[Tcape]

Dave, I'm pretty manic about taking care of my autos, and that means keeping everything under the hood looking nice. I usually find that dust and dirt are the main things to be cleaned off the engine bay. Seldom will you have much grease to be removed, so I don't use engine degreaser unless it's an older auto with a lot of grease build-up. Usually, every time I change my oil, I'll take a few mintues with a wet sponge and a towel and clean everything under the hood. Doesn't take too long unless it hasn't been cleaned in a long time.

If I do find some greasy areas, I typically use some type of household cleaner like Fantastic, Greased Lightning, or 409. This works well unles you have a major grease build-up. And if that's the case, buy a can of engine degreaser and use that.

After everything has been cleaned, I spray some Armour All (or equivalent) on the plastic parts to shine them up a little. Let the Armour All sit for a while, then wipe off the excess. Leaves the engine bay looking great.

I grew up loving street rods, and having a nice looking engine was as important as having a nice looking exterior or interior. Just my 2 cents....
Tom