Smell of wax and polish and cleaner and ....

[mello dude]

I decided not to hijack Chrisj's thread on the Smell of Wax in the morning. So I started this on all the clean and shine it stuff I like to use.. Elbow grease only, no machine work...
While we're going thru what stuff and like when...
My experience with Bombs Away is that it leaves very fine scratches on what ever you are working on, although I do like for something that will require a good amount of work.
So going on to my list.. (yes I am a whackjob)
I like a lot of different cleaners and waxes for different duties. (Add elbow grease.)
- Mothers  Mag and Alum polish is awesome for aluminum polish out, comes out like chrome.
- A great pre-polish surface cleaner on paint, chrome, hard surfaces....Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish. Great stuff! - use before final polish out or waxing. I really like this stuff, bought a gallon, even though it's a bit pricey.
- On paint stuff, pre wax prep stuff.  I like Meguiars alot, the ultimate compound on paint that needs a bit of work is good and also the partner ultimate polish is really good.
- Moving on to waxes - if I'm really nuts, I will hit it first with Chemical Guys Wet Mirror Finish, really make paint pop out.
- Then on top of that or solo is a Meguiars NXT generation Tech Wax 2.0. It used to come in a paste that I really liked, but they dont make that anymore, so it comes in liquid and still really good. Nice stuff.
- For general all around cleaning, the old standby and still very good is the Original Bike Spirits, Spray Cleaner & Polish, I like it for really dirty stuff and move on from there. - It used to be the Honda Polish before Honda screwed them, and thats why its called Original.
- Also another cleaner I stumbled on that surprised me is Chemical Guys Swift Wipe Waterless Car Wash.  Makes about anything pop out, especially paint. I had low expectations, but it really surprised me how good it is... I bought a gallon of it.
- Then seats and leather, stuff like that, I use the Meguiars Interior Detailer Cleaner. Does a good job without leaving it slick..
- Chrome cleaning - Mothers has 2 products that work very well..
- General note on Chemical Guys, they have some interesting stuff, but sometimes I swear they have a big vat of stuff and they put different colors into whatever name of stuff they are selling. So it still comes out that some stuff is not worth a damn and waste of money, then there is a few that seem to be decent.

I probably have 30 other stuff that I tried out, and still screwing with, but I would say the above is my goto batch for both car and motorcycle clean it up and detailing. I have asked for a DA Polisher for Christmas and I'm sure that will take me down another perilous path.. Watching too many you tube vids...

[DGS65]

Be careful with the DA it is easy to do more harm then good when learning  to use it.
There are a ton of car out there with permanent swirl marks from people who have no clue.
I'm no expert but I have been detailing my boat for years it's way to much work to do by hand so I bought a 7" wheel many years ago with wool pads works great on gel coat but dangerous to use on paint.  I also bought a 5" portercable orbital with a set of foam pads.  Using the correct pad for the job is key start with the softest pad as you learn to use it and get a feel for it. Enjoy and post before and after pictures so we can see how well you product choices work.

[hubcapsc]

I mostly just hose the mud off my bike  ...

During a recent extra-heavy-duty several weeks long maintenance shot I cleaned the snot
out of a lot of stuff. I used a toothbrush and wd40 and cleaned my motor and carbs in
all those places you can't reach or see, and later when I soap-and-water washed the whole bike, I used
a soft bottle brush that could reach most of those places. And I polished my tank and bags with Flitz.
I also replaced my dingy old taillight lens, my spider-webby Air wings and a couple of tired looking chrome bits.
And used wads of Nevr-Dull to freshen up a whole bunch of other chrome. I was happy when I
was done, and a bunch of people mentioned how good and clean my bike looked at the Fall
Color Ride... 

Even if you're just a mud-hoser, remember: make a regular effort to really clean your headers
and muffler tips, especially including on the bottoms, or they'll rust. I'm real glad my headers
are still nice and chromular after all this time...

-Mike

[Rams]

Gosh, where are Daniel Meyer and DDT when you need them?   
Here I am thinking a hose gets it done.   Not making fun, I think a clean and detailed Valkyrie is a beautiful site.   Just won't be my Valkyrie...……..   Yeah, I'm one of them guys.   

Rams 

[Pluggy]

Has anyone else tried Formula 33 Motorcycle Detailer?   I picked some up at the J&P Cycle store in Ormond Beach, FL.  The nice sales lady told me "All the guys like it".  Sold.

Not a deep-cleaning abrasive product.  If you don't need that, it works on about any bike surface.  Well, maybe not the windshield.  

[Oss]

OK maybe I am just different, but those pieces of mud and dirt all
represent memories of different trips through the country

I dont like to clean the bike till the trip is done and gone

This is arriving in Seattle in 2012 after 13 days on the road. 

Water and diluted dawn dishwashing liquid a clean sponge and a microfibre cloth
Then liquid turtle wax or something with carnuba wax and I am good to go.   I dont sweat the little scratches on the saddlebags from when the rubber pieces fell off the lid before I can glue em back on.

[Pluggy]

Hello Mr. Oss.  We see that finish beading up.  Carnauba wax is the way to go.  From coated medicine tablets to fine guitar polish, it is the material of choice.  The ideal combination of chemicals, it just happens to grow on trees.

[msb]

: make a regular effort to really clean your headers
and muffler tips, especially including on the bottoms, or they'll rust.

-Mike

My one  regret, in terms of maintaining my bike over the years. Everything still looks great down there from topside, but I know what it's like underneath 

[0leman]

Hose and mud removal guy here.   I did out do myself this summer and did wash my Valk 5 times.  Normal is 2.  Ran into a bunch of bugs I wasn't expecting.   

Wash job usually consist of a buck of suds, car wash rag got years ago, and the hose.   Have on several occasions, taken lightest still wool to the under side of pipes to remove the starting of rust there.

More fun to just roll her out and hit the road. 

[Chrisj CMA]

: make a regular effort to really clean your headers
and muffler tips, especially including on the bottoms, or they'll rust.

-Mike

My one  regret, in terms of maintaining my bike over the years. Everything still looks great down there from topside, but I know what it's like underneath    

The absolute best way to clean the under side of your bike is to run over a ripe dead possum. Don’t ask how I know. I can tell you there is hardly a smell on planet earth worse than rotten possum guts on a hot engine and exhaust pipes