old - Fazer Owners Club - old
General => General => Topic started by: fireblake on 17 October 2016, 08:36:36 pm
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What is your bike cleaning product of choice and how much do you spend on your products. D o you buy a separate degreaser or on of those fancy do it all cleaners?
Thanks for any info, Mickey
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Turtle-wax shampoo in bulk when it was on offer at B&Q (used on the car mostly tho).
Turtle-wax polish when it appeared at Poundland.
Autosol.
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Muc-Off, Auto Glym Polish and Morris Hard Surface polish. Also definitely a specific degreaser for back wheel and chain area (the only drawback of having a chain oiler)
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De grease chain fling with parafin, polish with Auto Glym, and do the black plastics with some dedicated armer all stuff, its not black but just a clear milky liquid (silicone I suspect )
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The thing I don't like about soluble degreasers is washing them off onto my driveway, with all the muck they lift off, which doesn't have brilliant drainage.
I use a locally produced cleaning fluid which is pretty much the same as Muc Off for most of the bike, but then I use old rags dampened with WD40 to clean grease and chain lube from around the rear wheel, swing arm etc. Then I use WD40 to wipe over engine casings, frame and so on. Mr. Sheen to polish the paintwork and plastics. Cold water only for washing down and rinsing, then towel off (one towel for paintwork, another for everywhere else).
In winter, the WD wipe over is replaced by ACF50.
I'll only use Autosol if the surface to be cleaned has lost it's original finish, as then it's a never ending task to keep it good. I've found that things like the footrest hangers/plates on both the Fazer and Striple have kept their shine better without resorting to Autosol, which is an abrasive. But then, I'm not looking for a showroom finish - more interested in clean and shiny with minimal effort!
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Oh yes I forgot to add that I use good old brasso on the alloy bits that I can take off easily to get on my bench grinder fitted with polishing mops.
The rider foot peg hangers and heal shield are lacquered, the rear are not
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My regime consists of a combination of road dirt/grease, tree sap, leaf matter, bird poo and a weekly vigorous rinse with rain water. :eek :rolleyes :D
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Auto Glym motorcycle cleaner and WD40, is what I use, nothing else
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My regime consists of a combination of road dirt/grease, tree sap, leaf matter, bird poo and a weekly vigorous rinse with rain water. :eek :rolleyes :D
:agree
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When it all gets too much to bear, white spirit/paraffin, someone's wash n wax and if I'm feeling really posh a spot of Pledge to polish it off.
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Do that many people really use household polish on their bikes?
Have I really been wasting my money on bike polish for this long haha
Also is paraffin and white spirit OK to use on powder coated wheels?
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Do that many people really use household polish on their bikes?
Have I really been wasting my money on bike polish for this long haha
I first used Mr. Sheen to polish bikes when I was a lad working a weekend job at a motorcycle dealership. That's what they gave me, so that's what I used. Every dealership I have ever worked for since has used the same. I've been using household spray polishes ever since. I've never known them to cause any problems. I guess it depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you're after a show finish, then you might want to use a dedicated product, but then, you'd probably want better than the manufacturer's original paint job too. My bikes are for everyday road use - well, not quite; I'm a bit of a fair weather rider these days - so I don't feel the need to ride a bike that will win me any competitions for cleanliness! But that doesn't mean I don't have some pride in how they look. Not being commuter bikes, I don't let them get in too much of a state before they get a good clean (by my standards).
I've used a few dedicated products in the past, but tbh, the results didn't amaze me to the degree that I'm willing to throw that much money at them all the time.
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Also is paraffin and white spirit OK to use on powder coated wheels?
Never used white spirit but paraffin perfectly fine all over the back end as a de greaser and to clean your chain
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+1 for paraffin, used it for years and it's the only thing I'll clean my chain with. :thumbup
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Paraffin and Mr Sheen for me too, and cheapest car shampoo from supermarkets. Lashed out years ago on a load of Autoglym stuff once and found it no better despite the cost.
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Wow, well that's certainly made my next trip to halfords a bit moot haha I'll be popping to B&Q instead :-P
Cheers
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I only use white spirit on solid metal like the swing arms and the centre stand. Paraffin on the chain.
