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[Kev]

Anyone have any recommendations for the best stuff to clean and shine up the engine bay, rad hoses etc. ?  

[nixoro]

Soap and water, dunno never done it myself be interesting to see what people do use though.

Mine is in need of a clean.

[mr des]

engine degreaser, best i ever got was in a pound shop think it was called atonish but i only did it because there was a leak around the oil pump which coated the engine bay in oil, just spray it on leave to work then power wash off. be sure to protect all electronics with plastic bags for obvious reasons.

[Kev]

That's the thing, i don't fancy the old power hose in the engine bay routine.  You'd be there for weeks trying to cover all the electrics, especially under mines.

Mine's isn't actually dirty, i just wan't a shine off it. Like you see on show cars. Shiny hoses etc.  8-)

[Markie]

halfords engine degreaser and believe it or not alloy wheel cleaner brought the exhaust manifold on one of my rovers up brilliant at the weekend.

Good old engine gunk too  

[mr des]

if its not that bad use engine degreaser on a cloth then a wet sponge to wipe it off will take longer but worth it in the long run, then use some wd40 to shine it up

[Markjay]

Comma do an engine degreaser that is not foam - the stuff looks and smells like kerosene, you spray it sparingly then brush it off, but the good thing is that it can be washed away with water. I recently used it to clean the front of the engine after replacing the oil pressure switch following an oil leak.

Gunk do something similar as well as a foam. I also had the foam spray available when i cleaned the front of the engine, but because of the proximity of the un-protected auxiliary belt I decided against using it and cleaned the area with the Comma product and a brush, finally carefully spraying some water directly on the affected area and drying it with a cloth.

[Hillper]

Gunk is good and smells great, but the secret  is little and often.

Just keep cleaning as often as poss.  Prevents nasty build ups.

[Kev]

Is there something to get a good shine going in there though?

I'm not too fussed about how long it takes to apply.  

[mr des]

stp, back to black, silicone grease or just good ol wd40

[bob.dent]

Gunk is good and smells great

I wouldn't recommend using as an aftershave though

[Marks DTM Calib]

A good clean and pressure wash with engine de-greaser/parafin mix, black shoe polish for the rubber pipes (by far the best stuff plus it doesn't dry and crack and looks natural.....and the wife buys it!)

A good wipe of the plastic bits, clean the plenum top with carb cleaner (careful, you dont want to damage the paint).

Avoid silicon at all costs, its conductive and electronics and ignition systems dont like it. Plus it tends to dry, crack and go yellow.....

[Auto Addict]

My Dad used to use black shoe polish on his tyre walls.

[sounds2k]

I found that the best way to clean the plenum top is to spray the carb cleaner onto a soft cloth (I used kitchen towel at the time) and rub that over the plenum top, rather than spraying onto the top itself and rubbing with a cloth ... uses much less carb cleaner too ...

[Marks DTM Calib]

My Dad used to use black shoe polish on his tyre walls.

Thats what I use, gives them a natural look that lasts.....or was that a hair dye advert......