I'm waiting for some output shaft parts so I have decieded to clean and paint the frame and clean up everything else. My trans case has some bad staining under the battery holder. Any idea how to remove this type of staining? A stiff wire brush and aluminum cleaner will not touch it.

From the position it may be acid attack so first try would be an alkali such as ammonia solution to see if that removes it. If you want a top finish there and your gear case is black I would seriously consider repainting that area with some spray on black paint.
Regards,
K-BIKE

I am not sure if Easy Off leaves anything behind after wash off which would inhibit painting? I know ammonia doesn't which is why I use it on vehicles to deal with acid contamination. The good thing about ammonia for acid neutralisation is the salts produced from the reaction are very soluble in water but most of all the ammonia evaporates totally leaving nothing behind.
Regards,
K-BIKE

It is not painted , I will try the Easy Off

Great tips guys! Way cheaper than some of the aircraft stuff I've been lookin into.

OG

Hey K are you using the ammonia straight?

OG

Yes straight just as it comes out of the bottle from the hardware store, it is cheap, all of the other options can leave residue in small crevices.

I thought up the idea many years ago when a friend had a battery go bang on a Japanese bike with a pressed steel frame and as the battery was inside the frame sitting in a hole in the frame all the acid went into the frame.

What we did was wash out the frame until no more acid was detected on pH paper and then put in the ammonia and filled up again with water. That was to get ammonia right into the seams where the frame was welded together. After a few hours we again washed out the frame until the water was pH neutral and then dried it out by washing with alcohol and then drying in a warm space over an electric heater. The reason for using ammonia rather than any other alkali is that they can remain in the seams whereas the ammonia will evaporate off into the air.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Nice. Thanks K!

OG

Walmart brand oven cleaner made it look like new.It also worked on the severe grease build up on the trans housing at the clutch arm and on the rear swing arm.

Thanks Chrish!

OG

Hey K,
Tried the ammonia with some 000 steel wool and it really worked a treat! Thanks again.




OG

Jees Oldgoat!
I wish my front end was as clean as yours.Looks as new......
Nice job!
Cheers,Wikur!

Hey Wikur,

It's clean b/c it hasn't been out of the driveway since I started getting her sorted out, lol! Thanks for the encouragement though.



OG

Hi, that looks great, did you clean the wheel with the ammonia as well?

Brian

Hey Brian,
I actually used Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish for the wheels. Applied with a microfiber cloth and believe it or not Q-tips to really get down into the contours. Was a loong job, but they cleaned up fairly well. If your wheels aren't as bad as mine were you might be able to use 0000 and the ammonia. Test on a small spot first of course.

OG

Just found out the snow flakes are clear coated so wouldn't recommend the steel wool. Another method I stumbled upon is a mixture of baking soda with dish detergent and than add a few drops of water and than scrub with old toothbrushes.

OG

OG,

Baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) is a good weak alkali for neutralising acid spill. Mixing it with dish detergent is good and better cleaning chemicals.

I can't wait to clean and do repainting my bike...

Well done.

Hey Oldgoat, sorry to be anal about such things...but our wheels are "Y" spoke and not snowflake.

Here's what a snowflake wheel looks like (R80, R100 among others).

Thanks for the heads up Blakey! I certainly don't think passing along the correct info is being anal buddy.

OG

Aint all snow flakes different?

Don't know...never seen a real one.

Been to the snow, but not when it was snowing!

Love that response

looking good og ....nice color too ...i might have to remove the gaiters on mine ...yours looks a so much cleaner line on the front

cheers mate.... its comming along just fine