cleaning bike
 

this week my bike is coming off the road for a complete cleana nd strip down ready for the great summer we got heading our way

what products do you guys use and what secret tips have you got for bringing the sparkle back into the old girl

im taking the exhausts off to give then a good polish down but need to know whats the best way to do it, im t-cutting the panels to try and get rid of the little scrapes and really cleaning everything else up too

ive never done anything like this before but then ive never owned a stunning bike like a ducati before so any advice would be more than welcome

cheers

dave

Im doing exactly the same as you mate! Will post if i find anything good:D

Instead of T cut try Farecla G3. Its much quicker and does not have ammonia in it. I got some recently and have never been near the T cut since. Dont go too mad with it though as you will end up back at bare plastic! There is another Farecla product which is a little less abrasive I think it may be G10. They do a full range of products that will have your paintwork gleaming.

detailing clay / t-cut / polish / wax in that order on the body work - Rotary buffer helps speed this up.

Tar remover to shift the spots on the exhaust etc

black plastic bits are treated with bumper care

Paraffin / WD40 and elbow grease for the engine casings etc.

Autosol for alloy bits if they're furry (wax afterwards to seal)

Muc - Off is a good base cleaner, everything else I use is autoglym (except detailing clay which is meguairs)

All of the above is available at Halfords (Muc Off in pushbike section)

elbow grease.
best thing to do is set yourself a list.
what bits do you not like the look of at the mo ?
side panels as you said a bit of T-cut, don't go to heavy on them though. and make sure you polish them after.
wheels take off. then hot water and a good car shampoo. dry and polish, maybe with T cut again.
clean the chain up and get it wet with oil.
callipers strip and clean
depends how long you have. recon there is a couple of weekend work there already.
Enjoy

LOL...didn't need a clean when it left here!!!:lol:

Then again, you ride it rather than just looking and polishing it like me:D

Just take your time...all of the above is good advice,although personally I have never used T-cut.

Just make sure that when you do get the polishing plastics/tank stage that the rag is spotlessly clean and free from any form of contamination( ie grit if dropped on floor) as this will really undo all of your hardwork!

And as a starting point I can recommend muck-off...good stuff for that first big wash to get the worst off, and a can of brake cleaner for specifically doing the calipers and discs...it works a treat.

[Edited on 24-1-2005 by Harv748]

I use a portable shot blasting machine and Brillo pads followed by a coating of lard for that nice shiny finnish!:lol:

the obvious one dont use washing up liquid, contains salt

Muc off followed by caring hand wash followed by vigorous polish followed by a soft chair to sit in and a fag and just look at her beauty.:D


As for the exaust system took me 5 hours to machine pollish them :cool:
then got caught out in the rain and they got dirty again :(

but a good going over with auto solve sorted them out :cool:

Age

Autoglym bike cleaner
Belgom Alu for metal work
Muc off 'Bike spray'

Belgom is brilliant..like autosol but leaves a protetcive film
Bike spary is like WD40 but doesnt attract the dust as much
Muc off good, but not quite as tough as autoglym bike cleaner (although the bottle is rubbish..(nozzle 'congeals')

But my best tip is the turtle wax range of 'extreme' products identified by the fluo green bottles.

Ive always been a fan of autoglym but wanted to try different stuff...tried Mer but found it shite !

Then tried the turtle wax extreme speed wax (spray on and wipe), tyre gel (for black plastic), and others and they are brilliant. Halfords also seem to regularly have a buy one get one free offer on turtle wax products too !

Oh..and never let 'er indoors throw the toothbrushes away..sacriledge punishable by taking away her shoe allowance for a month.....:lol:

Happy cleaning....I love it ! Im never happier than having a few cold beers with my beloved on a sunny day (when im not wazzing about that is!!) with polishing cloths in hand and fairings neatly arranged on the lawn..!!!!

Cheers
Nat