# Do you clean your car engine bay from time to time? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [April 24, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784 "2024-04-24T20:02:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/41 "2024-04-29T15:39:57Z")
Pollen is the only reason I will hose off the vehicles at this stage of my life… I owned one black car in my life and that was enough of that. Talk about being a slave to your car. Strangely enough, white cars seem to be the opposite of black…in terms of showing dirt too! 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/42 "2024-04-29T18:22:02Z")
Yup, this is my first and last black car! ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/43 "2024-04-29T18:36:30Z")
Let’s see, this is my fourth black car. Had a white one once but shows rust t ---
**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/44 "2024-04-29T18:41:21Z")
That white Prius doesn’t get to looking dirty easily…until the pollen starts turning to mold, and then it starts looking like a black car. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/45 "2024-04-29T18:45:39Z")
> [@Clueless33](#): > > Wouldn’t a car that has never been washed look very dirty ? A lot depends on whether or not it is garaged. I get my vehicle washed once every 5-6 weeks, and–except for the Spring pollen season and right after road salt is put down–it looks quite clean because it’s garaged most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Clueless33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@Clueless33](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Clueless33)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 6:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/46 "2024-04-29T18:56:18Z")
My car suffers from the yellow pollen stuff too. I don’t have a garage, sadly; the car becomes filthy with it within a week after a wash. This contributes to the reason I wash twice a month. Car wash stations are brutal though. I’m seeing some crazy rashes on the wheels from the car wash conveyor and in between the side mirrors. ![IMG_7918](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/a/2/a213f2c0dd1850ca93ea58aaa1be35fa83340214.jpeg) This is the side mirror. That’s how brutal car wash stations are. And I have no choice ☹ ---
**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/47 "2024-04-29T19:06:05Z")
> [@Clueless33](#): > > This is the side mirror. That’s how brutal car wash stations are. And I have no choice ☹ Well, there’s always hand washing. 🤷‍♂️ I tend to do that, especially with the Prius as I’m paranoid about the air-cooling vent for the hybrid battery. It should be fine in an auto wash, but I’ve never wanted to take the chance. I really don’t need water getting all up in those works. Looks like at least one of the places you use needs to do better cleaning and maintenance of the equipment… There’s a NAPA AP store near me that mixes custom spray cans to your pain code. It came in handy when a deer took out a passenger’s side mirror and I replaced it with a used one from a car with a different color. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/48 "2024-04-29T19:15:03Z")
The best car color I ever had for extended wash intervals (😀) was silver metal flake. I’m not a big fan of silver but that car never looked like it needed washing. Good thing, it was a Grand Marquis and so had a lot of surface area… Must have been around 18 years old when I sold it (practically gave it away) and it spent the majority of that time outside. Hadn’t been washed let alone waxed in 13 years. Looked fantastic, almost like new. Shame to get rid of it but had to cull the herd… ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/49 "2024-04-29T19:29:56Z")
> [@TwinTurbo](#): > > The best car color I ever had for extended wash intervals was silver metal flake That’s the color of my current car, and it probably contributes to its tendency to look cleaner for a bit longer. They call it Atomic Silver. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/5/d/5da87d00cee4e35cad18cbfa96519b388f55b442.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/50 "2024-04-29T20:35:23Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > They call it Atomic Silver. A lot of really weird car colors out there these days. But that’s not one of them. I like it ! ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/51 "2024-04-29T21:49:04Z")
The owners manual for our 61 (yeah I read the manual even at 13) said with the new paint you never had to wax it. Either acrylic lacquer or enamel, don’t remember which. I waxed it anyway. Can’t believe everything you read. Sea foam green I think. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/52 "2024-04-29T22:07:51Z")
5 minutes hosing the dust off the car’s finish accomplishes a lot toward preserving the car’s long term appearance. Vacuuming the accumulated debris that gets in the area below the windshield on every oil change will do a lot to prevent the drains from clogging. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/53 "2024-05-07T00:33:50Z")
> [@PvtPublic](#): > > I know [the BMW is] not a coupe Do you say that b/c it has a convertible top? IIRC there are some soft-top coupes, called “drophead coupes”. For example > **[Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Phantom_Drophead_Coup%C3%A9)** > > The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé is a luxury grand tourer manufactured by Rolls-Royce that debuted at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, on 7 January 2007. It is based on the 2003 Rolls-Royce Phantom and has styling heavily derived from the 100EX, a concept car shown to celebrate the company's centennial in 2004. In 2015 it was the most expensive Rolls-Royce model at $533,000. Several Drophead Coupés were used in the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremon ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2024, 5:43am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/54 "2024-05-07T05:43:06Z")
The 2008 650i was available in a 2dr. coupe and 2dr. Convertible. ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/56 "2024-05-13T16:06:26Z")
> [@vegangeordie\_187238](#): > > is it bad for your car if you don’t do this? If a leak starts and it’s not obvious because the engine is so dirty, that’s not good. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/57 "2024-05-13T17:39:10Z")
I never clean mine either. If a leak starts I’ll clean it then. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784/58 "2024-05-13T19:12:15Z")
Your boots work just as well polished or not, just a matter of pride, unless you will be walking through water and need some waterproofing. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/do-you-clean-your-car-engine-bay-from-time-to-time/194784.md?page=2)