Cleaning Secrets

[Adams99]

I spent pretty much a whole weekend in cleaning my bike. Although it definitely needed it, the previous owner was not as particular as I am.

 

Washing the bike I use a car detergent, S100, wash cloth and various brushes. I actually scrub the tires with Bleach White. For stubborn areas like under the bike and calipers, I use Super Clean. You have to be careful with that stuff, put it on while the bike is wet and rinse off right away, because it will stain.

 

I polish all the chrome with Nev-R-Dull (http://www.nevrdull.com/). It is a cotton wadding that comes in a can that you can get at Wal-Mart. I don't like using pastes, because they can scratch and get into nooks and crannies that are impossible to get out.

 

Various stages of Maguire’s on all the paint, I hate swirl marks.

 

Don't laugh at this, but if you have pipes that are bluing or starting to tan, use Blue Job (http://www.blue-job.com/). It is a very fine powder and works awesome, although it is a little pricey.

 

 

Do you guys have any secrets as to cleaning your bikes besides not riding them?

[SilvrT]

Do you guys have any secrets as to cleaning your bikes besides not riding them?

 

Not tellin ya my secrets....nosiree!!!

 

 

I use Autosol on the aluminum, I use a liquid chrome cleaner...can't recall what it's called...same stuff I've been using on chrome for 40 yrs and when the chrome is really bad such as the inside side of the mufflers and the header pipes, I use that chrome cleaner with a double zero steel wool.

 

I use Mequiar's as well for the painted surfaces. For the "bare" plastic parts, seat, and windshield I use good old Lemon Pledge.

[yamahamer]

good old car-wash soap and hose once a week and dry with leaf-blower. Between those saturday baths meguire's quick wash and PLEXUS on the shield. Once a year carnuba wax.

[KiteSquid]

Wash it when I think it looks dirty.

 

Wax it when the water does not bead up.

 

I must have used up 100 large cans of Never-Dull in the Navy, lots of brass on those ships.

[SilvrT]

 

I must have used up 100 large cans of Never-Dull in the Navy, lots of brass on those ships.

 

hmmmmmmmm if it's called "never-dull", why do ya have to keep using it?

 

[Guest BluesLover]

S100 can get a bit expensive, so I've found the poor man's version... it's a product called Simple Green and it comes in concentrate form. I dilute it 1:10 in water and use it to clean the whole bike ... maybe 2/10 for the whitewalls if they are really dirty...

 

At the end of the riding year, I use Liquid Glass as the wax and then don't wax it again until the following year.

 

Cheers,

[Kregerdoodle]

I use maguires spray on a rag in between washes and use a good car wash concetrate and a cap of Jet Dry..... helps keep the spots to a min...

[flb_78]

I pull into the car wash, wash it, and then go down the road to let it air dry. I couldn't spend that much time washing and detailing a bike.

[dray]

oven cleaner spray it on and rinse it off then finish with pledge no hard work to it

[wizard]

I started using the Mr Clean kit with the handheld and filter on my bikes when it 1st came out. Just let it air dry, and most water spots are gone. It works great for me.

Leonard

[Thom]

yep , is plain pledge you get at the dollor store white or blue label and no bees , i use a battery power detail brush from walmart 12.00 and orange flaverd hand cleaner for the bad parts , blue coral wash and wax than pledge

 

 

 

I had never heard of using Pledge before becoming a member of this site, but I now use it regularly to get the bugs off the windshield. It seems like the only kind of Pledge I've seen specifically mentioned here is Lemon Pledge (which is what I have used).

 

This is probably a stupid question, but do the other forms of Pledge (i.e. not the lemon version) work just as well? How about the off-brands that say someting like "Compare to Pledge"?

 

Thanks!

[Dano]

Isn't it amazing that Plexus smells like and (almost) spelled like Pledge?????

[petekadish]

Now, I'm about the only person who I have ever heard bring this up regarding Lemon Pledge, but I'm pretty sure that my suspicions are correct.

 

Lemon Pledge attracts yellow jackets. Now, I have had some people say that the Yellow Jackets are just attracted to all the dead bugs on my ride. That sounds reasonable, but pretty much as soon as I returrn my a ride I clean-up the bike. And, even after giving the bike a good wash and polishing it up with Lemon Pledge, the Yellow Jackets still seemed to hang around the bike. And, when I stopped using the Lemon Pledge, and it wore off, the Yellow Jackets went away. I know that my bike is sweeeet, but I'm no fan of Yellow Jackets.

 

Bee Safe! Pete.