Cleaning the Max for wedding pics

[cambo]

I'm getting married this Saturday and our photographer said she would do some pics of us and the Vmax, and that means getting her cleaned up (talking about the bike):biglaugh:. The last owner rode it on dirt, and its still got some grunge in all the nooks of the motor. I heard simple green was good, but wondered what would bring back the shine. Thanks!

 

[gunrunner]

I'm getting married this Saturday and our photographer said she would do some pics of us and the Vmax, and that means getting her cleaned up (talking about the bike):biglaugh:. The last owner rode it on dirt, and its still got some grunge in all the nooks of the motor. I heard simple green was good, but wondered what would bring back the shine. Thanks!

Attack the motor with a waterblaster but remember to set it on low otherwise you will be in for some painting , after that what i use is a clear tyre shine spray on and wipe off brings the motor up nice and shiny .

For the record last time i rode her in the dirt i just threw her in the shower . unk:

 

[95spfldmax]

I'm getting married this Saturday and our photographer said she would do some pics of us and the Vmax, and that means getting her cleaned up (talking about the bike):biglaugh:. The last owner rode it on dirt, and its still got some grunge in all the nooks of the motor. I heard simple green was good, but wondered what would bring back the shine. Thanks!

I just used this product called S100 Engine Brightener.............Worked great.......spray on...wipe off.........they make a bike wash also......GOOD STUFF

 

[mr.maxx]

+1 foe S100 thats great stuff!! plus the next time u hose off the engine it will come out nice n clean.

for general cleaning i use a microfiber cloth and a can of lemon pledge......4 bug shit n stuff.....

 

[4gasem]

Only Adams products touch my rides now... www.adamspolishes.com or www.adamsforums.com

 

[coffee_brake]

Sounds crazy, but I find the S100 looks great but fades quickly, won't last through a rain or more than one wash. And it's expensive. I use DOT 5 (synthetic) brake fluid on my plastics and on powdercoated metal, it shines it up great and lasts LOT longer than S100. Been using it for over a year now on several different bikes; it does not harm the paint or make the plastic chalky, it just lasts a long time and you can apply it with a cloth, and toothbrush, a Q-tip---lots easier to use. I keep S100 around too, to spray into the nooks where I can't reach. But I prefer DOT 5.

 

[EAGLEPI]

I've always used Liquid Glass

 

[cambo]

Sounds crazy, but I find the S100 looks great but fades quickly, won't last through a rain or more than one wash. And it's expensive. I use DOT 5 (synthetic) brake fluid on my plastics and on powdercoated metal, it shines it up great and lasts LOT longer than S100. Been using it for over a year now on several different bikes; it does not harm the paint or make the plastic chalky, it just lasts a long time and you can apply it with a cloth, and toothbrush, a Q-tip---lots easier to use. I keep S100 around too, to spray into the nooks where I can't reach. But I prefer DOT 5.

Putting brake fluid on plastic just doesn't seem right, but I am definitely going to test this out, on some old cars first, and see how well it works. I trust your experience, but I'm not brave enough to try this on the Max just yet!

 

[[email protected]]

I'm cheap. I bought this stuff from Walmart called Eagle One Nano Wax. Its in a spray bottle. Just like Danielson in Karate Kid. Wipe On, Wipe Off.

Just spray it on and wipe it off kinda like buffing it with a micro fiber cloth. It makes the bike shine up pretty nice and it doesn't cost $20 a bottle.

I use simple green on the hard grime like brake dust. A quick spray with water (garden hose, take it easy electrics), then hit the bad spots with simple green. Hand wash with some meguiars car wash stuff. rinse. put it in the sun, let it dry and hit most spots with chamois. Finish it off with armor all on seat, plastic, hoses, etc. Then the nano wax on faux, fenders, and chrome.

Just picked up some mag n aluminum (mothers) polish for the marks pipes. 4.99/can. does the polished aluminum cans good. Doesn't do much of anything for the brushed stainless pipes though.

 

[4gasem]

Carnuba is still going to get you the best shine out there. It's a proven fact that the depth of carnuba has yet to be duplicated with man made products. Plus the more carnuba the longer that depth and shine lasts. I belong to a detailing forum. I'm not saying I know everything (I don't) but I do know quite a bit now.

If you want to clean stainless get yourself some pickling paste to etch it. We sell it here at work and it's used to remove the "blueing" from stainless after it's welded.

A key to remember is the more solid the wax the longer it will last. It's a generic key but it's pretty accurate. To make things easy to apply a lot of petroleum distillates are added which reduce the longevity of the products.

Be VERY careful with Simple Green. It's been known to ruin many a paints in its full strength form. I would rather see someone use something like dawn detergent which WILL remove the wax but won't harm the paint. Also remember that warm/hot surfaces can cause normally safe products to become very destructive. Also letting them sit to long can have the same effect.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Caleb_M]

I'm using some stuff put out by Next Dimension simply called "Spray Cleaner & Polish", the bike shop I got it at said it used to be called Honda Polish. All I know is it worked really really good, and cheap to boot!