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Cleaning my nice shiny bike

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  • 21-01-2008 10:05pm
    #1
    ollietrex
    Registered Users Posts: 189 ✭✭


    When I clean my bike I normally do it with warm water and a sponge and then leave it to dry. Once dry I then run a rag with WD40 sprayed onto it to give it a shine and it seems to keep the water and dirt of better.

    Is it ok to keep putting WD40 onto the paint work? any suggestions for better ways to clean my bike?


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    #2
    Drapper
    Registered Users Posts: 3,812 ✭✭✭Drapper


    ollietrex wrote: »
    When I clean my bike I normally do it with warm water and a sponge and then leave it to dry. Once dry I then run a rag with WD40 sprayed onto it to give it a shine and it seems to keep the water and dirt of better.

    Is it ok to keep putting WD40 onto the paint work? any suggestions for better ways to clean my bike?

    would you ever muckoff.jpg great stuff but in small amounts!


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    #3
    niceonetom
    Registered Users Posts: 4,833 ✭✭✭niceonetom


    Drapper wrote: »
    would you ever muckoff.jpg great stuff but in small amounts!

    i use their bike spray.

    muck-off is pretty much the same as wd40 (which is mineral oil) with ptfe (teflon to you) added to it, so they both do the same job for cleaning but the ptfe is supposed to keep the dirt off longer. non-stick you see :)
    but it's quite a bit more expensive than wd40 :(

    in my experience about 98% of the problems in any field of life can be remedied with wd40.

    ollietrex - wd40 shouldn't do any harm to your paint (unless you painted the bike yourself with poster-paint?), but it will probably attack the adhesive on exposed stickers and decals if you left it for ages. most manufacturers put their decals/logos etc under clear coat so they'll be totally safe though. go nuts.

    don't confuse wd40 with chain lube though. it ain't.


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    #4
    Chips Lovell
    Moderators, Politics Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 24,269 Mod ✭✭✭✭Chips Lovell


    I've never used WD40, so I might be talking through my ass, but isn't it solvent and mineral oil? And if that's the case, wouldn't it just leave a thin film of oil on your frame once all the solvent has evaporated, meaning it is more likely to attract dirt etc?

    I use Mr. Sheen to shine mine up.

    Anyway, this weather we've been having recently is driving me nuts. The twice weekly bike washing is getting to be a real pain.


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