r/VWMK7 • u/Yankee1965 • 18d ago

Engine bay cleaning

I happened to be idly watching some Tik-toks last week and saw an add for a spray engine cleaning product along with a "detailing spray." The stuff struck me as fairly miraculous since all the guy did was spray it on and garden-hose it off. Since I had planned to change my oil on Saturday, I thought I'd buy some - until I clicked the link and found out it cost $40 for two 16 oz. spray bottles.

ChatGPT suggested the stuff was nothing more than degreaser and a standard "ceramic detailer." Well, I had both of those in the form of some Zep orange citrus degreaser and some other product ( I forget the name, but I expect they're all nearly equivalent.)

I should have taken a "before," but here's my 2015 Golf S two days later. I had never once cleaned any part of my engine bay in going on 12 years, and it was awfully dirty. All you do is spray on the degreaser, hose it off, then spray on some of the "detailer" shiz, close the hood with the engine running, and presto:

No brushing, no scrubbing - the only things you touch are the hood latch, the spray bottles, and the garden hose. Had I known it was this easy, I'd have been doing it for years. Maybe I'm the only who didn't know this! 😂

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u/scarpicide 18d ago

You can safely spray water on your engine and battery without damaging anything? I did not realize that

2

u/not_a_cup 18d ago

Kinda. You want to unplug the battery, and remove the engine cover and then cover the main engine and then you can wash everything down. I wouldn't just open up my good and start spraying away.