Motorcycle Detailing Thread

[sunilyo]

Don't you think using Scotch Brite will cause swirls/small scratches? Those pads don't feel soft enough.

How did you find the Cyclo Engine De-greaser? Is it effective? Also, after using de-greaser did you just rinse it with clean water or did you use car shampoo and then rinse?

Sorry too many questions but I think cleaning a bike let alone detailing it is even beyond art simply because there are numerous types of surfaces.

EDIT: Which MFs are they? EUROW? Also, how do you wash MFs? Do you use Micro-restorers? Also please let me know from where you bought that water sprinkler from and its cost.

There is a new scotch brite sponge specially made for non-stick cookware, glassess etc. its pink in color. Any ways i am using the sponge part (not the scrubber part) for cleaning and i use it only for cleaning the fenders, engine areas & rims for everything else its MF cloth.

Cyclo Engine De-greaser: went looking for a a good car wax and came across this product. It is a decent product. Still have to use on an engine soiled with engine like leaking gaskets etc. For my bike i first cleaned out the mud under the engine, rinsed it, let it dry, sprayed this product, wait for 15 minutes approx, light scrubbing with a small brush here and there, rinsed off with water, then during the washing process took a sponge and washed it again to remove any oil remnants.

I am using EUROW. I do not know anything about micro-restorers. BTW what are they? Till now i have cleaned with plain water and some light detergent. light agitation, rinsed, squeeze the excess water and just let it drip dry. No brush or machine wash. no softners, bleach, vanish etc used. Got them from bringingbest.com

Got the water sprinker from Snapdeals.com. But checked them today and it is out of stock. Really good product. create just enough pressure to remove the dirt.

[sunilyo]

Do we get Eurow in India? If so, pls let me know. TIA

I got the EUROW from bringingbest.com. costed Rs.695 for a pack of 5.

[NitinGirish]

its pink in color.

Cyclo Engine De-greaser:

I am using EUROW. micro-restorers what are they? Got them from bringingbest.com

So you get your stuff from Sanjay

Thank You for providing the colour code, I will try hunt for a Pink scotch brite.

I'll try out Engine de-greaser from Cyclo too though I doubt it will be very effective against the delicious monsoon muck+2T oil paste :-D Atleast for lighter dirt its a better option I feel compared to Diesel.

Micro-restorers are solutions that MFs are to be washed with. Supposedly quite expensive according to Sanjay. Not sure how much. It's a pain washing MFs!

[sunilyo]

So you get your stuff from Sanjay

Thank You for providing the colour code, I will try hunt for a Pink scotch brite.

I'll try out Engine de-greaser from Cyclo too though I doubt it will be very effective against the delicious monsoon muck+2T oil paste :-D Atleast for lighter dirt its a better option I feel compared to Diesel.

Micro-restorers are solutions that MFs are to be washed with. Supposedly quite expensive according to Sanjay. Not sure how much. It's a pain washing MFs!

Yes i got the 845 and EuroW from Sanjay.

This cyclo thing i came across while shopping for a car wax. Just bought it without knowing. I searched for a review but couldnt find any. But yes its ok. But there are better products available out there. So do do a lil research before going for it.

Try something a foaming type de-greaser like the one from 3M

check out this link: 3M Foaming Engine Degreaser - 08899

Foaming degreasers are way better than liquid ones as they stick to component and just do not dribble down the drain which is the case with cyclo. Just my opinion.

[NitinGirish]

I got one of my bikes detailed by a professional detailer today. Here are the results:-















All pictures taken from 5MP mobile phone camera.

[sunilyo]

I got one of my bikes detailed by a professional detailer today. Here are the results:-

All pictures taken from 5MP mobile phone camera.

Now thats a shining beauty. Good job done. So were you there during the process? What all did he do and what all products did he use?

[NitinGirish]

Yup, I was there during the entire process. He used Croftgate products which is supposed to be environment friendly. Following were the products used:-

Multi-clean: This removes all kinds of debris, tough stains (even the hardened grease on chain cover) and all sorts of muck is removed. It comes in a spray bottle which is sprayed on all the parts and wiped with MF. He started from the top i.e. tank and side panels and moved on to other parts.

Wash & Wax: After the above step, a MF dipped in Wash & Wax solution was used to wipe the bike. Again starting from top. Only about five litres of water was used to make this water and he said it can be used for multiple vehicles. This is the only place where water was used otherwise not a SINGLE drop of water was used.

Aquanil-X: This is sprayed to the bike and wiped (uni-directional swipe) with a pre-soaked MF and then buffed with dry MF. This further cleans the bike giving it shine and protection.

Quick-n-Slick: This is a paint sealant which is NOT to be sprayed to any surface. Just a little bit is sprayed on to MF and rubbed on to the surfaces in circular motion and then buffed with dry MF.

Tire Shine: This was the best part. This solution was just sprayed while gently rotating the tire. Thats it. No rubbing, scrubbing or any sort of manual effort.

End result is the pictures you see. It took about 3.5 hours for two boys and with the store owner's supervision+intervention to finish the job.

There isn't much reduction in swirl marks ('Holograms' in his language) and this expectation was set right from the start. You can see them under torch light only though.
Though he did say over few treatments it will eventually reduce.

[sunilyo]

Yup, I was there during the entire process. He used Croftgate products which is supposed to be environment friendly. Following were the products used:-

Multi-clean: This removes all kinds of debris, tough stains (even the hardened grease on chain cover) and all sorts of muck is removed. It comes in a spray bottle which is sprayed on all the parts and wiped with MF. He started from the top i.e. tank and side panels and moved on to other parts.

