Toyota Yaris DIY

What you’ll need:

• Engine Cleaner (Degreaser) spray pack. Make sure you choose one that’s labelled safe for plastics, rubber and paint.
• 2x clean rags
• Foaming tire cleaner for a “sheen” look, or a good rubber/plastic conditioner (like the Meguiars NXT pictured) if you want to go for the high gloss look. For this detail I went for the sheen look – the Meguairs NXT pictured was not actually used.

The obligatory before pic:

Step 1:

Do this on a cool engine – if it’s too hot the products applied will dry out too quickly.

If you have an exposed aftermarket air filter you should wrap it in a plastic bag to keep the products used and water from getting into it.

Spray the engine cleaner everywhere in the engine bay. Don’t be shy with this stuff, and make sure you get it into all of the nooks and crannies. For a single detail I normally end up using about 250ml (8.5 fl oz) of the stuff.

Step 2:

Leave the engine cleaner to sink in for a couple of minutes, then hose it all off using normal garden hose pressure water. Be thorough. There’s really nothing you need to concerned about when wetting in this engine, so long as you’re using normal mains water pressure.

Step 3:

After hosing it down, get your first rag and wipe off any excess water, then apply your tire shine or rubber conditioner. Don’t spray this stuff on your belts.

Step 4:

Let the tire shine / rubber conditioner sink in for a couple of minutes, then wipe the engine bay down using your second rag. Spray a little of your shine product onto the rag to help cover up any spots you might have missed. There’s no need to get into every little nook and crannie here – just thin out the bulk of the product so you don’t end up with blotches.

That’s it, now sit back for another few minutes as the rest of the shine product dries off. Viola!

Told you guys it was easy

Here’s a few after pics: