Hitchcocks Forum

Hi, what's the best way to get my C5 EFI engine casing looking clean again ? I've tried Autosol, it's brings back the shine but after a week the casings are slowly covered in white crystals. Any recommendations as to what I can protect the casings with as I ride the bike all year round and it's looking a tad crusty. Cheers...

Try a spray can of clear lacquer, available from any auto accessories store. I have used it brass cartridges with success.

Aluminium will oxidise if unprotected especially when there's salt on the roads. That's the white crystals you're getting; aluminium oxide.
You could try a clear lacquer but you have to make sure the cases are completely sealed or the water will creep underneath making the problem worse.
I'd put on a coat of Waxoyl or something similar. The cases won't look so nice through the winter but they will next spring when you wash it all off. It's good stuff to apply to the frame as well, in fact, pretty much the whole bike.

Clean up and then a liberal coat of ACF50, spray over and then rub in with a soaked cloth...

Kills salt corrosion..

No. no, no Leon - not lacquer. Thats what the Jap manufacturers used to do and its why old Hondas look such shite as though the engine's got leprosy. I've got an old Japanese rat bike (he answers to the name 'Ratty McRatbike') and its absolutely terrible.

What Gwilly says; NOT lacquer, probably the worst thing to do.

'noily rag has been my friend for many a year. When I found about ACF50 it and the rag became my bestist friends

ACF50 or, as I've always done, just WD40. I ran my last bike for 6 years all year round none stop and the cases never furred up, and that's poor quality Indian alloy. I regularly spray the stuff all over the bike and don't wash it. Come the warm and dry weather in spring, I give it a good wipe down and everything cleans up well. You've got to be prepared to keep spraying a fresh layer on and not clean it. It will look awful, but underneath it will be well preserved, forget buckets of warm water and soap.

Learning all the time on here. We don`t have such problems in Australia. Winter in Brisbane might reach 4 or 6C around 4:00a.m. for a couple of days. After that it starts to warm up.

Just a thought. Cars have clear coat lacquer protecting their alloy/mag wheels. It says in the manual to not use abrasives to clean the wheels as this can remove the protective lacquer. The same goes for the paintwork on modern cars which have a final coat of clear lacquer and recommendations to not use polishes with cutting compound in them. Halfords sell spray cans of the stuff.