Cleaning & removing rust off a motorcycle?

[Matariki]

Hey guys, I was wondering if you could recommend me some good rust removal for my Suzuki TS, I intend to take it out onto the road soon, but first I want to make sure that my bike is all tidy and safe. Its going fine and everything now (first two kicks and its away), but there's some rust on it that doesn't make the bike look very pretty. And, I noticed that today when I kick started my bike, one of the foot pegs fell off, its got a fair amount of rust on it which might be the reason why it fell off. So to make sure I don't get any other nasty surprises (especially when out on the road) I intend to clean my bike from top to bottom.

What sort of cleaners (and tools) would you guys recommend?

[Subike]

First off a tin of good quality Elbow Grease.
Dont forget to check the power bands when looking to be sure everything works.
And for reliable starting, an oily rag must be in your back pocket

[Ocean1]

If it's just surface rust then a good rub down with a 3M pad or (stainless steel wool type stuff) and some sort of cleaning wax will do. If it's structural rust (steel rusted away) then you need to have it fixed properly. So either take some pics so we can see it or get someone who knows what's what to look it over.

Cleaning. Get a squirty bottle and bung about quarter of a cup of fabric softener into it. Fill it up with water. Bike should be no more than warm. Squirt bike all over with mixture, just wet it. Make coffee. Hose bike off and spray with mixture again. Drink coffee.

Get a bucket of hotish water, add a shot of dishwashing detergent. Get a dishwashing brush and a toothbrush and scrub every surface of the bike. You missed some bits under the guards and around the exhaust, do it again. Hose the bike off and towel it down.

Get one of the car cleaning waxes and rub it into any paint and chrome. Let it dry and rub it over again. Repeat.

That's it, do that every month or so and you shouldn't see any further deterioration.

[Warr]

Use "CRC Marine 66" on any rusty bits. It penetrates and protects.
Like it stays on, where the-often-used CRC 5.56 will not.

It forms a thin film that lubricates moving parts for smooth action and protects metals from corrosion caused by humidity and salt air for extended periods. Superior penetrating power breaks through rust and corrosion, loosens rusted parts and keeps them free, displaces water from wet equipment and cleans away scale and dirt.

[Laava]

+1 on the crc 66. It is the best thing For your electrical connections too

[mossy1200]

Rost off

Spray and walk away

[Fast Eddie]

mad max 2....

... just.. walk away



if your foot peg fell off haha.. then your past cleaning

good luck..

[ducatilover]

Leave it with me for a day, I'll clean it
And it's a good excuse for a bit of a ride

[The Lone Rider]

For bolts, I run a wire brush on 20,000 RPM over the thread, then run a die down the bolt to check the condition of the bolt. Then replace as needed.

Bolts get locktited in, very light grade or whatever is appropriate for where the bolt goes. Loctite helps prevent corrosion. Exception being anything going through plastic - it tends to eat the plastic.

For threaded sections, I run a well oiled tap carefully down it.


For footpegs.. well wire brush at 20,000 rpm and then inspect. In some cases it's a replacement, some its a bit of welding.

Pegs, brackets, body work... wire brush on a drill, scotch brite, medium grit sandpaper.

Then paint, powdercoat, chrome, or I suppose you could regularly coat with fish oil.

[Sable]

Chrome/alloy = Autosol!

[Matariki]

Today I went to Mitre 10 Mega to pick up some steel wool, a wire brush and CRC silicone spray. I also talked to two salesmen who recommended to me that with the areas on the motorcycle frame that had surface rust on it, that after removing the rust I should prime, paint and oil over the affected area. Now, I'm pretty confused as they didn't really explain in detail the do's and don'ts of the procedure.

So, for anyone who is reading this and knows what the two salesmen were talking about, would you be so kind to answer this eager newb's questions?

1. Is this procedure necessary? If so, why?
2. What sort of basic tools am I looking at that are necessary for this job?
3. Do I need to strip down the whole bike or just the rusted areas?
4. If I need to strip down the whole bike, does that mean I have to remove the eletrics, tank, engine etc.?
5. Do I need to wash and dry the bike down between steps (before removing rust, after removing rust, after applying primer, after applying paint etc.)?
6. Are there any products (sprays etc.) that I should use to help remove the rust before going over with the steel wool?
7. What sort of primer do I need? Where can I get it from and what brand should I use?
8. Do I need a spray gun for applying paint?
9. What sort of paint should I use? Where can I get it from and what brand should I use?

[Akzle]

...wire brush on 20,000 RPM

what's one of them? i don't even think little angle grinders get that much RPM. maybe a small electric motor dremel type thing....??

to the OP.
this is probably beyond your tooling. definitely beyond your expertise. you would be well advised to get someone who knows what they're about to either give you a hand or do it for you. who said CRC silicone??

[Ocean1]

I know you want definitive answers, but without looking at the bike or some pic's of the rust it's hard to know how to help. Part of the problem is that whereas cleaning off the worst of it and using an oil or wax based preservitive is an OK short-medium term fix it sort of fucks it up when it comes time to do the job properly, IE repainting it. Especially anything with silicone in it.

If there's just some surface rust on the frame you can often sand it back and repaint it without stripping much out of the way. You've just got to be able to clean every square millimetre of damaged existing paint and rust back to shiney steel. You'd use newspaper and tape to mask off anything that might get unwanted paint overspray, use a rattle-can primer to give the immediate area a thin coat and when dry use some gloss black enamel to finish.

Pays to practice a bit first but if the rust is reasonably accessable there's no reason you can't manage it. I'd draw the line at stripping much of the bike to get at more difficult areas, save a few bucks and get someone familliar with the work to do it for you.

Luck.

Oh, see if you can get us some pic's of the problem, eh?

[The Lone Rider]

Don't use Autosol on chrome.

It'll make it look nice, yes.

But if that is your polish of choice for chrome, you will eventually wear through the chrome to the nickel.


And that was suppose to say 2,000rpm

[Matariki]

I know you want definitive answers, but without looking at the bike or some pic's of the rust it's hard to know how to help. Part of the problem is that whereas cleaning off the worst of it and using an oil or wax based preservitive is an OK short-medium term fix it sort of fucks it up when it comes time to do the job properly, IE repainting it. Especially anything with silicone in it.

If there's just some surface rust on the frame you can often sand it back and repaint it without stripping much out of the way. You've just got to be able to clean every square millimetre of damaged existing paint and rust back to shiney steel. You'd use newspaper and tape to mask off anything that might get unwanted paint overspray, use a rattle-can primer to give the immediate area a thin coat and when dry use some gloss black enamel to finish.

Pays to practice a bit first but if the rust is reasonably accessable there's no reason you can't manage it. I'd draw the line at stripping much of the bike to get at more difficult areas, save a few bucks and get someone familliar with the work to do it for you.

Luck.

Oh, see if you can get us some pic's of the problem, eh?

Yes, I'll go take some photo's now and post them up.