How to Wash a Car Engine Bay

Washing your car’s engine bay is important to help prevent premature damage and keep your resale value high. An engine bay covered in oil and grime can wear bearings and camouflage leaks, potentially leading to more serious damage. Clean engine bays also keep the engine cooler, helping it operate more efficiently.

Here’s how to wash your engine bay:

1. Wait until the engine is cooled. It doesn’t have to be cold, but you don’t want to spray cold water on a hot engine.

2. Disconnect the negative battery terminal or use a plastic bag to cover the battery. Because water conducts electricity, you don’t want water to make a temporary circuit.

3. If you have an older car, use plastic bags to cover the carburetor, alternator, and distributor. On a newer car, cover the alternator. Be careful when spraying water on the fuse box and coil packs.

4. Use a spray pattern on your nozzle to ensure lower pressure and gently rinse the engine bay with water. Use a spray pattern on your nozzle to ensure lower pressure and gently rinse the engine bay with water. We recommend the ProTool Wash Sprayer for this.  The ProTool Wash Sprayer provides better pressure than your garden hose, but is not a pressure washer, so you’re not risking potentially damaging the surface. The ProTool wash sprayer uses the concept of “soft washing” – which means using the right cleaning solutions to do the cleaning, then using water with enough pressure to produce a nice, solid stream, but not enough to damage the surface.

The ProTool Wash Sprayer

Features:

• 1.72 gallons per minute, 1700 psi maximum pressure
• 18” long x 11” wide x 12” high
• 6-foot inlet hose with filter
• 26-ft outlet hose
• 90-day warranty
• Variable Spray Wand Tip included

Optional accessories:

• 1L foamer bottle
• ¼” Spray Tip Attachment Kit w/ 5 tips

ProTool Power Up

DIRECTIONS

1. Add 4-8 oz oz. of Power Up to the ProTool Wash Sprayer Foamer Gun for excellent results, or add 8-16 oz per gallon of water in a bucket and mix well to work up suds. For High Foaming action, use 8-16 OZ of Wash Up in the Foamer Gun. NOTE: Dilution rate may vary depending upon level of soil accumulation.

2. Apply the solution using the ProTool Foamer Gun, spray, brush, or dip application to the surface to be cleaned. For caked on grease, agitate the area with a brush after the cleaning solution has been applied.

3. Soak for at least five minutes to allow the grease to thoroughly emulsify.

4. Rinse thoroughly with water. For motor cleaning, we recommend rinsing with the ProTool Wash Sprayer.

6. Rinse with low pressure using the ProTool Wash Sprayer or a garden hose.

7. Repeat the process if needed.

8. Follow up using a specially-designed car soap. We recommend ProTool Wash Up, a high foaming, concentrated liquid hand car wash formulation containing environmentally-friendly foam-stable detergents, wetting agents, and chelates. It is non-streaking and free rinsing.

ProTool Wash Up

DIRECTIONS

1. Add 1-2 oz. of Wash Up to the ProTool Wash Sprayer Foamer Gun for excellent results, or add 2-4 oz per gallon of water in a bucket and mix well to work up suds. For High Foaming action, use 2-4 OZ of Wash Up in the Foamer Gun.

2. Apply Wash Up via the ProTool Foamer gun or via sponge/applicator. If suds dry on the surface re apply soap.

3. Agitate dirty areas with a sponge where necessary.

9. Rinse gently, then remove the plastic bags and let air dry.

Note: If sensitive parts need cleaning, carefully wash by hand using a microfiber cloth.