Dirty engine

[PHILinFRANCE]

Hi all
Bought the Vara 1000 in UK and the ally is in a realy bad way(probably salt off roads) whats the best way/product to clean it i,ve solvoed it with a toothbrush but cant get it all or buff it up ANY IDEAS
Phil

[Snaphappy]

What is affected, if its alloy that has salt damage then you can only polish it out with something aggressive (rubbing compound, t-cut, brasso) or lightly sand it down and paint it again, My dero is all painted alloy if the paint surface had been attacked by salt then take off the paint completely and respray, just touching up the affected parts wont last long as the corrosion eats away under the paint.
Depends on what bit is affected and if its worth stripping it down or covering it in WD40

[PHILinFRANCE]

hi Snaphappy
Its mainly the motor ie. pots head gearbox and sump like i say you can get in with a toothbrush with solvo autosole but can not buff it up realy well just woundered if theres a spray on wash of cleaner to make life easy?
Thanks Phil

[jasonbc]

hi Snaphappy
Its mainly the motor ie. pots head gearbox and sump like i say you can get in with a toothbrush with solvo autosole but can not buff it up realy well just woundered if theres a spray on wash of cleaner to make life easy?
Thanks Phil

I use pro-clean on mine when the salt is high in wintertime i dilute it 2:1 otherwise it will take the lacquer off the bike but it certainly removes all the crud. Summer time i use something else. Comma Sell TRV it's alot cheaper and is designed for washing curtain trailers on lorries it will go further and does not damage paintwork.

[Recycler]

Autosol is for bare metal, not painted like your motor.

[davsato]

in UK we have 'muck-off' that works really well, other places do something similar hein gericke etc. wet the bike with water, spray some muck-off on a big paint brush and work all the dirt out. then give the whole thing a drowning in ACF50.
FS365 or WD40 will be ok but they wash off and need constant repeating

[PHILinFRANCE]

Sorry guys
My fault its not just dirt its corrosion!! and my engines not painted just bare metal(ally i think!) where i can get the solvoe does a great job but getting in to those hard to get bits is impossible, what about alloy wheel cleaner? Maybe i,m being to fussy only realy noticed it when i took the belly pan off to change fuel pump.

PHIL

[Kjell Lindberg]

Aluminum oxide is difficult to remove.
As far as I know there are no "spray and wash" detergents around, available to private persons, that works.

Aluminum oxide is actually used as a grinding paste in some applications, so you know its hard stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumina

I doubt your engine is bare metal, since bare aluminum reacts with oxygen instantaneously.
Technically, any aluminum product you have, has a coating of aluminum oxide on the outside because pure aluminum is highly reactive to oxygen in the air. Since aluminum oxide is very hard, it actually protects the aluminum.
Usually the aluminum is anodized or lacquered with a clear coating.
If you use strong acid based products on Aluminum with clear coating, it will turn “Smokey” and dull, and the only fix for that is to bead blast and recoat.

So how do you remove the oxide from Aluminum that’s not been painted or lacquered?

Go to the hardware store and look for a product that’s acid based, you need an acid to remove oxide from metal. It should be in a jelly form so it can be used on vertical surfaces.
And when you wash it off, use LOTS of water because traces will result in new corrosion.
Dry the aluminum and then use a very fine cream abrasive.
MOTHERS’ aluminum polish for Car wheels is a good choice.
If the oxide is not very heavy (more like a fine haze), then you can skip the jelly.
With a lot of buffing and elbow grease, you can restore aluminum to a mirror finish.

Here is a product you could investigate further:
http://www.orange-sol.com/casestudies/alumoxide.html

Here is another one:
http://www.evapo-rust.co.nz/Aluminium%20Oxide%20Remover.htm
But for that one you need recirculation washers, vibratory polishing units or dip tanks

[Snaphappy]

Not wanting to but but the mirror finish will last a few days unless sealed, painted or lacquered

are you sure the motor is bare metal, that's not standard for any dero

post some pics of the corrosion
I'd be tempted to say get a respray

[PHILinFRANCE]

Thanks for all the advice guys
As far as bare metal i,m just a hummble bricky so i,m probably wrong on that count but in the meantime while waiting for answers i got the grease gun on my elbow with wire wool and solvoe autosol it took about as long as a planet to form but got the right effect, like i said i,m just being fussy when the belly pan,s back on you,d have to break your neck to see it!!!
By the the way i ordered the new pump from the site shop about 8/9 days ago and yes i live in deepest darkest France but is this normal or what other way can i check on it?

Phil