Cleaning the Engine Corrosion?

[Anonymous]

Hi there,
Its been a while since I've visited the site. My bike sits outside under cover because I have no garage, but it still gets the oxidation on the heads and other aluminum engine parts. I have heard of things to clean this off, but I'm just looking to get the right cleaner the first time. The chrome is in good shape and only has some rust near the flange where it bolts to the heads where some steel wool might clean that up. What do you guys who have been cleaning your bikes for years suggest to use. Its embarrassing to park my bike next to the guy I bought it from when he pulls into work with his 2003 Harley, chrome and all.

Thanks
Dave

PS Its a 81 GS850GL

[VermontNewbie]

I'm interested in hearing the answer to this as well.

[Eliseo Monteverde]

I'm interested in hearing the answer to this as well.

Me too

[Anonymous]

Cleaning Corrosion

Although I have not used it on an intact bike, I just used some mag wheel cleaner designed for non-polished wheels (Eagle One Etching Mag Cleaner) and a brass wire brush to clean my GS850's head (currently awaiting reinstallation). First I degreased with Simple Green, then sprayed on the mag cleaner, scrubbed, and rinsed. You may have to do this several times. It cleaned up the corrosion pretty well, leaving a smooth gray oxidized finish.

Be careful, because the Eagle One Cleaner has hydrofluoric acid(!) and phosphoric acid, which could do a number on the wrong cycle (or body) part. Have plenty of ventilation, and plenty of clean water nearby in case you get it in your eyes or on your skin.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Vince

[Anonymous]

Cleaning Corrosion

OK, I just read on the back of the bottle of the Eagle One cleaner;

"DO NOT USE ON MOTORCYCLE WHEELS OR PARTS."

So I take back what I said.

I'll let you know if my head falls apart or my wheels break off!

vini

[frosty5011]

For larger surfaces, just use #000 steel wool to get off the oxidation, as well as the old (and most likely failing) clearcoat. When you have all the clearcoat off, polish the surface with a Dremmel, and either aluminum polish, or chrome polish on the polishing wheel.

This will, of course be difficult to do in small tight areas, but works fine for the larger areas.

These 2 pics are from my 850, which was not "too" bad when I got it. But using the above method is how I cleaned it up. Those pics are about 1 year after they were initially cleaned.


For inside the fins, I just use one of those toothbrush style wire brushes and detergent.
The pics of this 750 I had, were taken directly after I cleaned/polished them up. These engine casings looked pitiful, almost beyond hope, but they turned out pretty good. I must admit, that with time, I'm also getting better at this, The engine used to look almost just as bad as that in the last pic on the bottom.

[Anonymous]

For larger surfaces, just use #000 steel wool to get off the oxidation, as well as the old (and most likely failing) clearcoat. When you have all the clearcoat off, polish the surface with a Dremmel, and either aluminum polish, or chrome polish on the polishing wheel.

The 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not mix metals."

It might be unwise to use steel wool of any sort on aluminum. Probably goes for brass brushes as suggested by Vince as well. If you do, flecks and residue from the steel or brass will be lodged in your aluminum. Over time, and especially with the help of heat and an electrolyte such as water, the dissimilar metals atoms will microscopically migrate and mix, causing freakish corrision. It works like a battery. Anyway, it looks like steel wool worked well for Frosty (nice bike, I should add!), but officially, you're "not supposed to do it".

Alternatively, I would suggest 3M Imperial wet/dry sandpaper. It's pretty effective, although tiring to use on large surfaces. And it's non-metallic, meaning it won't cause the metallic migration mentioned above.

Just my 2 pennies -- which, I might add are currently made of zinc and copper, and are subject to some of the same metallic migration I speak of.

Michael

[VermontNewbie]

I got this NevrDull metal polish and the stuff worked great in some areas but others I would go through tons of the stuff in one spot not seeing any improvement, ill go over it with sandpaper now to see if I can see anything better.

[dgeorge]

I don't know how well it would work on the engine, mines painted black, but on the covers on mine I bead blasted them then used Mothers billet polish on them. This stuff is expensive (about $14usd), but it works better then anything else I've ever seen. I tried regular mothers aluminum (sp?) polish, never dull, brasso, and several others, and this stuff beats them all hands down.

[Anonymous]

The 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not mix metals."

It might be unwise to use steel wool of any sort on aluminum. Probably goes for brass brushes as suggested by Vince as well. If you do, flecks and residue from the steel or brass will be lodged in your aluminum. Over time, and especially with the help of heat and an electrolyte such as water, the dissimilar metals atoms will microscopically migrate and mix, causing freakish corrision. It works like a battery. Anyway, it looks like steel wool worked well for Frosty (nice bike, I should add!), but officially, you're "not supposed to do it".

Alternatively, I would suggest 3M Imperial wet/dry sandpaper. It's pretty effective, although tiring to use on large surfaces. And it's non-metallic, meaning it won't cause the metallic migration mentioned above.

When I'm cleaning metals for electronics work (copper-clad printed circuit boards or aluminum cabinet panels) I use Scotchbrite. It's non-metallic, and not as abrasive as sandpaper. It's also easier to hold when buffing an odd shape. And it's available just about anywhere.

Dave