the longevity of the vehicle.

Have you walked into a house that has been neglected for a while? What was your impression?  This is exactly what happens to your motor vehicle when it is not given a regular valet

The above are just a few of the advantages that a regular car valet can give to your car. We would be exploring a lot more of these in detail in subsequent articles. We will as be looking at when using a professional car valeting company and their specialist services, such as the SMART repair service offered by Motorclean Ltd can save you a lot of headaches, time and possibly raise the value of your car beyond your imagination

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