Car Engine Degreaser:
What’s Safe, What Works, and What’s Worth Your Money

Finding a top rated car engine degreaser is a subject of auto detailing and car care with endless opinions! Some will say what to use while others will disagree.

Having a clean engine for many of us is as important as keeping wax on our cars. While the list of benefits of having a clean and detailed car engine is long, most people find themselves stuck between choosing an effective top rated engine degreaser, and how to actually go about degreasing their engine in a safe manner.

The opinions on this subject are endless and a quick search will deliver limitless contradicting opinions as to what to use and how to do it.

Top Rated Car Engine Degreaser

Before I address the process of cleaning and detailing your car engine and engine bay, we need to find a top-rated car engine degreaser.

• One that is very effective.
• One that is completely safe.
• One effective and safe for both the professional and the hobbyist
  
  

See how I just took a subject that most people think is simply about buying the best automotive engine degreaser and turned it into a more complex?

You want both safe and effective!

As with many topics of detailing i have many followers reduce their needs down to a fundamental question; 

"Darren, what would you do?"

Which is probably what I would ask if I were in your physical shoes.

Car Engine Degreaser:
The Better and Safer Way to Degrease

Simple Green PRO HD on Amazon

• Concentrate that allows you to custom blend to suit your exact needs (refer to product labeling for dilution ratios)
• Concentrate means it is more economical to you (This means more money left in your pocket)
• The exact car engine degreaser I use both professionally and personally
• I dilute this cleaner down 3:1 when degreaser a car engine (this means I mix one part of concentrate to 3 equal parts of water)
• Friendly to my health and friendly to the environment
• No more caustic fumes for me to breathe when I am detailing car engine
• Non-flammable, non-caustic, and rinses very cleanly

Darren's Note: 

I use this product as my maintenance cleaner — perfect for regular detailing and keeping surfaces in great shape. It’s designed for ongoing care, not for tackling heavy buildup from years of neglect.

If your engine or wheels fall into the “deferred maintenance” category and need something stronger, check out the more aggressive degreaser below.

I came across this product not long ago, and it quickly became one of my go-to cleaners. I’ve been using it with great success for engine detailing, wheel cleaning, tire sidewalls, and plenty of other jobs around the garage.

What really sold me is that it’s powerful yet safe — no harsh, caustic chemicals, and nothing harmful to you or the environment. Despite that, it cuts through grime like a pro-grade cleaner should.

Since I mainly use it for cleaning wheels, tires, and car engines, I like pairing it with the 1-gallon pump sprayer shown below. It makes it easy to deliver plenty of product for deep, even coverage — perfect for tackling those heavy-duty cleaning sessions without constant refilling.

Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser

Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser on Amazon

Chemical Guys Orange Car Engine Degreaser

• Heavy-Duty Cleaning Power: Cuts through grease, grime, and oil quickly and effectively.
• Multi-Surface Formula: Safe and effective for cleaning engines, tires, tools, and more.
• Professional-Grade Strength: Designed to handle even the toughest detailing jobs with ease.
• Fast-Acting Results: Quickly breaks down stubborn contaminants for a deep, thorough clean.
• Versatile Performance: Ideal for automotive, garage, and industrial use.
• Adjustable Concentration: Dilute to suit your needs — from light maintenance cleaning to heavy-duty degreasing.
• Restores a Clean Finish: Brings back the fresh, like-new look of metal, rubber, and plastic components.
• Safe for Exterior Use: Works great on undercarriages, wheel wells, and other exposed areas.
• Easy to Apply: Spray it on, agitate if needed, and rinse away for powerful results.
• Trusted by Professionals: Used and recommended by detailers and car care enthusiasts alike.

Darren's Note: this is what I use when I am dealing with excessive grease, oil an dirt often found within engine bays that have been neglected or needing cleaning for the first time.

Stronger than the Simple Green, but just as safe for your car engine and the many components of your car engine.

