Looking for Cold Weather Cleaning Tips

[smg65]

I have seen how paint stripper easily removes the ugly, old plastic coating on aluminum bits, as I've tested some areas on my bike. But does anyone have experience or recommendations (such as, perhaps, "don't do it!") on using paint remover on the wheels with tires still mounted? I can see where the coating can be removed to allow for a nice polishing. Is there an easy way of protecting the tires from the stripper? And is there a method of removing the stripper without hosing outdoors? I'm not able to hose parts off, as I'm working in a very cold garage.

I should have attended to the cleaning, etc. while it was still warm. But I was having so much fun addressing the functional bits, and riding! This bike has a lot of "grunge"on it that I have not attended to! I'm looking to get it cleaned up, not making it into a "show winner". Any tips on cleaning up bits and pieces in a cold garage are appreciated! If the consensus is "wait for Spring", then I can live with that. Oh... and I realize the stripper is very caustic! I had a burn from a previous encounter that lasted months!

Thanks!

 

[fredintoon]

Hi smg,
caustic stripper won't bother your tires but it will eat your aluminum so don't use it on your bike at all.
If it's too cold to hose your bike down in your garage, you could ride or trailer it to a coin-operated car wash.

 

[smg65]

I have seen oven cleaner etch aluminum (don't ask... it was years ago), but the paint stripper I used to remove the plastic did not hurt the aluminum at all. You can see in the pic below that just the plastic was removed (easily) and the aluminum would be ready for polishing. I have not done any polishing after the plastic was removed... that's exactly how it looked as soon as the plastic was gone. I had read about using stripper, and wanted to see what it would do. I'm pretty sure there are varying chemicals used in different strippers, and I suppose some could etch aluminum. This stuff didn't. And it would be very advisable to test in an inconspicuous location... and not like I did!! I didn't care that half the cover was done, as I thought I'd be doing the rest of it very soon. I didn't. My bad!

 

[5twins]

I've been using the paint strippers for years to remove that clear coat and have never had any problems. Of course, I don't leave it on there for days or anything like that. A 10 or 15 minute soak and I wipe it off, then wash/rinse the part. During the cold weather now, I wash the parts off down in my basement in the stationary tub. I wipe as much off as possible first with paper towels then rinse. And I wear rubber gloves. The paint stripper is also good for removing gaskets and de-carbonizing heads & pistons.

 

[smg65]

x2 re removing gaskets. They pretty much melt right off. I just learned that recently. Wish I would have known that trick years ago! No more scraping. And yes... basement... I never thought of that. I do have a drain in the floor, and I could hook a hose to an empty spot on the PEX manifold. I could never get the bike down there, but I could certainly get sections/parts down there.

 

[5twins]

I would use a bucket of hot, soapy water (dish washing liquid works fine) and a big old paint brush to wash and suds the part up, then give it a quick rinse with the hose. That way you won't be having to run the hose constantly and putting lots of water down your drain.

 

[Brassneck]

Very cool info. Just so I'm clear on this (As I have some clear coat to remove as well) are you talking paint thinner, or paint stripper? I'm thinking stripper (as in gel type) vs. thinner... correct?

 

[smg65]

Thanks for the tip! I'll use Dawn.... Dawn seems to work wonders for lots of clean-up jobs... including removing oil from sea birds!

 

[smg65]

Very cool info. Just so I'm clear on this (As I have some clear coat to remove as well) are you talking paint thinner, or paint stripper? I'm thinking stripper (as in gel type) vs. thinner... correct?

Yep. Paint stripper. One that is not runny would be best. I'm at work, so I can't say what the active ingredients are, or the brand name. I'm guessing most will work. And to be safe, try a very small, inconspicuous area first.

 

[Brassneck]

Yep. Paint stripper. One that is not runny would be best. I'm at work, so I can't say what the active ingredients are, or the brand name. I'm guessing most will work. And to be safe, try a very small, inconspicuous area first.

Great...thanks for the tip!