I have foolishly decided to clean my engine bay, having been advised away from gunk foam/steam cleaner combo, what is the best way to go about it? I've got a 2ltr can of de-greaser and the usual household bits and bobs, i'm guessing a toothbrush may come in handy, any tricks of the trade i should know before i start?

I'm going to clean my engine bay in the near future and get the rocker cover painted. Why have you been advised against the Gunk stuff? I bought some of this yesterday.

Plenty of time and patients and a large tin of elbow grease!

.....and skinned knuckles.

Nothing wrong with gunk, just been warned away from blasting the many electrical parts with gallons of water from a pressure washer, apparently it's not a good idea!

Especially since this summer is so great with so much sunshine!

One very good reason, from bitter experience, is the ease with which water trickles in and drowns the plugs.....

To get the cam cover looking original, a coarse paint prep pad (these are like the green things you do the washing up with) with a mix of rusteater (Jenolite liquid) and Autosol makes a quick job of it.

Because the mix is corrosive you need to get it off with some of the wife's spray kitchen cleaner type stuff, then wax it.
You'll also need the wife's Marigolds to protect your fingers.

Hoses respond well to the green auto Glym tyre and Bumper protect.

The gold coating on things like the rail that carries the Lambda sensor wire, and the oil cooler pipes will wash off with Cellulose thinner. Then a bit of a rub down and re-lacquer.

Anything black in there is probably best removed and sent to a local shop for blasting / stove enamelling. If you shop around this should be quite quick / cheap / long lasting and will look brand new

I use Gunk for all my parts, you just need to work on small areas with a tooth brush or 1" paint brush and wipe off with one of you wifes faviourt clean towls. I don't polish anything after using Gunk as I find Gunk leaves a nice wax behind.

I use Meguiars tyre gel for the black hoses.

And just remember the old saying, "you can't polish shit". If it looks rusty take it off and paint it.

I've not got a focused picture of my engine right now but here it is from a distance...

I've used Gunk its OK.

My recommendations:
AutoGlym Machine Cleaner
AutoGlym Rubber and Vinyl Care

Follow instructions. Job done.

Use as little water as possible.

^^ Method above = win

IMO Don't be afraid to give the engine bay quick, short blasts with the power hose. Just cover coil packs, etc. and keep away from electrical bits. Always works for me!

I tend I use so much of the stuff that I buy the 5 ltr drums then then pressured spray applicators (which aren't cheap on their own - £20+).

Currently on JIZER, Carplan Engine Cleaner & Degreaser and Brake & Clutch cleaner.

all that Nobby and no picture to back up the results!

Cheers guys thanks for the tips here's a quick pic of the results

looks good James but you have to sort out that rocker/coil cover and plenum mine is getting there but still needs more work -

Wow that looks awesome mate! I've got a long way to go to beat that! Really need to get my hoses on too.

well if you need ahand with them just give me a shout .

Might just take you up on that, i'm planning on getting them done at the same time as my belts but i might not be able to wait that long!

no problem james , just let me know if you do want to have ago at doing them .