car washing

[RiceLaxer06]

Alwright, my cars getting dirty and i dont like it. I went looking for a way to clean the whole thing without taking it completely apart. I read somewhere that you can put it through the dishwasher. I already took off all the electronics, do you think that the engine would be alwright through the wash? I assume that the pipe will be ok. Any other ways of cleaning the car well would be appreciated as well.

Andrew

 

[Diver6127]

:OMG: What ever you do , don't stick it in the dishwasher! Do yourself a favor and just buy some denatured alcohol and a spray bottle. Spray it liberally on the car. No need to worry about the electronics since you already took them out.

 

[KoRnKiD]

DISHWASHER!!! worse comes to worse you could at least spray it down with a hose of course with no electronics but ya denatured alachol will work.

 

[GilBeQuick]

Yeah, no dishwasher man. That's just asking for trouble, especially if the engine is still bolted down.... You've got to worry about water getting in your diffs and other little places that may not be sealed 100%.
The best method for me is the Denatured Alcohol and an Air Compressor. The air compressor gets just about everything off by itself, and you can just say you got it for work around the house

 

[Walkman2003]

when i get my car dirty i take all the electronics off the car and wash it with the hose.... it works for me... i just try not and get it in to any gears or the head... and then dry it good....

 

[RobH]

That's a good one man.

Let me tell you what I did. :dumb:

I thought I'd go cheap on the denatured alcohol thing. Everyone aroung here will sing the praises of DA. I have a spray bottle that I used. I filled it with hot water and well dish soap (normal kind). Dish soap breaks down grease and SEEMED like a good idea.

I washed my car this way maybe twice. I took my radio and servos. I plugged up all the holes in the engine (water + engine internals = bad). It did a pretty good job. Nice and clean and nice and cheap.... so I thought...

After the second wash, I noticed something. My screws heads and other metal parts were rusting! I went around with some oil and cleaned up and saved what metal pieces I could. Now, I need a new screw set....

Now, I know why people use DA. Learn from my mistakes and don't use soap and water. You might be able to get away with rubbing alcohol (As long as you don't get it in the engine), but rubbing alcohol is 30% water. It's possible that too will catch up to you.

The moral of the story: What's more expensive, a $8-$9 can of DA or your buggy? DON'T MESS AROUND! USE DENTATURED ALCOHOL!

-RobH

 

[nitromaniac]

I also use alot of DA, but for plastics/metal I found this stuff called RIGHT STUFF, I was amazed!! a few shots of this in a spray bottle and a quick blast with the compressor, Done! I found this stuff at my local ACE! $6 a gal, its a concentrate but I use it full strengh in a bottle, I have used simple green b4, this stuff is ten times better! and anything is better than the dishwasher!

 

[militarymaxx]

Personally, taking all the electronics off the buggy to clean it seems like alot of work. I too, am a huge fan and user of DA. It's cheap and does the job. One thing I do to restore that 'new' look is put a little WD-40 in a small cup (I use the top of a prescription pill bottle), and use a cotton swab and give everything a good coating. The DA tends to give the plastic a whitish appearance but the WD-40 brings back that fresh plastic look. I got tired of spending money on cans of compressed air so I invested in a small pancake compressor. Like many of the guys have already said, DA and some air is all you need.

 

[Team 17]

I use bicycle cleaner and does the job well. Spray it on let it sit and wash it off.

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

I take off my engine, radio, and servos, get some simple green spray, scrub with a crest spinbrush, then rinse quickly with warm water from a sprayer. I immdeiatley spray dry with my air compressor and spray liberally with WD-40 and it displaces any water I missed, conditions the plastic parts so they don't dry out and become as brittle, and protects all metal from rust, while treating the bearings.

I ony use DA on my engine, and servos.:buggy1:

 

[Waste Land]

Contact Cleaner works good on electronic cleaning...but if you used the dish washer....

 

[studysession]

I read on another message board that this guy actually did put it in a dishwasher. I personally would never do it.:whhooo: :beer:

 

[newnitrofan]

Sure if you would like to start a fire put ur car in there no problems man. :flamer:

 

[studysession]

How would that start a fire?

 

[newnitrofan]

I am assuming that if he is putting it in there with plastic parts that if the plastic parts are thin enough and I do believe some of them are that it gets hot enough inside a dishwasher to melt plastic parts. I forget the operating temperature inside a dishwasher but I know it can burn crap.

 

[studysession]

Funny!:beer:

 

[mtman50]

haha haha haha haha haha haha haha u mideas well put it in the washing mashine dont be lazy juss clean it normal.
tylerjae:idea:

 

[RiceLaxer06]

HA, i proved u all wrong. I put it in today. now be4 u all start yelling listen to what i did. I set the dishwasher on low temp(95F) i didnt use soap, but i did cover it with DA. It worked perfectly. I took the storm out and it was fine and clean as new. i took off the engine, electronics, and pipe. I wouldnt reccommend it to other people unless your sure that ure temp is under 100F, otherwise the plastic parts could melt.

Andrew

 

[newnitrofan]

Sorry Man I just don't buy it what so ever but you were the one tht did it and well this just seems like a waste of time to me personally. But hey whatever floats your boat man.

 

[studysession]

Funny!:smart: :spit: