Cleaning Pinlock inserts?

[Ulsterkiwi]

I recently got a new helmet which came with a pinlock insert.
Its good but not perfect as I wear glasses, often the visor is fine but I have fogged glasses :brick:

anyway, I try to keep my visor clean, I like to see where I am going. To remove bugs etc I use wet kitchen towels to gently wash the visor and then a dry one to clean everything up. All good
I was doing this and there was a layer of dust on the inside of the visor, ie on the insert. Bound to happen eventually. I used the same procedure and now the the insert is covered in fine scores. I wouldnt call them scratches as I can still see but its like looking through a visor with a fine layer of vaseline on it.
Royally pissed off about this.
A replacement is $69, rip off!
So to prevent this happening again, what CAN I use to clean these inserts? Just how fragile are they?

[Ender EnZed]

If kitchen towels are the same as paper towels then that's what I do with mine and haven't had a problem. What brand is it?

[nzspokes]

Pledge with microfiber cloths, my summer pinlock is a few years old now and fine.

[GTRMAN]

Pledge with microfiber cloths, my summer pinlock is a few years old now and fine.

+1

Any paper based tissue will scratch the plastic, best to use a microfiber cloth or the like. If you know of anyone with small children the way they tend to go through pygamas tends to create a steady stream of good soft cleaning cloths. 😊

[Ulsterkiwi]

If kitchen towels are the same as paper towels then that's what I do with mine and haven't had a problem. What brand is it?

HJC (assuming you dont mean the brand of paper towel :yes:)

[Ender EnZed]

HJC (assuming you dont mean the brand of paper towel :yes:)

Microfibre and Pledge (which I use as a secondary measure) could be your answer. Or upgrade to a Shoei. :niceone:

[Erelyes]

Stuffed my pinlock doing the exact same... fine scratches all over. Doesn't seem to compromise visibility to any extent tho.

Might be able to get the Pinlocks cheaper from overseas (to open that can of worms again)

[vifferman]

I use Pledge or Plexus on the outside. When I needed to clean the inside (the insert), I trawled teh interwebs, and found the appropriate procedure: remove the insert, rinse under a tap, shake or blow the water off. If that doesn't get it totally dry, pat with microfibre towel. Worked perfectly, first time (which is good, because I have two visors with pinlocks - one tinted, one clear (which I think I've hardly ever used in the last year...)

[awa355]

My HJC also came with a pinlock which scratched badly when cleaned. I clean my gear properly and it wasn't rough handling that did the damage. I was quoted $79 for a replacement pinlock, so never bothered. A new visor is about $75 so with a new pinlock it all mounts up.

[caspernz]

Pinlock inserts I treat as a consumable. Only use them during winter nowadays, and find the only thing that works for my Shoei is to wet polish with car polish and a microfiber cloth. Rinse with hot water and leave in dish rack to dry. But yeah I find after three or four cleanings the fit is less than flash, so that's replacements time.

[Ulsterkiwi]

cheers for the replies, at least now I know I wasnt being overly rough with the thing.
I like having it, so ordered a new one, came overnight. One for Wgtn motorcycles!
This one will be treated VERY gently

[ckai]

I've never cleaned my pinlocks (1 for my tinted visor, 1 for my clear) so far because of this reason. They're such temperamental buggers. My $200 iridium visor is wearing on the front from being stupidly careful and they're meant to be pretty good. I only use microfibre clothes and I also only use cleaning stuff for your glasses on the outside. Rock on to your optometrist and they should give you a free bottle if you don't have one. I only use that on the visor, and like vifferman said, to clean the pinlock I would only run it under water.

As for your glasses fogging up. I've got the same problem. I thought I'd give something a go. Got some anti-fog google spray and I've wiped that on them. Problem is the weather got warm so I haven't been able to test it. I asked the tech at my optometrist if it was OK to use and he said it should be sweet. Just make sure you only wipe it on instead of directly spraying it since the edges of the lens are cut and essentially 'open'. I was worried, since my lenses are transitions, that it may have an affect. Nothing at all so far, but if the fogging doesn't improve, it doesn't matter.

[pritch]

I too have destroyed a pinlock insert Arai by rubbing, and I was trying to be gentle. My revised technique will be to remove the visor then use cold water and pat with a microfibre cloth as recommended. And I take some convincing to start removing/replacing Arai visors...