Hi all,
Here for my second post!
Today I would like to share some tips and tricks I have learnt over the years of cleaning Cars,bikes, scoots, boats. My Monday- Friday job is grooming Cars. This post will be written for complete Beginers!
Having a clean and shinny bike is a great feeling, whether your bike is old or new. Cleaning a bike can be simple and quite fun! (Especially if the Mrs won't let you ride today). You won't need much to get started, often using the simplest things can give great results.
So what you'll need to get started :
- Car wash (See below for more info on which one to use)
- Can or two of degreaser
- Sponge or soft wash brush (make sure it's soft as rough will hurt your plastic , paint etc)
- Old cloth
- Chamois or Micro-fiber cloth
- Bucket and water
- Wheel brush (not required, but helpful)
What car wash should I use? - We'll any soft car wash should work, I always read the bottle to see how to achieve best results etc. the label will say whether or not it's ok on bikes. Wash and Wax is quite a good product to use on both car, bike , and boat. Wash and Wax has some good minerals etc in it which will add abit of extra protection to your paint work and will often add a strong shine to the paint and plastics. The Repco and SCA brand of Wash and Wax are very good on bikes. It's soft enough to break down dirt but it will add a really bright shine to plastics and paint.
Based on how dirty your bike or scooter is will depend on how long this will take. I ride my CBF every day rain or shine. So I clean my bike once a week, when you clean your bike you don't always have to use water or chemicals, for instance if I was to do a full groom on my bike and then I wasn't to use it or give it very little use you wouldn't have to use much. I recommend just using a damp cloth (Micro fiber or anything soft and clean) and just do the outside plastics and engine area. After you've removed the small/light amount of dirt / dust buff dry with a Micro Fiber for a shinny clean look. If you have Alittle extra spare time use a nice Polish or Wax on the body for maximum shine and protection. I find a waxed bike is much much easier to clean! The wheels on your bike will get a lot of dirt, dust, etc. For the easiest clean I recommend going to SCA or Repco and picking up a cheap can of 'Degreaser'. Apply this to your wheels and it will help brake down stuck on dirt and make it easier to scrub off, you can also use some of this to help clean around your engine (I always clean a COLD bike I.e before I ride) This is where the 'old' cloth will come into play. Use the cloth to wipe around the wheels and engine area, this may take a couple of try's as sometimes you will miss bits and later see where you missed (which is ok!) once you've done this it's time to move up. Give the bike a quick squirt (I don't recommend using high pressure water) (Ive washed bikes and cars by using buckets of water before) use your garden hose, you won't need a strong pressure. Once you've wet the bike (the reason for wetting the area before washing as it will often soften dirt and will make it easier to remove) put the recommended amount of Car Wash into the bucket and fill. Before you start washing give your sponge/ cleaning utensil a quick rinse under water to remove anything that could stratch.
It is recommend that you wash in an area that doesn't have direct sun light. Do it in a car port, or In the shade.
1) Wash generally the out side area of the bike. Start from the top and work to the bottom. Was the tank, handle bars, seat, the tail around the lights and indicators, front wheel guard.
2) This step is not crucial but will make your bike look like it's been professionally cleaned- remove your seat and if you can take your plastics off. Clean both sides of the parts and the frame of the bike. I've always brought second hand bikes and they are always full of dust and dirt on the inside frame and plastics. Be careful when doing this not to damage and plastics or electrical parts. Use the sponge to clean. If the bike is dirty give the sponge a rinse every now and again to get the dirt out of it.
3) Move down to the engine area. Use an old cloth or a wheel brush (make sure it's not too firm) and genially clean around the engine (I no we just degreased the engine but this will remove any left over chemical and dirt. If you can take your chain gaurd off and clean both sides of that and if you can clean the track next it the chain as grease will get flicked off of the chain when riding. You can clean the sprockets and chain (I recommend re lubing the chain after). After the engine is clean give this brush or cloth a quick rinse
4) now that we've cleaned the hole bike it's time to rinse off the Wash. Do this very carefully as any left over wash wil leave streaks which don't look very nice. You won't need much pressure just enough that it can wash away the soap. Do this until all the bubbles have gone, what I like to do is while I'm washing the car wash off is run the sponge round again while the water is going (just to make sure I've done it to to my standards!)
5) Some people choose to skip this step, but I highly recommend that you do this. Take your Chamois or Drying cloth- Start by drying the body area like the Plastics and your speedo and rev counter. Do the plastics and the seat. I like to do this fast because if you leave it to air dry you'll be stuck with ugly water marks, I've often left my bike to air dry and later have added polish but drying your bike is just much easier especially if you don't want to polish after. After the fairings are done do all the frame both inside and outside frame, dry all under the seat area. Now move down to the engine bay and dry top to bottom. Dry the wheels and rims.
Your bike should be sparkling clean and ready for it's next adventure.
If your wanting to do a little more - you can -
- Remove light covers / lenses - clean with a automotive glass cleaner. Be careful when removing sometimes the pieces can be easily broken! Also clean your mirrors
- Apply Wax or Polish to fairings. This will brighten the colour and add protection from UV etc. Polish will often help remove scratches!
- Add some tyre shine. This will make your tyres look black and new again. Only apply to the rim of the tyre.
- If your bike has chrome you can polish that with a Chrome polish or Metal polish. I use metal polish to remove light to medium rust on my bikes handle bars, exhaust, motor, foot pegs. Polishing chrome will make your bike really shine and you'll be amazed at the attention you get!
- Your bikes seat. If it's Vinyl (not real leather) I like to use a bit of interior protectant, simply spray on the seat and rub in with a cloth, this will add protection from UV , I also use this on my 'Black' plastics (Around the speedo covers) the Interior protection spray restores colour and will help block the sun from fading your plastics.
I've always been persistent when cleaning bikes and cars. You'll never get it spot on the first time, the more you clean it the better it'll look. It's a good idea to build up a collection of gear and tools as you'll be able to use them on everything. Look after your brushs, give them a clean after use and allow them to dry. You'll learnt what products work best for you after awhile (the internet and people's view aren't always right, some products work better on different things, trial and error)
Cleaning your bike is a great way to have some 'me time' and it'll make you feel good seeing the final result.
Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments
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Originally Posted by AirCooledBiker
Hey It's Mr Nice Guy
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