I tried Geezer's trick for cleaning the engine bay with non caustic oven cleaner, and it worked really well.
I used Easy-Off brand regular strength oven cleaner, the blue can (the yellow one has lye in it), and it worked just as Geezer said. It's non-caustic so you don't even need to use gloves with it.
I sprayed a whole can into the engine bay, let it sit for about 10 minutes, and then sprayed it off with the mildly pressurize hose from the DIY car wash (stronger than garden hose, probably not as strong as power washer), and a little help from a small brush.
I was amazed by how easily the grease and grime came off, like it was dust. But here's something that happened that I'm a little surprised by: the oven cleaner stirpped the paint right off the radiator, exposing the brass surface.
The cleaner didn't damage or alter any other finish on the engine bay (paint on firewall, aluminum, rubber, etc), but the radiator paint came right off.

I'm very happy with the result, engine looks great, and I will just hit the radiator with some spray paint soon so no big deal, but it's interesting that that's the only surface/material that was affected by it.

Anyone has had a similar experience?


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