armyofda12mnkeys Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 I basically read through this informative article: http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/restoring.htm and was curious what products you would recommend, if you agree with steps the reviewer took. I have rust on my xs400 fork badge that I'd like to get rid of, and saw many solutions (Turtle Wax Chrome Polish And Rust Remover, Autosol, or put Diet coke on rusted Chrome parts, and wipe away rust with crumbled aluminum foil, steel wool with a rust remover, lemon juice on a brillo-pad, WD40+Lemon Pledge?!, sandpaper+primer+rustoleum). Not sure where the specific part un-rusting would go in that tutorial (after washing?, so remove rust, pre-wax?, polish and then wax it? ) How do you tell what are Chrome parts and Aluminum (as some cleaners says only for Chrome)? I just want a definitive guide i can use to clean and make my motorcycle 100% awesome . Recommeneded Methods/Products you all got . Thanks!, Arian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted December 10, 2009 Moderator Share Posted December 10, 2009 I use PEEKS polish as its not too abrasive and does fibreglass as well. i also started using protect and shine that Goff recommended, and thats god stuff too. waxing the chrome is good too,but don't use windowlean as it has amonia. I don't have any rust on my bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pezak Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Lemon juice is bad, rust is oxidation, lemon juice is acidic and will cause oxidation. Other fun things metal's do not like salt's, acids, bases (coke, and diet coke great for cleaning battery terminals) , sudden stops, and of course water. The sand paper rust inhibiting primer and some paint of you color choice work and well if you make sure all the rust is gone. but to get a nice smooth surface you have to sand a lot. Or the easy way, just find a replacement piece with no rust. Aluminum is none ferrous a magnet will not stick to it. As far as I know the engine and the brake calipers are aluminum. All chrome that I have ever seen is on steel and steel is ferrous so the magnet will stick to it. There is some really highly polished aluminum out there but just check it with a magnet. This science lesson was brought to you by the letter B, for bored at work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armyofda12mnkeys Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 Cool Thanks for advice, ... I bought a bunch of different things to try on different parts and will update when i have a chance to work on my XS400/'85 Ninja and friends Honda CB's: StrongArm Spray (supposedly an amazing rust remover) Aluminum polishing/buffing kit for motorcycles (to use with a hand power-drill) for the engine: http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/alpolkit.htm Peeks/Autosol/Flitz metal polishes (heh will figure out whats best for what, heard some of these are a bit abrasive, possibly use these be4 or after the Caswell buffing-polish drill kit on the aluminum engine [or not use at all if using that kit already?] Asking a few peeps and will update this thread. Also the StrongArm rust remover seems like is protective itself... not sure if i would want to use metal polisher after using that ) some cleaners/polishes/waxes as detailed in that guide I posted for things that are plastic like some fairings on the Ninja or things that got paint on them like the tank (Mothers pre-wax, Meguiar's step 2 polish, Meguiar's Gold Class liquid wax) Meguiar Leather/Vinyl Cleaner/Conditioner (2-in-1, Mothers has 2 separate products, seems like they have alot of good motorcycle specific polishes/wax's) #0000 steel wool and a Flitz mini polishing ball. Will update this thread when figure out what to use on what or if anyone has more recommendations, Ari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted January 25, 2010 Moderator Share Posted January 25, 2010 don't use steel wool on aluminum, the flecks bed into the soft alloy and then rust. it looks bloody awful that way ACF50 is good rust inhibitor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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