Hi guys as iam changing my fork seals i found more gunk in the brake calipers then in pig's pen. So i would like some advice on cleaning them out. and also what do you guys clean your engine block with. I can see a little trail of white rust. And one more thing <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_roll.gif" alt=":roll:" title="Rolling LoL" /><!-- s:roll: --> Can i get an aluminum polish and pilish the frame? i dont wanna change the original looks just wanna give the frame loking alittle shiny Cheers.
Not sure about fork seals - never done them. You can polish the frame, and jarmizz may be able to give you specific advice as he has done this. For the general method though you should look at http://www.netrider.org.au/articles/?page=polished_rims. One of the best descriptions of how to polish a bike (and though it refers to wheels you can do the same on the frame).
You did, I just speed read too much. Is it brake dust, or grease etc caught in the calipers? Dust and stuff is easy - simply remove the brake pads and then use a high pressure air hose (if you have access to one), or take a brush with semi-strong bristles to it (i.e. a hand broom brush or something). You can try to do this with the calipers still on the brake disc, but if you want to be more thorough you may need to take the calipers off. If it is grease it may be best to try a cloth and your hand in there. Can't think of any other suggestions... Before you play too much with the brakes though make sure you open the bleeder valves and let some of the brake fluid out. If you don't do this and bend the hose it could cause the calipers to tighten -and they are a pain (almost impossible) to reopen. And also don't press the brakes while they are off the disc - causes lots of problems. You will need to rebleed and replace brake fluid after doing this. If you are doing all this it may also be worthwhile to consider if your pads need replacing - after all you are 3/4s of the way there.
Thanks Boz i will do that and thanks for the link about polishing. I thing i might polish my fzr rims. If you know anybody who polished the fzr rims send me a pic of how the bike looks.
Kerosene Well funny u asked this, I just cleaned my brakes up. I took the calipers off the forks and got some kerosene in a spray bottle. Then spray the kero on the calipers (try not to get it every where) then with a Dish cleaning brush ( old one) cleaned away at it. It got years and years of ****** off the calipers and looked fantastic. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif" alt="" title="Cool" /><!-- s -->. Get a nice clean cloth wipe them off. Polish with some metal polish and u have brand new calipers. With polishing the frame boy oh boy thats a big job and if u dont have alot of time and not into perfection dont do it. If you are email me and ill do it via email. That link that Boz wacked up is how to do it but I have some hints that will help you. Trust me ive learnt from them LOL <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s --> <!-- e --><a href="mailto:Jarmizz@hotmail.com">Jarmizz@hotmail.com</a><!-- e --> ill post them up here once I get some time, infact il do it tomorrow
Tips Ok well ive got some tips for polishing your frame. First off you need to buy some sand paper, the grits are outlined on that link Bozie put up. I suggest that you only sand the part between the weld buy the stearing head and the weld down the frame where it starts getting a all rough. The reason for this is that it takes heaps and heaps and heaps and heaps (well you get the idea) to get the rough parts smooth and it really isnt worth it. First off u want to sand the frame back to the bare metal (using the method coverd on the site Boz linked up). What I found easy was that I put some masking tape around the welds so that I didnt sand over the weld and area I didnt want sanded much like it on that site. When it is all sanded back and down to a wicked ass smooth surface time to polish, get heaps of clean rags and couple tubes of Autosol metal polish (best on the market). Start polishing but do it a little at a time not the full area straight away so you can focus on one area. You want your rags coverd in black crap, thats a sign that its polishing the metal. Keep doing this for ages and you will see it slowly getting polished. It will look great. People say you sould put a clear coat on top of the polished frame I say dont. When the frame gets wet from rain, washing the bike or what ever u have to polish the frame for about 1-2mins each side just to get the shin back. If you paint it with a clear coat I would say you wouldnt beable to polish it if you needed to. And you would need to start all again. Any ways ask if you need help!!! Those are just simple tips cause when polishing you really do it to your own satisfation. Best of luck
