Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum

[bunta71]

A Thai lady friend has owned a Kawasaki Boss for about 8 years and has done zero maintenance all this time. She brought it to me to ride for a few months and I am cleaning it up and doing some repairs. The aluminum has moderate corrosion and I am wondering if there is a product available to help clean it up somewhat. Thanks in advance for any help and also advance Merry Christmas...

[VocalNeal]

[bunta71]

Thanks Neal...I live down south...where do you find this stuff? In hindsight I'm thinkin' to go to a place that polishes wheels...thanks again

[karlos]

I used to use Brasso to buff up the polished frame and forks on my Honda VFR400 NC30.

Works a treat and can be found in all 7/11 shops near the household polishes and air fresheners.

Edited November 14, 2012 by karlos

[bikkalad]

Yep Autosol and Elbo Grease. For sure.......but if not???....... Brasso etc. try a Home Pro if you have one close.........metal polish of some description sh old surfice......good look

[Lickey]

Brillo pad [wire wool] with added Fairy Liquid will quickly get rid of the blemishes, then as above, Autosol or similar for a shine,,

[VocalNeal]

Thanks Neal...I live down south...where do you find this stuff?

Some hardware stores and some motorbike shops. Not super easy to find but it is here.

[BSJ]

I bought a tube of metal cleaner....in Big C if memory serves me correct. Thai brand in a white and green box. It helped cut through the grime on the chrome but it was slow going on the alloy bits that needed much work.

[transam]

Rotary stuff is they way to go BUT in your case a fine grade wet and dry (use wet), lots of elbow grease then if you can find it, as mentioned before, Solvo Autosol.

[BSJ]

Rotary stuff is they way to go BUT in your case a fine grade wet and dry (use wet), lots of elbow grease then if you can find it, as mentioned before, Solvo Autosol.

I was wondering if there is a small foam wheel one can get that fits into an electric drill. I can get big foam disks (7") for a sander/linisher....but they are for auto body work. Any clues?

[ballbreaker]

In past I used a product called Never Dull Wadding Polish but do not know if sold in Thailand. It does a great job of polishing.

Edited November 16, 2012 by ballbreaker

[ajahnlau]

Try Wenol. In a tube, rec. for cleaning irons.

[Lickey]

On recollection, all Jap [pis poor] alloy is coated with some plastic or the like, the only way is to have it shot blasted to get rid of the crap then you can start polishing,

[aitch52]

Good advice Lickey, would advise using glass shot instead of grit, less good material is removed..

Edited November 18, 2012 by aitch52

[transam]

This is my Jap alternator which was a rough casting. Stripped it down and using a drill locked in a vice with rotary pads and different grades of polishing wax achieved a good result.

The intake manifold was done by a shop many years before. The pulleys which l machined, ended up with a nice finish which only needed Solvol Autosol.

[aitch52]

That's a nice Job Transam.