What do you use for cleaner?

[99exrider]

Afternoon EXriders,

Im getting ready to go through and clean the crap out of my 400, and I was just curious as to what everyone uses for cleaning the plastics, rubbing rust out of certain spots, and cleaning gunk and grime off around the engine.

I already heard someone mention SOS pads for cleaning the pipe up, and I also plan on buying some duplicolor metal cast to give the engine a little cosmetic accents.

[MidnightBlade]

i scrub the plastic with soap and water let it dry then spray 2 or 3 coats of armor all on makes it real shiny and mud slides right off as for the metal get a high pressure pressure washer and blow the crap out of it just dont hit the wires or youll have some issues also get some 2 to fine steel wool for rust im spraying mine with truck bed liner instead of te grey powdercoat it looks good and prevents rust

[CJM]

Simple green for everything, works wonders.

[troutman561]

Simple Green diluted or straight from the bottle?

[atv fan 28]

Mean Green from the dollar store. 5$ a gallon

[gtt416ex]

purple power degreaser and a brush work wonders. i clean everything with it(plastic, seat, wheels, tires, engine) it actually makes aluminum shine after you brush it.

[arsenal35]

purple power for frame and aluminum
for plastic use baby oil makes it look like new

[gtt416ex]

Originally posted by arsenal35
for plastic use baby oil makes it look like new

thats a first, i bet that attracts dust like crazy:eek:

[CJM]

Originally posted by troutman561
Simple Green diluted or straight from the bottle?

I didnt dilute, really doesnt matter either way as it cant hurt anything in my expierance. I buy it by the gallon from sams club for 8 bucks.

[99exrider]

Originally posted by gtt416ex
purple power degreaser and a brush work wonders. i clean everything with it(plastic, seat, wheels, tires, engine) it actually makes aluminum shine after you brush it.

That sounds like worth giving it a shot! im basicly going to scrub down the plastics, and go threw the motor and from/joints with a toothbrush.


Originally posted by MidnightBlade
i scrub the plastic with soap and water let it dry then spray 2 or 3 coats of armor all on makes it real shiny and mud slides right off as for the metal get a high pressure pressure washer and blow the crap out of it just dont hit the wires or youll have some issues also get some 2 to fine steel wool for rust im spraying mine with truck bed liner instead of te grey powdercoat it looks good and prevents rust


I normally wash with a preassure washer, and I like the idea of the truck bedliner. Would I be able to just do a top coat on the frame w/o completly stripping down the bike as long as I covered the engine or other compenents beforhand?

if I eventually do end up going down to the frame, I was going to do a powerdercoat of some sort.

[bkelley]

I use purple power, mean green, ZEP (whichever degreaser we have at the time) along with a small bristle brush for the engine parts and frame and a tire brush for the tires and wheels. Steel wool works good for tire stains, too. For the plastics, I take about a 1/2 a cup of laundry detergent and put it in a spray bottle then fill the rest with hot water. I then wash the bike down with the hose, spray the mixture all over the plastics and let it soak for a few minutes in the shade. Then I take a rag, sponge or soft brush to it for the parts that need it and finally wash it all off and dry with a clean towel. If you really want it to shine, Pledge Future Shine floor finish will make it look like it's dripping wet and won't attract dirt. I haven't used it yet but I've heard a lot of good things.

[99exrider]

Originally posted by bkelley
I use purple power, mean green, ZEP (whichever degreaser we have at the time) along with a small bristle brush for the engine parts and frame and a tire brush for the tires and wheels. Steel wool works good for tire stains, too. For the plastics, I take about a 1/2 a cup of laundry detergent and put it in a spray bottle then fill the rest with hot water. I then wash the bike down with the hose, spray the mixture all over the plastics and let it soak for a few minutes in the shade. Then I take a rag, sponge or soft brush to it for the parts that need it and finally wash it all off and dry with a clean towel. If you really want it to shine, Pledge Future Shine floor finish will make it look like it's dripping wet and won't attract dirt. I haven't used it yet but I've heard a lot of good things.

thats actually pretty interesting. can you use any type of detergent? and its not so much the dirt im worried about as it is the sand and dust, as I do my main riding out in the desert.

[bkelley]

Yeah, that's what I mean, dirt, dust, whatever. As for the detergent, some people swear by Wisk, but I can never find the stuff and when I do it's really expensive. Just make sure it's a basic detergent and doesn't have fabric softener in it or whatever. I also like to use x2 or x3 concentrates.

[KISSmyACE]

Simple Green when it's really nasty and a pressure washer... then a couple squirts on a towel of Engine Brite will keep your plastics clean and shiny, give them a wet look. And they'll smell good! And Purple Power as well if you want, just a rag and a little scrubber brush.

[moddedblaster20]

i usually use simple green. get all the mud off first then soak quad in SG wait a few minutes and hose/scrub it off. i have a can of engine degreaser i used for the engine and took off and dirt that was stuck to oil etc...once dry i Armor All the plastics and use wd40 and a rag and wipedown my frame, swingarm etc to give it that nice clean look. works for me!

[MidnightBlade]

ill post some pics of mine when i do it but i plan on just putting dog food bags over all the important parts and masking tape over the rest for now its too friggen cold to do anything so ill have to wait till summer and i may buy some matte black textured powder coat anf just screw the truck bed lined its 8 dollars a can so it gets expesive quick when you aint got a job at the time

[mfr440]

This stuff really cuts the oil, grease, grime... It's not just for tires!

Westley's Bleche-White (http://www.westleys.com/)

[400ex28]

battery acid