car377@drutx.UUCP (RogersCA) (09/03/86)
Does anyone out there have a good method or product for cleaning side covers and those engine parts which are brushed or anodized aluminum? After some weathering, they seem to get splotchy looking, (like a peeling sun tan), and I'm afraid to use an abrasive for fear of ruining the finish. Chuck Rogers @ ATT-ISL, Denver drutx!car377 11900 N. Pecos St. Rm 30J19 Denver, Colorado 80234
fbr@utastro.UUCP (F. B. RAY) (09/05/86)
In article <1170@drutx.UUCP>, car377@drutx.UUCP (RogersCA) writes: > Does anyone out there have a good method or > product for cleaning side covers and those > engine parts which are brushed or anodized > aluminum? After some weathering, they seem > to get splotchy looking, (like a peeling sun > tan), and I'm afraid to use an abrasive for > fear of ruining the finish. Simichrome polish does a good job on aluminum. Also, there's a new German detergent out, handled by BMW dealers among others. Also advertised in the cycle mags. It makes aluminum really shine. Apologies for not having the name on the tip of my tongue, but ask around. Comes in a red box. About $10 a throw, but you can clean everything with it. You're right not to use too coarse an abrasive, but the abrasives in Simichrome are very fine. -- SNAILmail: Frank B. Ray, McDonald Observatory University of Texas at Austin, 78712 **ELECTRIC**mail: {allegra,ihnp4}!{noao,ut-sally}!utastro!fbr or fbr@astro.AS.UTEXAS.EDU voice: (512)471-3334 office, (512)476-4937 home
alanj@orca.UUCP (Alan Jeddeloh) (09/05/86)
In article <1226@utastro.UUCP> fbr@utastro.UUCP (F. B. RAY) writes: >German detergent out, handled by BMW dealers among others. Also advertised >in the cycle mags. It makes aluminum really shine. Apologies for not having >the name on the tip of my tongue, but ask around. Comes in a red box. >About $10 a throw, but you can clean everything with it. You're right not >to use too coarse an abrasive, but the abrasives in Simichrome are very fine. Are you by any chance thinking of "S-100"? I bought some (about $15 around here). Works fine, does a great job on baked on stuff. Don't believe the "just spray it on a hose it off" claim, though. You still have to wipe and scrub a little. The manufacturer directs you to spray it on, wait, then hose it off with a high-pressure water jet. My Nighthawk owner's manual is full of warnings of where not to spray with high-pressure water jets. So much for the S-100 manufacturer's instructions :-). The local fuller brush lady sold me a handy item. It's supposed to be a "shower door track brush". The bristles are about 1 1/2 inch long, with the whole brush only about 3/8 inch wide. The bar holding the bristles is bent 90 degrees at the end of the brush, with the bristles trimmed at a 90 degree angle as well, so it will reach into a tight corner. TOP VIEW ooooooooooooooo ----********************ooooooooooooooooo ----********************ooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooo BRISTLE HANDLE END END .. ----* SIDE VIEW ** .. ----* ** o..o ----** ooooooooooooooo oooo o..o ----/*******************oooo(handle)ooooo oooo o..o --///|||||||||||||||| ooooooooooooooo oooo .. /////|||(bristles)||| || .. ////||||||||||||||||| || BOTTOM VIEW ooooooooooooooo .....................***ooooooooooooooooo .....................***ooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooo (I can't do justice with character graphics. The handle is out of proportion, among other problems. The bristles change direction smoothly, not in steps.) Anyway, (after spending $? of Tek's money making this picture), what it's good for is brushing the engine behind the exhaust pipes. It's narrow enough to fit between the pipes. -Alan Jeddeloh Tektronix GWD
mojo@mp-mojo.UUCP (Mojo Jones) (09/06/86)
> From: fbr@utastro.UUCP (F. B. RAY) > Also, there's a new > German detergent out, handled by BMW dealers among others. Also advertised > in the cycle mags. It makes aluminum really shine. Apologies for not having > the name on the tip of my tongue, but ask around. Comes in a red box. > About $10 a throw, but you can clean everything with it. It's S-100, and it's pretty impressive stuff. I usually use it for hard- to-reach places, since it's a little pricey. Not to be confused with once-popular computer buses. Mojo ... Morris Jones, MicroPro Int'l Corp., Product Development Northern Calif. Motorcycle Safety Council, MSF Instructor {lll-crg,ptsfa,dual,well,pyramid}!micropro!mp-mojo!mojo Not the opinion of MicroPro!
