good ol clean
 

Hello hello hello!!
Hope all is well with the scoobynet community? Erm..... il move on.... lol
Anyways jusy after a bit of advice if possible? I am wanting to clean my engine as it looks like it hasnt been touched since new. Now I like a clean car but soon as I open my bonnet its cringeworthy. Just wondered if you guys had any tips? Im thinking of making the alternator water tight but just wondered if anything else I should do and any tips? I did one about 20 years ago on my xr2i but cant really remember what I did.
Also when the weather warms up a bit I want to give her a good ol polish. As ive noticed when I wash her it leaves swirls in the paint. Any tips how to get these out?
Also what is a clay bar?? Is it worth getting one?
Car is a 05 sti if it helps.
Thanks everyone much love xx

Gunk works well on engine

For your engine Using a decent apc and few detailing brushes as mentioned gunk is ok cover your alternator and air filter (if you have a induction kit) as long as u use a hose it should be ok just don't soak it lol as for the exterior to remove swirls you ideally need to use a machine like a da or similar however there are products out there that have lots of fillers which hide most swirls poorboys black hole is pretty good a clay bar is basically a piece of soft clay that when used with a clay lube or quick detailer pulls all the crap out of your paint tar etc you will be suprised of how much contamination comes out I Deffo recommend using one have a look on detailing world lots of useful tips on there also message bodski on here he is a detailer will have lots of useful information :)

Clay bar will get all the contaminants out of the paint and will reduce the swirl marks. It takes a while to do but the results are well worth it. You will need to wash car first with jet spray and some shampoo then after drying use some detailing liquid with the clay bar (usually comes with the clay bar pack, but can be purchased separately). After that you will need to polish and then finally wax. Takes a good few hours.
As far as the engine bay is concerned I would make sure all electrical connections are well covered including the intake.

Nice one cheers for the info. I think il definitely invest in a clay bar as you say will prob take me a good few hours but my oh my it will be worth it to have a gorgeous clean scooby lol
Il get on with the engine clean when it warms up a bit and get all the important stuff covered. I think when I done it last time the engine had to be hot to evaporate the water better? But as I say its been a few years lol
Thanks all.

I used Autoglym engine cleaner on mine,

gunk and brushes also autosmart do some powerfull cleaners tardis is a powerfull one u can get a sample bottle of the ebay for 5 quid.for best effect work in sections at a time then repeat it all until your happy with it. some parts could be removed and sprayed so they look newer again. don't forget to bag the air filter and plastic bag over any electrics when rinsing. take a look at polishedbliss.com they do full write up on engine detail.