Need some bike cleaning help.

jeffro503
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jeffro503 2/25/2014 7:22pm
2/25/2014 7:22pm
CamP wrote:
Cleaners like Totally Awesome, White Lightning, Purple Power and Super Clean have a very high Ph and will strip anodize. I never use them because they...
Cleaners like Totally Awesome, White Lightning, Purple Power and Super Clean have a very high Ph and will strip anodize. I never use them because they can ruin your bike if you aren't careful. Same goes with the acid based cleaners

I would start a deep clean by soaking all the greasy grunge with WD40 and use a tooth brush to get it all loosened up. Then soak the bike in Shout, which has a neutral Ph, and use a larger soft plastic bristle to work on the dirt stains before hosing it off with water. At this point you will have a clean bike and be down to the permanent stains in the cast aluminum and metal surfaces, which will require more Shout and scotchbrite.
Thank you Camp !! I forgot all about the shout thing. I just happen to have some here with me and I'm going out to do a couple test spots with a good brush and see what happens.
CamP
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CamP 2/25/2014 7:37pm
2/25/2014 7:37pm Edited Date/Time 2/25/2014 7:41pm
jeffro503 wrote:
Thank you Camp !! I forgot all about the shout thing. I just happen to have some here with me and I'm going out to do...
Thank you Camp !! I forgot all about the shout thing. I just happen to have some here with me and I'm going out to do a couple test spots with a good brush and see what happens.
Last time I was at Costco, they were selling 1.34 gallon jugs of Shout with a 22oz bonus spray bottle for only $8. Don't forget the WD40. It's a lot more economical if you buy it buy the gallon too.
mxer613
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mxer613 2/25/2014 7:43pm
2/25/2014 7:43pm
The kx 125 I picked up a couple months ago, was twice as tore up as yours Jeff, I used my dremel with wire brushes, and some butt rock on Pandora!
mxer613
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mxer613 2/25/2014 7:52pm
2/25/2014 7:52pm

The Shop

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mxer613
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mxer613 2/25/2014 7:56pm
2/25/2014 7:56pm
All done
mxer613
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mxer613 2/25/2014 7:58pm
2/25/2014 7:58pm
Got my new project
jeffro503
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jeffro503 2/25/2014 8:05pm
2/25/2014 8:05pm
jeffro503 wrote:
Thank you Camp !! I forgot all about the shout thing. I just happen to have some here with me and I'm going out to do...
Thank you Camp !! I forgot all about the shout thing. I just happen to have some here with me and I'm going out to do a couple test spots with a good brush and see what happens.
CamP wrote:
Last time I was at Costco, they were selling 1.34 gallon jugs of Shout with a 22oz bonus spray bottle for only $8. Don't forget the...
Last time I was at Costco, they were selling 1.34 gallon jugs of Shout with a 22oz bonus spray bottle for only $8. Don't forget the WD40. It's a lot more economical if you buy it buy the gallon too.
Camp.....what does Shout do to the plastics? Anything? On my other bikes I have always used simple green mixed with about 30% water and just made a few gallons at a time mixed into a garden sprayer. I'd hose off all the big stuff first , soak it down with the garden sprayer.....and it would come out looking nice. This stuff I'm dealing with right now , the simple green can't do much more........but I just did a test sample on my rear brake caliper and Shout is working great! Just not sure what it would do if I coated the whole bike with it for a total cleaning after ride days?

Mxer613 ( Jason ).......First off...hey man! Soo.....you ended up getting a 125 then? I was thinking in one of your previous threads you were picking up an older Kawi 250 2 stroke? What year is your 125 Jason? Have any pics?
jeffro503
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jeffro503 2/25/2014 8:06pm
2/25/2014 8:06pm
DOH!! You must of been posting them when I was typing! Looks really nice Jason! Looks like it came off the show room floor!
Tracktor
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Tracktor 2/25/2014 8:16pm
2/25/2014 8:16pm
CamP wrote:
Cleaners like Totally Awesome, White Lightning, Purple Power and Super Clean have a very high Ph and will strip anodize. I never use them because they...
Cleaners like Totally Awesome, White Lightning, Purple Power and Super Clean have a very high Ph and will strip anodize. I never use them because they can ruin your bike if you aren't careful. Same goes with the acid based cleaners

I would start a deep clean by soaking all the greasy grunge with WD40 and use a tooth brush to get it all loosened up. Then soak the bike in Shout, which has a neutral Ph, and use a larger soft plastic bristle to work on the dirt stains before hosing it off with water. At this point you will have a clean bike and be down to the permanent stains in the cast aluminum and metal surfaces, which will require more Shout and scotchbrite.
I cant speak for the other cleaners but TA isnt going to do a thing to your anodizing. I found out about it from a boat forum where guys use it to clean the interiors on $100k boats. I have used it for years on all kinds of stuff and never had an issue.
Brap
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Brap 2/25/2014 8:44pm
2/25/2014 8:44pm
2005 RM250 Build I did, The first picture was after a few hours of cleaning and I didn't get far...The second pic does it no justice, That thing looked brand new under some lights. But both of these had dremels with wire brushes taken to the engines and then a light sand






And here's the YZ125 I just did, This one was rough on the inside...lol



jeffro503
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jeffro503 2/25/2014 8:44pm
2/25/2014 8:44pm
EMA884mx wrote:
Jeffro, this ought to be a pretty sweet re-build. Looking forward to seeing it unfold so be sure to keep us posted with lots of pics.
Thanks man! I hope so to. When I get the money to put together so I can really move forward on it , I was thinking about making a restore thread in the Race Shop threads. Really looking forward to it.
jeffro503
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jeffro503 2/25/2014 8:46pm
2/25/2014 8:46pm
So you guys using the little wire wheel with the dremel......it doesn't hard or damage the castings at all?
Brap
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Brap 2/25/2014 8:53pm
2/25/2014 8:53pm
I had no problems with it, Like I said I went over it very lightly then followed up with a good sanding and hit it with some of that Engine shine
newmann
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newmann 2/25/2014 8:55pm
2/25/2014 8:55pm
neverwasfastenuf wrote:
I think Newmann recommends going over bikes vigorously with a wire brush.

