Do Not and I repeat Do Not use all purpose cleaner/degreaser on polished aluminum. I have a 1998 zx9r with a polished frame, swingarm, forks, muzzys exhaust, and undertail fender. Today I got the bright idea to spray all purpose cleaner over the whole bike and pressure wash it. My main objective was to clean all the chain wax from the swingarm, wheel, and back of the motor. Needless to say the all purpose cleaner turned all of my polish aluminum white. It literally took the shine off of all of it. I had to strip all the plastic off of it and break out the buffing wheel. I spent almost 4 hours having to buff everything out. I hate polished aluminum. I took the polished wheels off of it because they where a pain to keep clean. If you want shine, spend the money and get chrome.

 

Good info, do not forget that any seals may be also damaged when using a cleaner.

 

You may want to inform the guys who are requesting the "polishing video" in theDIYforum...

I love the look of a polished frame and s/a on a bike.However, Mike, you're EXACTLY right on it being a PITA to keep clean. If you get caught in a downpour (as happens to all of us occasionally) you'd better wipe stuff down when you get to your destination; cleaner/degreaser isn't the only thing that'll "milk" the aluminum. And, the swingarms get a bunch of road, brake, and general gunk on them whenever you ride, so unless you're an **** type who loves to clean, I'd stay away from the polished look.
That said, I wouldn't trade my 9 for a non-polished one. It just takes alot more work.

 

thanx for the feedback on that.

 

I use a pretty hard cleaner on the entire bike called Purple cleaner, and I have noticed that its leaving the aluminum a little hazy. I did just recently buy a cool little buffing ball and some mothers polish for the wheels on my truck, and I have to say what took me over an hour on each wheel by hand has been reduced to 3 minutes with this little gem. I also have the largeone too, but really the smaller one will do it all. I also tried iton my chrome bumper and it took the bumper and made it shine like brand new.

http://www.mothers.com/products/









I also found a product that makes faded or bleached out looking plastic back to brand new. I swear this stuff is the best around. The black top to the bumper looked so bad I was starting to hate my truck, but now it looks better than new. Sorry for the product post, I guess when it comes to clean I get a little excited.......but then again most of you guys already knew that.

 

If you're using your electric/battery drill with the "ball," putting lateral pressure on the chuck will do nasty things to the bearings. I'd recommend a pneumatic-type tool. (Just an FYI.)

 

And no I didn't just buy stock in Mothers product And yes a pneumatic-type tool would be way better, and less hassle.

 

I've had good luck (so far) with Eagle One Nano-Polish. Use it on my chrome rims, radiator, frame, and just about anything that is shiny metal. I use my hands and the micro-fiber towels. Seems to offer good corrosion protection, too.
(Sorry...no product pics.)

 

I got to where I use Never Dull made by eagle one. I had everything polished on my bike from the frame to the engine cases. I spent about a week one winter stripping and polishing. I had about 16 hours in each wheel. I use to use Wenol on all of my aluminum. I switched to never dull which doesn't do as good of a job, but it is so much easier to use and is a lot less messier. My new zx10r has chrome wheels and that is all I am doing to it. I am also rebuilding a 2003 superhawk 996 I bought wrecked. I am doing wheels up to the frame in semi gloss black. One polished bike is enough for me. I am going to post some picks of the jacked up aluminum this evening so everyone can see how bad it can get when using a degreaser on polished parts. I put '05 zx636 wheels on myzx9r and painted the engine cases black to cut down on the polishing. The frame, swingarm, and forks are enough to keep me busy. I am going to sell my polished wheels on ebay in the next couple of days.

 

I am used to never dull. But aluminum naturally oxidizes to prevent deteriorization. Just put on a clear coat on after polishing and the shine lasts!