Time to Shine

[Ordrock]

On the hour of 11:11:11 on the 01/01/11 I went for a ride. There wasn’t snow on the ground but mist and a few rain drops did smack me in the face. I believe the Oregon Dept. of Transportation put down that chemical to melt ice and snow the night before to get ahead of the freezing weather. So after a 70 or 80 mile that day I parked the bike in the garage with out hosing it off.

Two weeks went by before I took her out again. Before putting on all my gear for this ride I did my walk around. Damn, there was some rust on the mufflers. Mostly near the welds. Yesterday I went on a Patriot Guard mission. While we were forming up I spoke with a guy who also had the bit of rust on his chrome pipes. He told me about this polish that he bought at Medford Tools. After the mission I stopped by Medford Tools and bought some.

The polish is “METAL ARMOR” https://www.metalarmor.net/products.htm. I took the mufflers off and spent about 3 hours polishing and buffing them to a brilliant shine. As shinny as a new nickel. The stuff is so easy to use. I bought a small buffing wheel and just spent time going back and forth. Then I wiped off the buffed metal and buffed them out with my Sears car polisher. The mufflers didn’t look this good when I bought it.

After a short ride to show off my hard work I came back to the garage and polished the frame on my CRF 450.

Geez this stuff is awesome. Since most of you guys are Jonesing for some seat time but you can’t because it’s either snowing or raining, you ought to go out into the garage and shine your chrome, aluminum. Turn the music up, crack a cold one and become one with your bike.

 

[escapefjrtist]

It generally rains over here (duh!) enough that we don't have to worry about chemicals on the roads for long. However, when riding after snow or ice events and it hasn't rained, I'll always give the bike a quick rinse before putting it up.

Some deicing chemicals will pit aluminum pretty quickly and do a number on the stainless to a lesser extent. Contrary to popular belief, stainless will rust and is subject to chloride attack. The rust you saw at the welds is in what is called the 'heat effected zone' resulting from changes in the metallurgy slightly upon welding.

Thanks for the 'tip' on the Metal Armor...I've been accused of cleaning up a bike every so often...

--G

 

[dsmack]

I like polishing aluminum, having pretty much polished out the cases, etc. on my old Kawi 750 Zephyr. It's pretty satisfying to bring the old girl back from time to time.

I haven't tried this brand of polish, and was a bit taken back by the price at the vendor you listed.

A quick Google search revealed that Aircraft Spruce ( a very well known supplier of aircraft parts and supplies ) has it for a lot less. First time in my life I've ever seen anything being sold for use on aircraft that cost LESS than at a general supplier!! :glare:

Just a heads-up for anyone interested in trying this product...

Don

 

[SacramentoMike]

I like polishing aluminum, having pretty much polished out the cases, etc. on my old Kawi 750 Zephyr.

I polished off a case last weekend too.

Sierra IPA, I think it was.