Wink

Nah, just kidding.
LOL, I was scarred for life after watching my buddy do that with a brand spanking new YZ250 .
CamP
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CamP 2/25/2014 9:00pm
2/25/2014 9:00pm Edited Date/Time 2/25/2014 9:10pm
CamP wrote:
Cleaners like Totally Awesome, White Lightning, Purple Power and Super Clean have a very high Ph and will strip anodize. I never use them because they...
Cleaners like Totally Awesome, White Lightning, Purple Power and Super Clean have a very high Ph and will strip anodize. I never use them because they can ruin your bike if you aren't careful. Same goes with the acid based cleaners

I would start a deep clean by soaking all the greasy grunge with WD40 and use a tooth brush to get it all loosened up. Then soak the bike in Shout, which has a neutral Ph, and use a larger soft plastic bristle to work on the dirt stains before hosing it off with water. At this point you will have a clean bike and be down to the permanent stains in the cast aluminum and metal surfaces, which will require more Shout and scotchbrite.
Tracktor wrote:
I cant speak for the other cleaners but TA isnt going to do a thing to your anodizing. I found out about it from a boat...
I cant speak for the other cleaners but TA isnt going to do a thing to your anodizing. I found out about it from a boat forum where guys use it to clean the interiors on $100k boats. I have used it for years on all kinds of stuff and never had an issue.
Sorry, but you are wrong about that. TA has a pH of 12-13 as documented in their MSDS data sheet. What this means is that the formula is caustic, and will result in etched metals, especially if you are careless and don't completely rinse it off in short order. The reality is some people notice this kind of thing more than others. The other problem is that it works it's way into the fasteners and results in accelerated corrosion inside your nuts/bolts.

http://apps.wku.edu/sds/uploads/docs/8095.pdf
CamP
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CamP 2/25/2014 9:03pm
2/25/2014 9:03pm Edited Date/Time 2/25/2014 9:07pm
jeffro503 wrote:
[b]Camp[/b].....what does Shout do to the plastics? Anything? On my other bikes I have always used simple green mixed with about 30% water and just made...
Camp.....what does Shout do to the plastics? Anything? On my other bikes I have always used simple green mixed with about 30% water and just made a few gallons at a time mixed into a garden sprayer. I'd hose off all the big stuff first , soak it down with the garden sprayer.....and it would come out looking nice. This stuff I'm dealing with right now , the simple green can't do much more........but I just did a test sample on my rear brake caliper and Shout is working great! Just not sure what it would do if I coated the whole bike with it for a total cleaning after ride days?

Mxer613 ( Jason ).......First off...hey man! Soo.....you ended up getting a 125 then? I was thinking in one of your previous threads you were picking up an older Kawi 250 2 stroke? What year is your 125 Jason? Have any pics?
Shout has a pH of 7, which is equivalent to water and it is free of solvents. It is harmless to all the materials on your bikes. It is a surfactant, which means it breaks the bond between the dirt and your bike, leaving it as clean as it can possibly be without harming the materials on your bike.
FlickitFlat 2/25/2014 9:10pm
2/25/2014 9:10pm
There is a product here in WV called Tornado 50. It is used to clean railroad cars and will peal the grease off of anything. http://tornadoproductsco.com/products.php
It is a Butyl based product. There are a few Butyl based products hitting the market nationwide. I think Simonize has one and I seen a cleaner at walmart in a gallon jug that was Butyl based. I don't know if they are as good as Tornado 50 but they have the same base chemical. Butyl is amazing. Grease will just run off. I have easy access to it because I own a truck wash but for you it might be worth a look around to see if you can find some.
CamP
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CamP 2/25/2014 9:24pm
2/25/2014 9:24pm
FlickitFlat wrote:
There is a product here in WV called Tornado 50. It is used to clean railroad cars and will peal the grease off of anything. http://tornadoproductsco.com/products.php...
There is a product here in WV called Tornado 50. It is used to clean railroad cars and will peal the grease off of anything. http://tornadoproductsco.com/products.php
It is a Butyl based product. There are a few Butyl based products hitting the market nationwide. I think Simonize has one and I seen a cleaner at walmart in a gallon jug that was Butyl based. I don't know if they are as good as Tornado 50 but they have the same base chemical. Butyl is amazing. Grease will just run off. I have easy access to it because I own a truck wash but for you it might be worth a look around to see if you can find some.
I read the MSDS on that stuff and it has a pH of 14! That's like washing your bike in Lye! I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

Pit Row

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FlickitFlat 2/25/2014 9:33pm
2/25/2014 9:33pm
You dilute it. I use it with great results. It doesn't streak like acid. I mostly use the powder that mixes 20:1 with water and then dilute that 15:1. The stuff you would buy off the shelve is not that strong and would probably already be of the final mix strength that I use.

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