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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!caip!ll-xn!cit-vax!elroy!smeagol!usc-oberon!sdcrdcf!ism780c!darryl
From: darryl@ism780c.UUCP (Darryl Richman)
Newsgroups: net.cycle
Subject: Cleaners for your bike
Message-ID: <3485@ism780c.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 6-Sep-86 19:16:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: ism780c.3485
Posted: Sat Sep  6 19:16:44 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 8-Sep-86 01:36:17 EDT
References: <1226@utastro.UUCP>
Reply-To: darryl@ism780c.UUCP (Darryl Richman)
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Santa Monica, CA
Lines: 31

In article <1226@utastro.UUCP> fbr@utastro.UUCP (F. B. RAY) writes:
> [about cleaning aluminum parts...]             Also, there's a new
>German detergent out, handled by BMW dealers among others.  Also advertised
>in the cycle mags.  It makes aluminum really shine.  Apologies for not having
>the name on the tip of my tongue, but ask around.  Comes in a red box.
>About $10 a throw, but you can clean everything with it.

It's called "S-100".  I wasn't very impressed.  A buddy and I bought a
bottle and had a bike washing party.  The directions tell you to just
spray it on a cold, dry bike, perhaps brushing particularly dirty
areas, and then hose off with a strong stream of water.  It sounded
too good to be true -- I use about 5 different things for different
cleaning jobs on my bike, and I hate it!  Well, it was too good to be
true.  It cleaned the tank ok, but couldn't deal with either disk brake
dust or oil.

Anyways, I've found that 409 or Fantastic is great for disk brake dust,
Gunk Engine cleaner for oil, dishwashing soap for miscellaneous body
parts, and chrome polish for the pipes does the trick.  Although I
haven't calculated the per-wash cost of these materials, I suspect it's
considerably less than the $4-$5 that S-100 costs.

If anyone has any tips for keeping their bike clean without so many
different nostrums, I'd love to hear about it.

	    --Darryl Richman, INTERACTIVE Systems Corp.
	    ...!cca!ima!ism780!darryl
	    The views expressed above are my opinions only.

P.S.  There is a bike detailing firm here in L.A., but I can't see parting
with $40 for near-showroom looks.