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#1
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Bug sprayer bike cleaning method
I just tried this method on my commuter over the weekend. I think that
this is a pretty good method for cleaning bikes. It uses a lot less water than the garden hose and lets you be more careful while cleaning rinsing around the sensitive areas of the cycle. First I used just a spray bottle or the /simple green/ stuff at full strength and sprayed the whole bike down with that paying more attention to the /bad/ areas. Then I filled the garden sprayer with water pumped the pressure up and started by rinsing the /bad/ areas first and then rinsed the entire bike. The whole project probably took about 20 minutes. But when it was done it /looked/ much better. Anyone ever use this method on a regular basis? Ken -- Messengers and mountain bikers share a common chromosome. ~James Bethea |
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#2
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Bug sprayer bike cleaning method
In article , ken@up-yours-
spammer.net says... I just tried this method on my commuter over the weekend. I think that this is a pretty good method for cleaning bikes. It uses a lot less water than the garden hose and lets you be more careful while cleaning rinsing around the sensitive areas of the cycle. ... Anyone ever use this method on a regular basis? I do so on a somewhat regular basis, but rather than bothering with spray cleaners, I fill up the sprayer with hot water and a cap full of laundry detergent as my cleaning cycle, then when that's empty, I rinse the sprayer, fill with clean hot water, and then rinse down the bike. I blast everything (drivetrain included) and just re-lube after letting the bike sit in the sun for a few hours to dry out. -- __o Kristian Zoerhoff _'\(,_ (_)/ (_) |
#3
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Bug sprayer bike cleaning method
On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:57:15 GMT, Kristian M Zoerhoff
wrote: In article , ken@up-yours- spammer.net says... I just tried this method on my commuter over the weekend. I think that this is a pretty good method for cleaning bikes. It uses a lot less water than the garden hose and lets you be more careful while cleaning rinsing around the sensitive areas of the cycle. ... Anyone ever use this method on a regular basis? I do so on a somewhat regular basis, but rather than bothering with spray cleaners, I fill up the sprayer with hot water and a cap full of laundry detergent as my cleaning cycle, then when that's empty, I rinse the sprayer, fill with clean hot water, and then rinse down the bike. I blast everything (drivetrain included) and just re-lube after letting the bike sit in the sun for a few hours to dry out. The Simple Green and laundry detergent will both strip any wax and more importantly, the polymers, natural oils, and resins that are in the paint. This dries it out and substantialy shortens the life of the finish as well as giving it a dull appearance. Same thing happens on your automobile paint, I wince when I see one of the neighbors use the favorite (and most damaging) "carwash," high alkaline dish washing soap like Dawn, Joy, etc. (I managed an auto detail shop in my younger days). Your best bet is to use a carwash soap that will not strip these essential paint ingredients out. You can save your paint and reverse the action of those strong cleaners as well as make the bike look much better, by polishing it with a quality product like Meguiars Hand Glaze and then protecting it by topping it off with a good quality caranuba/synthetic product such as Meguiars High Tech Yellow Wax. Also, the next time you wash it the dirt will come off a lot easier. |
#4
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Bug sprayer bike cleaning method
In article , R Brickston
rb20170REMOVE.yahoo.com@ says... Your best bet is to use a carwash soap that will not strip these essential paint ingredients out. You can save your paint and reverse the action of those strong cleaners as well as make the bike look much better, by polishing it with a quality product like Meguiars Hand Glaze and then protecting it by topping it off with a good quality caranuba/synthetic product such as Meguiars High Tech Yellow Wax. Also, the next time you wash it the dirt will come off a lot easier. Thanks for tip the car wash soap. I just happen to have a bottle of Meguiar's car wash soap on hand, so I'll be giving that a shot soon. I don't their polish, but I do have some auto polishing compound that I've been meaning to apply to the bike. -- __o Kristian Zoerhoff _'\(,_ (_)/ (_) |
#5
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Bug sprayer bike cleaning method