Wash & Wax: After the above step, a MF dipped in Wash & Wax solution was used to wipe the bike. Again starting from top. Only about five litres of water was used to make this water and he said it can be used for multiple vehicles. This is the only place where water was used otherwise not a SINGLE drop of water was used.

Aquanil-X: This is sprayed to the bike and wiped (uni-directional swipe) with a pre-soaked MF and then buffed with dry MF. This further cleans the bike giving it shine and protection.

Quick-n-Slick: This is a paint sealant which is NOT to be sprayed to any surface. Just a little bit is sprayed on to MF and rubbed on to the surfaces in circular motion and then buffed with dry MF.

Tire Shine: This was the best part. This solution was just sprayed while gently rotating the tire. Thats it. No rubbing, scrubbing or any sort of manual effort.

End result is the pictures you see. It took about 3.5 hours for two boys and with the store owner's supervision+intervention to finish the job.

There isn't much reduction in swirl marks ('Holograms' in his language) and this expectation was set right from the start. You can see them under torch light only though.
Though he did say over few treatments it will eventually reduce.

So how much did it cost?

[NitinGirish]

Check your PM.

[sunilyo]

Anybody planning to use a polisher for their vehicles please stay away from Turtle Wax rubbing compound Heavy duty. I have seen many threads complaining about how well this products ruins the clear coat.

so this brings up a question do all rubbing compounds result in damaging the clear coat? I was planning to getting the Motomax 2k rubbing compound as i already see a lot of light scratches near the tank and side cowls but now am thinking again.

Many have suggested to use the Meguairs Scratch X or Swirl X though.

[aargee]

so this brings up a question do all rubbing compounds result in damaging the clear coat? I was planning to getting the Motomax 2k rubbing compound as i already see a lot of light scratches near the tank and side cowls but now am thinking again

Personally I prefer a polish over a rubbing compound; three things matter when trying to restore the paint apart from who does the job...
1. The grade of polish
2. The grade of the scrub (cutting pad)
3. The RPM

A higher grade (works on deeper cut) with heavier pad (for heavy duty) on higher RPM is inviting disaster (but again this IS required for deeper paint cuts, so it's always not true); a lower grade polish with medium grade pad & lower RPM MAY or MAY NOT work out. It is the combination of all these three that brings out the mirror shine on the polish & removes the damages on the paint as when to use what & how to use them. All these depends upon...EXPERIENCE

Hope I was able to explain clear

Many have suggested to use the Meguairs Scratch X or Swirl X though.

That's brand; the company offers several products.

[krishnab4u]

This has something to do with pH level and car shampoos are pH neutral and are hence recommended for washing bikes / cars. What is pH? Even i do not know about it. i have read this in many forums.

after I saw the above lines I was like Jumping from my seat .. pH is a measure of acidity. Lesser the pH value higher the acidity. Neutral is pH @ 7. Values after 7 implies weaker acid. You see i am basically a Chemistry graduate . I know no one would care a shit about it though . btw i didnt look for the details in google believe me.
. .

Did a complete wash and waxing of my NS this sunday. I think it took me almost 4 hrs to complete the entire process with another 30 minutes for a single coat of the protective hi-gloss polish....

Bro you are a human dictionary when comes to bike washing...you left nothing more to add.


PS: For dictionary spelling ..yes i checked in google
.

[sunilyo]

Personally I prefer a polish over a rubbing compound; three things matter when trying to restore the paint apart from who does the job...
1. The grade of polish
2. The grade of the scrub (cutting pad)
3. The RPM

A higher grade (works on deeper cut) with heavier pad (for heavy duty) on higher RPM is inviting disaster (but again this IS required for deeper paint cuts, so it's always not true); a lower grade polish with medium grade pad & lower RPM MAY or MAY NOT work out. It is the combination of all these three that brings out the mirror shine on the polish & removes the damages on the paint as when to use what & how to use them. All these depends upon...EXPERIENCE

Hope I was able to explain clear

Man, I will come to you for all my polishing requirements as you are much more well versed with pads / RPM and what not.

[sunilyo]

after I saw the above lines I was like Jumping from my seat .. pH is a measure of acidity. Lesser the pH value higher the acidity. Neutral is pH @ 7. Values after 7 implies weaker acid. You see i am basically a Chemistry graduate . I know no one would care a shit about it though . btw i didnt look for the details in google believe me.
. .


Bro you are a human dictionary when comes to bike washing...you left nothing more to add.


PS: For dictionary spelling ..yes i checked in google
.

I was never good in science and always hated chemistry. Apart from the chemical formulae of Water H2O, i dont know anything else. .

Now i know the basic idea of pH. So higher the pH level the milder the soap/shampoo. Correct ? So in that case which are the human shampoos that are have a higher pH level (at least above 7) as they would much more milder than normal car shampoo. but then again this raises another question apart from pH is there any thing else that is different between a human and car shampoo.

And bro i am no dictionary, I just wrote what i found in other threads / forums, put in some of my ideas and posted them here in my way. Its just that i have grown a particular interest in cleaning / washing / detailing, since i learned the art of cleaning (the hard way) with old bike and now would like to do as much as i can to keep my new bike as perfect as possible. I even was not aware of the term 'DETAILING' about a few weeks ago

I will continue posting whatever information i find from various sources so that it will benefit my fellow xbhp'ians

@All please if you love your ride then please keep it clean as much as possible. The efforts will rewarded after a few years down the line when your bike though old but still stands out of the crowd with its shining look.

[aargee]

Man, I will come to you for all my polishing requirements as you are much more well versed with pads / RPM and what not.

You're welcome anytime, but let me assure you, I've negligible knowledge with detailing industry...most of all...no experience

I'm only sharing what I learn through internet