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According to their website, Morrisons are selling Mr.Sheen for £1 until next January, if that's any help to anyone who has that supermarket near them. Occasionally Poundland stores stock Mr.Sheen, oddly enough, for a pound.
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Cheap 5L Turtle Wax or similar for car & bike was- usually on offer @ B&Q
Paraffin for cleaning chain-4L from B&Q
GT85 spray from Aldi when on special offer £2 can
ACF 50 from bike shop-one can every 3 yearsc £14
Mr Sheen from Pound Shop
Autoglym polish on ebay-a bottle lasts a long time.
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Another one that I forgot is ACF50 and one can lasts years £14, only use it sparingly hear and there.
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Fairy liquid in a bucket of hot water. And Mr sheen for polishing. I have colour magic for special occasions or if I have a guilt trip :D
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Almost all washing up liquids have traces salt in them, just as dishwasher use salt to clean dishes. Washing up liquid is not really ideal for washing your bike or using as screen wash in your car either.
A couple caps full of good quality car shampoo contains polishes and it runs places that you can not reach when you wax polish your bike and that is the reason I use a good quality auto shampoo on my bike.
I have to admit to being an Autoglym fan (I know its expensive but I love my FZS 600) Autoglym shampoo and Ultra Deep Shine polish for paintwork, Autoglym Bumper and trim Gell for side panels, airbox covers, fairing infill panels and mirror backs.
WD40 is a great product for getting chain lube off rear wheel rim and off side of swing arm, also helps to protect against corrosion, it is also brilliant at getting tar spots off the car.
I really do need to get a life :'(
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I knew someone would mention salt in the washing up liquid, when I was a poor apprentice still living at home my RD250 would get washed every week for two years with whatever washing up liquid I found in my mums kitchen, never did it any harm.
I think you would have to leave your bike soaking in neat washing up liquid for years for any effect to be noticed.
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I use a water soluble degreaser, I am on a septic tank so parafin might not be such a good thing to wash down the drain.
I wash the whole bike with wash and wax, whatever is on offer
Once a year I use MER polish, the rest of the time I use Mr Sheen.
One tip another biker gave me years ago, is that after you have washed the engine and let if dry give it a liberal spray of Mr Sheen and then start the engine. It drys to a nearly invisible coating the keeps road much like cow shit etc from sticking to your engine. It's for summer dry day use as it washes off easily, but it keeps your engine all shiny.
If I am on a tour or between washes I use fragrance free baby wipes, chain lube and brake dust etc is no match for them :D [size=78%] [/size]
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I use a water soluble degreaser, I am on a septic tank so parafin might not be such a good thing to wash down the drain.
You don't actually wash the bike with paraffin but just a paraffin dampened cloth which then goes in the bin
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I used to use a mechanic who for some reason would always use something like Mr Sheen on my seat every time I picked the bike up.
Caught me out every time sliding to the back of the seat as soon as I gave the bike a bit of welly.
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Muc Off and Mr Sheen with ACF50 over winter.
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I knew someone would mention salt in the washing up liquid, when I was a poor apprentice still living at home my RD250 would get washed every week for two years with whatever washing up liquid I found in my mums kitchen, never did it any harm.
I think you would have to leave your bike soaking in neat washing up liquid for years for any effect to be noticed.
I'm sure you right about washing up liquid not doing any immediate harm and maybe soaking the bike in the stuff for a year might not do any great damage (not quite sure how you test that one out) but smokers say similar things to that about the 30 fags they have smoked a day for the last 40 years 'it's never done me any harm' cough! cough!
My guess would be most people would say best not take the risk, anyway a Fazer is not meant to smell of lemons. :lol
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Washing up liquid is basically a de-greaser isn't it?
I wouldn't have thought it was a good idea to de-grease the whole bike.
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Gunk degreaser , turtle wash'n'wax , turtle polish , hose and bucket
sorry about the piccie, wet hands as half way through a pre winter clean ...
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I knew someone would mention salt in the washing up liquid, when I was a poor apprentice still living at home my RD250 would get washed every week for two years with whatever washing up liquid I found in my mums kitchen, never did it any harm.