levy@ttrdc.UUCP (Daniel R. Levy) (09/07/86)
In article <1226@utastro.UUCP>, fbr@utastro.UUCP (F. B. RAY) writes: >In article <1170@drutx.UUCP>, car377@drutx.UUCP (RogersCA) writes: >> Does anyone out there have a good method or >> product for cleaning side covers and those >> engine parts which are brushed or anodized >> aluminum? After some weathering, they seem >> to get splotchy looking, (like a peeling sun >> tan), and I'm afraid to use an abrasive for >> fear of ruining the finish. >Simichrome polish does a good job on aluminum. Also, there's a new >German detergent out, handled by BMW dealers among others. You might also try MET-ALL polish. It puts a bright shine on aluminum, even weathered, clouded aluminum (I tried some of it on a storm door, though that wasn't what I got it for--the result was almost mirrorlike). I applied it with a rag. -- ------------------------------- Disclaimer: The views contained herein are | dan levy | yvel nad | my own and are not at all those of my em- | an engihacker @ | ployer or the administrator of any computer | at&t computer systems division | upon which I may hack. | skokie, illinois | -------------------------------- Path: ..!{akgua,homxb,ihnp4,ltuxa,mvuxa, go for it! allegra,ulysses,vax135}!ttrdc!levy
donch@tekirl.UUCP (Don Chitwood) (09/09/86)
A word of warning here from sad experience. Splotchy aluminum parts can be the RESULT of using some cleaners, namely the popular 409 household cleaner. Be aware that most household cleaners are alkaline. Alkaline solutions will etch aluminum, and can leave a residual pattern that you can only remove by some abrasive technique. I found 409 to be great for taking off disc brake pad dust on my forks and rims. Unfortunately, my rims are Borrani aluminum alloy rims and they will forever show the splotches where I first sprayed the 409 and took ten seconds to get a sponge before spreading it around; the etching occurred very rapidly. As a result, I don't use it anywhere on the bike. Don Chitwood Tektronix, Inc
cbz@mhuxl.UUCP (Craig B. Ziemer) (09/10/86)
C.Rogers writes: > Does anyone out there have a good method or > product for cleaning side covers and those > engine parts which are brushed or anodized > aluminum ........ I have tried two different products to polish aluminum. They are "Mother's Mags and Aluminum Polish" (something like that) and "Simichrome". Both worked beautifully. Craig B. Ziemer mhuxl!cbz
darryl@ism780c.UUCP (Darryl Richman) (09/11/86)
In article <176@tekirl.UUCP> donch@tekirl.UUCP (Don Chitwood) writes: > >A word of warning here from sad experience. Splotchy aluminum parts can >be the RESULT of using some cleaners, namely the popular 409 household >cleaner. Be aware that most household cleaners are alkaline. Alkaline >solutions will etch aluminum, and can leave a residual pattern that you >can only remove by some abrasive technique. >Don Chitwood Thanks for the warning. I have never noticed this on my bikes. Perhaps this is because (I believe) BMW puts a clear plastic (?) coating over their cast rims. I will certainly avoid using it on the engine parts, however. --Darryl Richman, INTERACTIVE Systems Corp. ...!cca!ima!ism780!darryl The views expressed above are my opinions only.
bobc@hplsla.UUCP (bobc) (09/11/86)
I've found that most of the aluminum parts have some form of clear laquer over them. Small holes in the finish allow corrosion to occur underneath the coating. My soloution, after trying several cleaners and polishes was to remove the laquer, polish the metal, and then apply wax. Bob Cutler Hewlett Packard Lake Stevens, WA
davet@vaxwaller.UUCP (Dave Triplett) (09/12/86)
> C.Rogers writes: > > > Does anyone out there have a good method or > > product for cleaning side covers and those > > engine parts which are brushed or anodized > > aluminum ........ I have been following this discussion for a while and have seen only one response which indicated that polishing side covers might not be a good idea. On many bikes, the aluminum is covered by a clear overcoat. Polishing of this coat will only remove it, producing "splotchy alumninum parts"! Once splotchiness develops, if the bike does indeed use a clear overcoat, the only cure is to use a solvent to remove the coat and then repaint with another clear coat. I have read of how to do this but have not done it myself. -- Dave Triplett (415) 939-2400 x2087 Varian Instruments 2700 Mitchell Dr. Walnut Creek, Ca. 94598 {zehntel,dual,amd,fortune,resonex,rtech}!varian!davet
car377@drutx.UUCP (RogersCA) (09/18/86)
In hplsla.19500001, Bob Cutler writes: > My solution, after trying several cleaners and polishes was > to remove the lacquer, polish the metal, and then apply wax. What did you use to remove the lacquer? I tried a small experiment with some paint stripper ("Strip-X") which I obtained at my local hardware store. I put a drop of the stripper on the lower outside surface of my timing cover in a spot where any subsequent damage would not be obvious. I removed the stripper after 10 minutes, and the clear coat had been removed. There was no discoloration of the underlying metal, but I did observe fine scratches in the surface. I'm not sure whether these scratches were the result of factory finishing work, or damage caused by etching of the surface by the stripper. I called a corrosion expert at Bell Labs in New Jersey and asked him whether the active ingredients of the stripper (methylene chloride and xylene) would attack the aluminum or chrome alloy. He said there was a small chance that damage would occur if any free chlorine ions in the stripper encountered aluminum unprotected by aluminum oxide. He also said that I could avoid such damage by exercising care during the procedure, and by leaving the stripper on only long enough to loosen the paint. Chuck Rogers @ ATT-ISL, Denver
bobc@hplsla.UUCP (bobc) (09/30/86)
>the underlying metal, but I did observe fine scratches in the >surface. I'm not sure whether these scratches were the result >of factory finishing work, or damage caused by etching of the >surface by the stripper. I called a corrosion expert at If your worried about about a little etching, then you probably don't need to remove the clear finish in the first place. I removed the coating so that I could get at the corrosion underneath. It was pretty bad in places. I wasn't worried about about harming the original finish because I knew I had a lot of polishing ahead of me anyway. Once I removed the clear coat, I used 600 wet/dry sandpaper to polish out the corrosion and get the entire surface to a uniform finish. Then, using emory cloth, followed by automotive and aluminum polish, I was able to create a mirror finish. It was a lot of work, but the results are impressive. Obviously, the amount of polishing you have to do depends on how deep the corrosion is. Also, I wouln't remove the coating to do spot fixes. It could be difficult to match finishes. Bob Cutler hplsla!bobc Hewlett-Packard Lake Stevens, WA