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Thread: Cleaning and polishing your new (or old) pride and joy

  1. #1
    Join Date
    6th May 2006 - 19:03
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    Cleaning and polishing your new (or old) pride and joy

    As there don’t seem to be any threads on here about cleaning and polishing on here I thought I'd make one

    When I first got my bike, the engine case was covered in a layer of dirt and oxidation, the paintwork was dull, and the front forks covered in stone chips and scum.
    My first step was to remove the worst of the unwanted scum from the engine case using steel wool (I'm not too sure of the grade), scrubbing in a circular motion until bare Aluminium showed through
    After the worst was removed I went on the hunt for something that was capable of restoring some of the shine, but also slightly abrasive to get rid of the tiny scratch marks left by the previous step, what did I find? A scotch pad! With a few drops of braso, this all but removed the light scratches and embedded dirt making for a rather spiffing shine.
    But this was not good enough! It still did not look new! The final step was an hour of buffing with a soft cloth and braso, Now I can say, when I look at my engine, I not only see pride with the wonderful work I had done, I also see....myself

    The same basic theory was applied to the forks. Except first, the stone chips etc were removed with some very very fine wet/dry sand paper used wet, followed by steps 1-3 as above, the same chrome-like shine was the result.

    As for paint-work, "Repo Extra Cut Cream Polish" was used on a polishing cloth applied following the instruction on the tin, an hour of polishing rejuvenating the paintwork to almost new.

    These steps lead to a nice, clean, shiny bike that you can be proud to say you own

    P.S although manual polishing may make your arm feel like it's going to drop off, it's worth it in the end (and if your arm DOES actually drop off, just pop into your local hospital and I’m sure they'll only be too glad to sew it right back on! during the recovery time at least you won't have to be staring at a dirty, scum covered bike! )
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  2. #2
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    28th June 2006 - 14:47
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  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Seraph View Post
    As there don’t seem to be any threads on here about cleaning and polishing on here I thought I'd make one
    No disrepsect but I presume you did not do a search before you made the statement

    http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=27893

    http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=554

    also threads on cleaning RIMS, cleaning carbs, cleaning spots of oil, cleaning engine parts, cleaning mould off etc etc etc

    Good tips from yourself tho...

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joni View Post
    No disrepsect but I presume you did not do a search before you made the statement
    I did do a quick search, But going through pages of threads is not a fun experience! Besides, I was eager to go for a ride....I hope no-one minds

  5. #5
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    31st August 2006 - 19:44
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    2020 BMW R1250R and 2011 C182T
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    Polishes

    Hi Seraph

    Nothing beats a clean bike. I find the "Mothers" range really good, and no I am not on commission!

  6. #6
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    10th December 2005 - 15:33
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    I'll second that a little goes a long way and it smells so damn good.
    I love the smell of twin V16's in the morning..

  7. #7
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    Mother's Allow Polish is very good for shiny alloy.
    If a man is alone in the woods and there isn't a woke Hollywood around to call him racist, is he still white?



  8. #8
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    11th July 2006 - 14:10
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    My bikes in for this tomoro! Might have to try a steel pad

  9. #9
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    31st May 2006 - 15:46
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    Autosol is what i use. Just like brasso but a paste and much quicker, not too course to leave any visible scratches. One word of warning is that i polished my forks once and after the next ride both my fork seals started leaking ( inverted so leaves a little puddle when they do ). Dont know if it was but i put it down to the polish even though had buffed the hell out of them with clean cotton rag.

  10. #10
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    21st May 2005 - 21:12
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    i use "brite shine" from super cheap...its like a cotton wool with cleaner mixed in....works damned well taking off bugs and stuff. its in the bright yellow tin...$10 and lasts a lifetime.

    my ex explained to me the steel wool method [should have seen his panhead! shiny as!] but ive always been too gutless to try it. he used it for his aluminum, worked very well.
    my blog: http://sunsthomasandfriends.weebly.com/index.html

    the really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery when on a detour.

  11. #11
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    has anyone used that new Ice clear wax?
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  12. #12
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    19th January 2005 - 11:00
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    Anyone know a good way to get Lacquer off Aluminium? That doesn't damage the aluminium

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  13. #13
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    19th January 2006 - 19:13
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    Am thinking paint stripper..............just a guess and hopefully someone that knows will chime in but i cant see it hurting the aluminium........
    Be the person your dog thinks you are...

  14. #14
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    3rd October 2004 - 15:45
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    Quote Originally Posted by Waylander View Post
    Anyone know a good way to get Lacquer off Aluminium? That doesn't damage the aluminium
    Depends what you mean,some parts have what seems to be a clear type anodise which is pretty tough (TL frame spars,swingarm and heel plates for one) paint stripper won't touch it.
    I used oven cleaner on that but you have to keep an eye on it.
    *
    Most buffed engine covers from the factory are some kind of clear (2 pack maybe) so paint stripper will deal to it.It normally starts to lift/blister after time and oxidise the aluminium.Whatever that other stuff is it won't do that.
    *
    Ace job,Seraph

  15. #15
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    19th September 2006 - 22:02
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    Cleaning and polishing should actually become part of your maintenance routine as it allows you to look over you bike for loose componants, and checking on your drive chain etc...

    Also shows a little bit of pride which I like... and I like shiney clean bikes

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