I think you would have to leave your bike soaking in neat washing up liquid for years for any effect to be noticed.
The leaving in on is not the problem. The fairy liquid itself is just a degreaser. The problem lies in the salt when it is rubbed over the paint. The salt is harder than the paint surface and so it causes micro abrasions and marring on the paint surface which affect the finish.
That being said, the best product in the world will do exactly the same thing when coupled with a poor wash technique. For many marring and swirls are an inevitability.
The colour of the paint has an effect as well as swirls and marring don't show up much on silver or white paint, but show up a lot on black paint.
This is a car I did a while ago which had been being washed with a poor wash method and using fairy liquid:
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/92eaac8d7774cc6a82cbf81690cd338e.png)
The sun is showing the swirls pretty clearly.
And the same car after having the swirls corrected via machine polishing:
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161022/a1d70067e08a52652beaec0b8446efb2.png)
Being honest though, most people don't even look to that sort of level and yes, it's pretty anal to the n'th degree. If swirls don't bother you then fairy liquid is no problem - it does strip wax off though so if you want your wax to last I would use something less aggressive.
I use turtle wax wash j wax from Costco - its £15 for 25 litres and does the job. Polishing I use a few things depending on what I want to do and I use collinite 476s for my waxing.
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I gave the bike a clean today and thought I would try the Mr Sheen approach, bloody brilliant, I don't care if it doesn't last it was very quick and it's now really shiney..... pics to follow once I upload them to the PC. :D
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Comparing using washing up liquid to smoking is a bit much!
Car shampoo will leave a slight coating a wax but it has to be a very very small amout otherwise it would leave your seat, brake discs etc with a coating of wax on , not a good idea.
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I used All Year Biker to do the work.Thorough clean, shampoo, ACF 50 pressure misted, wax to paintwork and fairings. Takes about 90 minutes. £70 of my pension but well worth it. Ready for the winter in North Wales.
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I used All Year Biker to do the work.Thorough clean, shampoo, ACF 50 pressure misted, wax to paintwork and fairings. Takes about 90 minutes. £70 of my pension but well worth it. Ready for the winter in North Wales.
(http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=21249.0;attach=26872;image)
Damn! i would not ride my bike if the frost was that hard :lol
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Comparing using washing up liquid to smoking is a bit much!
Car shampoo will leave a slight coating a wax but it has to be a very very small amout otherwise it would leave your seat, brake discs etc with a coating of wax on , not a good idea.
Ha ha! Yeah when I think about it like that it does sound a tad silly.
What I really wanted to say was it's like the mindset of the of the smoker saying stuff like ' I have done this for 40 years and it has never done me any harm'
There is possilby unseen damage going on.
I worked on the building sites since the early to mid 60's and really believed that the outside life was a healthy option, physical activity plenty of fresh air, manual stuff keeping weight down and causing the old oil pump to thump away pumping the blood around, the heart is like any other muscle if you work it will become stronger.
So I believed that I was fit and strong and I worked as a self employed brickie until I was nearly 69, still well able to do the job, but worn out wrist joints caused arthritis and could no longer do the job, so I retired. I have recently discovered that I have asbestosis caused by some the materials that were used in construction years ago, insulation materials and roof cladding sheets. This stuff has been working away in the background in my bellows un-noticed for 50 or more years doing damage that is unrepairable.
Which has got fuck all to do with washing your RD in Fairy Liquid lol! :wall :uhuh
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I used to use white parafin for degreasing but find it difficult to get around here, and more to point its become expensive. I used No Nonsense from Screwfix recently and was well impressed, dilute it cleaned off old oil deposits etc and used neat it made pretty short work of the build up of chain lube from behind the sprocket cover.
At aprox £8 a gallon it didn't break the bank and goes a long way.
Have also only ever used furniture polish on the bike, car wax's may give a better finish but far to much like hard work.
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I used to use white parafin for degreasing but find it difficult to get around here, and more to point its become expensive. I
Almost every garage sell it outside in the bins that also have the smokeless coal. not sure about cost but cheaper than the "muc offs"