Car Engine Degreaser:
Dispensing Your Car Engine Degreaser

1 Gal Chemical Sprayer on Amazon

• My first choice in a dispenser for detailing tasks that require larger volumes of product
• Eliminates the arm fatigue in trying to dispense large amounts of chemical in a traditional pump sprayer
• Mix your car engine degreaser in this and cover the entire area of your car engine in a matter of seconds
• Handy wand extension allows you to reach to areas that would require you to bend over in uncomfortable ways
• Handy extension wand allows you to precisely spray engine degreaser exactly where you want and into tight areas of your car engine

Darren's Tip: Until you have actually cleaned and detailed a car engine you will not truly appreciate the useful lof this pump sprayer. You will use large amounts of engine degreaser when cleaning and detailing your engine and bay. 

Not only will using a traditional hand held sprayer fatigue your hand very quickly, but using this pump sprayer will allow you to fully saturate the entire with degreaser in a fraction of the time compared to a hand help sprayer. 

I promise you will thank me — I also use this chemical sprayer to dispense my wheel and tire cleaner of choice when cleaning my wheels and tires. 

Chemical Guys Wheelie Brush on Amazon

• Perfect brush for excessively dirty areas of your car engine that may need a little manual agitation
• Long bristles that are feathered at the ends for safe cleaning
• Also a great brush to clean car wheels —which is what it is labeled for.

3D Degreaser on Amazon

• Perfect size for the driveway detailer or for DIY use
• Safe for any engine type
• Produces real-world, professional results
  
• Follow instructions on labeling
• Comes full strength for heavy duty engine degreasing, or can be diluted down for less dirty jobs
• Not just a car engine degreaser, but can be diluted down for many cleaning uses for both automotive and home use

Darren's Tip:
For a one-time engine detail, skip the concentrate and grab this ready-to-use formula. It’s pre-diluted, perfectly balanced, and comes in a dispenser that makes the whole job faster and cleaner.

To Dress or Not to Dress?

If you want to take your engine cleaning efforts tot he next level I have the perfect product for this.

This engine dressing from Griot's Garage will make your engine "pop" after you are finished degreasing.

I love finishing my engine degreasing efforts with a dressing to create a perfectly uniform appearance to my engine while restoring the vibrance of all the many components you will find in any engine bay.

Griot's Garage Engine Dressing on Amazon

Griot's Garage Engine Dressing

• Restores a Factory-Fresh Look: Revives dull and faded engine bay surfaces for a clean, like-new finish.
• Protects and Preserves: Safe for use on all engine bay materials — helps prevent cracking, fading, and discoloration of plastic, rubber, and metal components.
• Non-Greasy, Dust-Resistant Formula: Leaves a smooth, dry-to-the-touch finish that won’t attract dust, grime, or debris over time.
• Effortless Application: Quick spray-on formula covers the entire engine bay in minutes — no oily residue or messy buildup.
• Customizable Shine: Apply a light coat for a natural satin look, or add additional layers for a deeper, glossier finish.

Why Would You Want a Clean Engine?

In case you came here looking for more than just the best car engine degreaser but wanted to know the actual steps, I recommend you follow this how to clean a car engine link.

Use this check list to see if I can help you come to an informed decision:

• A clean engine is a happy engine.
• Help the resale value of your car.
• A clean engine will show the first signs of potentially risky oil leaks.
• Your mechanic will not only thank you, but treat your car and engine with a higher level of consideration relative to the way you maintain your car's engine.
• Who wants to lift the hood of your car and see a dirty, filthy engine?

"Which engine would you rather see under the hood of your car every time you open it?"

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I think the above pictures make a compelling argument as to what I think most people would prefer....but only you can decide.

Make sure you check out and subscribe to my YouTube video channel as I continually upload more and more tutorial videos that are taken straight from my world as a professional detailer at Auto Fetish Detail.

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Sincerely,

Darren Priest