R The Simple Green and laundry detergent will both strip any wax and more importantly, the polymers, natural oils, and resins that are in the paint. This dries it out and substantialy shortens the life of the finish as well as giving it a dull appearance. Same thing happens on your automobile paint, I wince when I see one of the neighbors use the favorite (and most damaging) "carwash," high alkaline dish washing soap like Dawn, Joy, etc. (I managed an auto detail shop in my younger days). Wow - that is interesting. I wouldn't have thought that dish soap could damage modern hard shell car paint, or even bike paint. Please don't take offense, but can anyone back that up? Your best bet is to use a carwash soap that will not strip these essential paint ingredients out. You can save your paint and reverse the action of those strong cleaners as well as make the bike look much better, by polishing it with a quality product like Meguiars Hand Glaze and then protecting it by topping it off with a good quality caranuba/synthetic product such as Meguiars High Tech Yellow Wax. Also, the next time you wash it the dirt will come off a lot easier. I agree that wax is a good idea. Jeff |
#6
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Bug sprayer bike cleaning method
On 29 Aug 2006 08:01:28 -0700, "Jeff"
wrote: Wow - that is interesting. I wouldn't have thought that dish soap could damage modern hard shell car paint, or even bike paint. Please don't take offense, but can anyone back that up? Well, I have empirical evidence from years of experience. You can drive down your street or check a parking lot the next time it rains and see how many cars the finish fails to bead up the water. You can use this Google Search and here's one source from Meguiar's: http://www.meguiars.com/tips/article...selected_ID=10 Unfortunately there are many myths when it comes to car care products and activities. Below are twelve common practices that can cause all of your hard work trying to maintain your car's appearance a waste of time. 1. Dishwashing detergent is safe to use as car wash. Absolutely not! Detergents are formulated to strip everything off of the surface, leaving it squeaky clean. A squeaky paint finish tells you that it has no protection. With repeated use, dishwashing detergents remove everything from your paint finish including waxes, silicones and polymers. Once this is accomplished, they then proceed to remove the life giving oils in your paint finish, actually accelerating the oxidation process. For best results, use a pH balanced car wash product, like Meguiar's NXT Generation® Car Wash, with conditioners specifically formulated to enhance the appearance and protection of automotive paint finishes. --------------------------------- Here's a contrarian view, I completely disagree. Notice he makes no mention of the paint's composition of oils and resins: http://www.dccarcare.com/tipowk/tipowk7.html 2. Dishwashing soap does not "strip" wax off cars. I use Liquid Ivory exclusively on all my cars. Several national champions, 40 year old original paint, and daily drivers. The act of washing with ANY product will take a little bit of your wax off. That is what it's designed to do! Wax is supposed to slowly wear off to keep dirt from embedding in your paint. That is why Carnuba is such a great product. Every time you wipe, wash, rinse etc your car, you strip wax. It's going to happen no matter what you use. Use a small squirt of Ivory Liquid in a bucket of water. You will get lots of suds. These are essential to helping get the dirt off your paint and away from your car without scratching. Any wash product that doesn't make lots of suds that last, is doing more harm than good. Most car wash specific products do not make good suds, and when you feel the wet paint it is not slick, but grabs at your hand. Ivory is slick and rinses clean. Your best bet is to use a carwash soap that will not strip these essential paint ingredients out. You can save your paint and reverse the action of those strong cleaners as well as make the bike look much better, by polishing it with a quality product like Meguiars Hand Glaze and then protecting it by topping it off with a good quality caranuba/synthetic product such as Meguiars High Tech Yellow Wax. Also, the next time you wash it the dirt will come off a lot easier. I agree that wax is a good idea. Jeff |
#7
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Bug sprayer bike cleaning method
R Brickston wrote:
On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:57:15 GMT, Kristian M Zoerhoff wrote: In article , ken@up-yours- spammer.net says... I just tried this method on my commuter over the weekend. I think that this is a pretty good method for cleaning bikes. It uses a lot less water than the garden hose and lets you be more careful while cleaning rinsing around the sensitive areas of the cycle. ... Anyone ever use this method on a regular basis? I do so on a somewhat regular basis, but rather than bothering with spray cleaners, I fill up the sprayer with hot water and a cap full of laundry detergent as my cleaning cycle, then when that's empty, I rinse the sprayer, fill with clean hot water, and then rinse down the bike. I blast everything (drivetrain included) and just re-lube after letting the bike sit in the sun for a few hours to dry out. The Simple Green and laundry detergent will both strip any wax and more importantly, the polymers, natural oils, and resins that are in the paint. This dries it out and substantialy shortens the life of the finish as well as giving it a dull appearance. Same thing happens on your automobile paint, I wince when I see one of the neighbors use the favorite (and most damaging) "carwash," high alkaline dish washing soap like Dawn, Joy, etc. (I managed an auto detail shop in my younger days). Most certainly the simple green is not /easy/ on the finish, I just use use it because it's cheap and a good degreaser. I agree that for the painted surfaces a /car/ wash product would be much better. Your best bet is to use a carwash soap that will not strip these essential paint ingredients out. You can save your paint and reverse the action of those strong cleaners as well as make the bike look much better, by polishing it with a quality product like Meguiars Hand Glaze and then protecting it by topping it off with a good quality caranuba/synthetic product such as Meguiars High Tech Yellow Wax. Also, the next time you wash it the dirt will come off a lot easier. I agree that a wax / polish would also be good. But I am a bit lazy when it comes to that type of thing. Maybe I will try one of those wash and wax products next time. Ken -- Messengers and mountain bikers share a common chromosome. ~James Bethea |
#8
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Bug sprayer bike cleaning method
http://icebike.org/Equipment/maintenance.htm recommends using car wax
to reduce the need to clean, especially in the winter: Wax? You Bet! Oh oh, "he's lost it" you're thinking. Two adjacent topics with opposite viewpoints. Not Quite. Here I would like to recommend waxing the bike, with regular car wax. This makes the frame much easier to clean after a winter ride covers the entire bike with gunk, grit, and salt. The wax makes it difficult for stuff to cling and easier to wash or brush it off. Speaking of cleaning, hosing down a bike in winter is not the best idea. First you have to have a hose somewhere where it will not freeze. Most households take hoses inside for the winter. You could ride the car wash and use a hose there, but they will charge you and the pressures some of these systems operate at may well drive water into your "sealed" bearings. Since I do wax the bike, I have taken to letting the crud dry over night. That coat of wax protects the paint from the corrosive elements in the accumulated mess on the frame. Then in the morning, before I set out, I brush the dry sand and grit from the bike with a long bristled brush. Any small whisk broom will do, you will probably find a dozen different models at the supermarket. This is actually easier on the paint than is trying to wipe off the grit when it is wet, because when wet, some amount of it is bound to imbed in the rag and act like sandpaper on your paint. You will also find that the brush will get into places you can't reach with a rag. Remember, Car Wax is the key to making this work well. Wax everything except your rims. I keep another brush around for cleaning chains between major chain maintenance. It takes off grit clinging to the chain without removing most of the chain lube. Holding the brush right on the derailer pulley as you back pedal the cranks will clean the chain and the pulley. Then just move to the back side and crank some more. (Holding the brush at the pulley also keeps you from derailing the chain. I use a short stiff bristled brush for this, and have not had any problems with the bristles getting caught in the pulley.) Ken C. M. wrote: I just tried this method on my commuter over the weekend. I think that this is a pretty good method for cleaning bikes. It uses a lot less water than the garden hose and lets you be more careful while cleaning rinsing around the sensitive areas of the cycle. First I used just a spray bottle or the /simple green/ stuff at full strength and sprayed the whole bike down with that paying more attention to the /bad/ areas. Then I filled the garden sprayer with water pumped the pressure up and started by rinsing the /bad/ areas first and then rinsed the entire bike. The whole project probably took about 20 minutes. But when it was done it /looked/ much better. Anyone ever use this method on a regular basis? Ken -- Messengers and mountain bikers share a common chromosome. ~James Bethea |
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