Tire foam on engine compartment?

[JohnRogers]

I was using some Armorall tire foam on my tires and thought I'd give it a shot on the black plastic & rubber parts under the hood. I sprayed it on and wiped most of it off.... looks fresh! Can anyone think of any negatives to using this method of cleaning under the hood??? John

[Ianbiz]

Yes, you get some on your belts and they fly off.

[bimmerfiver]

I was using some Armorall tire foam on my tires and thought I'd give it a shot on the black plastic & rubber parts under the hood. I sprayed it on and wiped most of it off.... looks fresh! Can anyone think of any negatives to using this method of cleaning under the hood??? John

Your engine gets hot, right? What are your thoughts about spraying something on your engine that does not belong there? What do you think will happen to the chemicals you placed inside your engine compartment when they get really hot? Could they....evaporate?

There are reasons as to why a product made for tires, belongs on tires.

If you want a spiffy engine compartment, get some S100 products:

1). S100 Total Cycle Cleaner
2). S100 Engine Brightener

Or splash down a bottle of olive oil in the engine compartment, that'd make it shiny too.

[JohnRogers]

Thanks for the heads up. And I think I'll pass on the olive oil.... Thanks anyway though.

[German Pride 10]

Your engine gets hot, right? What are your thoughts about spraying something on your engine that does not belong there? What do you think will happen to the chemicals you placed inside your engine compartment when they get really hot? Could they....evaporate?

There are reasons as to why a product made for tires, belongs on tires.

If you want a spiffy engine compartment, get some S100 products:

1). S100 Total Cycle Cleaner
2). S100 Engine Brightener

Or splash down a bottle of olive oil in the engine compartment, that'd make it shiny too.

It goes further than that.

Read the ingredients label first on any sort of dressing. You can put whatever the hell you like in your engine compartment as long as it is not solvent based. Solvent based dressings have been known to start fires in engine bays for obvious reasons.

So what is the solution? Use a water based dressing! In my detail shop we use AutoMagic Super Dress-it. I'm sure if you go to any professional detailer in your area they'll sell you a 1L bottle.

[bimmerfiver]

Thanks for the heads up. And I think I'll pass on the olive oil.... Thanks anyway though.

As the above states too...it's dan-ger-ous to put chemicals where they may not be-long.

Try some garlic with the olive oil. :D

Interestingly, I take amazing care of my paint and interior, but only wipe down my engine once or twice a year and I use gentle S100 spray. I'd prefer just keep the engine clean, not laced with crap. Gentle products FTW under the hood, people tend to go nuts and clean it once a year with hardcore products. When you wash the car, pop the hood and take a damp rag, wipe around etc.

[WolfStrong]

That does work, however I would go with a water based dressing that isn't high gloss, and the reason being is that with non-water based dressings, some of them are flamable, which is a big no-no in the engine bay. Another thing to consider is that with a water based dressing, it should last a long time in the engine bay because not much water actually gets in there unless you drive through a river!

[x saturn x3]

I wait til the engine is cold, then spray simple green all over EVERYTHING, of course, covering the air filter (if its an exposed aftermarket unit) and anything vital that cannot get wet. After i let the simple green soak in for a little bit, i get a paintbrush and start scrubbing. Especially around the power steering and brake fluid tanks. I get out my pressure washer, turn it on "shower" and get rid of everything. Then, i turn it on pressure and get all the stuff i cant normally reach.

[German Pride 10]

^ It's better to degrease an engine bay when it's hot. The cleaners work better and the fallout comes off better. Trust me.

As for lacing the compartment with a ton of chemical, that's alright to do if it's with the correct dressing (after cleaning - I use a multipurpose chemical made by Carbrite to degrease which is also water based). The Super Dress-it by Auto Magic do actually lubricate belts, moisturize hoses and other various rubber to a degree. It's paint safe as well. It completes the job nicely.

Edit: I should also add that you should shampoo the engine bay with the motor running. That way if water is getting into any places that it shouldn't be, you'll find out right away and can back off from that area.

[jesselyons2002]

I wait til the engine is cold, then spray simple green all over EVERYTHING, of course, covering the air filter (if its an exposed aftermarket unit) and anything vital that cannot get wet. After i let the simple green soak in for a little bit, i get a paintbrush and start scrubbing. Especially around the power steering and brake fluid tanks. I get out my pressure washer, turn it on "shower" and get rid of everything. Then, i turn it on pressure and get all the stuff i cant normally reach.

Do you blow out the water the is left there. Cause sometime some electric connector and parts get corrosion on the parts due to evaportion and condense

[abbot555]

It goes further than that.

Read the ingredients label first on any sort of dressing. You can put whatever the hell you like in your engine compartment as long as it is not solvent based. Solvent based dressings have been known to start fires in engine bays for obvious reasons.

So what is the solution? Use a water based dressing! In my detail shop we use AutoMagic Super Dress-it. I'm sure if you go to any professional detailer in your area they'll sell you a 1L bottle.

I have this left over Dupont teflon tire shine, says contains Silicones, do you think this would be ok to put on the engine?

[German Pride 10]

Teflon tire shine with silicone? Sounds contradictory!

There are a few types of silicones out there however the 2 main categories that count in a detailers world are the water based ones (polydimethylsiloxane) and petroleum distillate ones (dimethyl silicone oil).

As long as you see no solvent additives and none of the described pertroluem distillate silicone in the label you're alright. We don't get much DuPont here in Canada so I couldn't really tell you a lot about their products.

I have a product in my shop that is basically silicone in a can(petroleum distillate variety). An Auto Valet salesman gave it to me to try. I tried it a few time and haven't touched it since. I won't even use it on cars that we send to auction! It goes on nice, looks even nicer but fuck when it dries, it dries out bigtime.

I want to warn everyone that if you have a problem with and one of your tires and you need to make a warranty claim with your tire manufacturer, they will likely not honor your warranty if any sort of solvent/petrol based dressing was used on them. Their reason is that solvents can have an adverse affect on the tire compound as well as break down the micro wax put into the tires leading to browning and cracking.