CLEANING UP ROAD RESIDUE

[trestlecreek]

So I pulled my sleds out of the shop to get them winterized. On a couple of them, (the ones without covers) the residue left from the chloride crap on our roads has made a mess. I have tried baking soda paste, (neutralizer) but it didnt work very well. Any ideas out there? I have heard that baking soda with hydrogen peroxide may work...?...

 

[SSWIM]

Good luck. Mag chloride makes a mess of things. All over our roads here. When you find out what works let me know. I haven't found anything that works.

Sam

 

[eyefish123]

If it is bare metal try White Diamond metal polish. It is kind of hard to find, I got mine at Dennis Kirk. Some auto parts stores might carry it. This stuff works really good.

 

[trestlecreek]

I'm thinking of trying the hydrogen peroxide mixed with baking soda trick.... apparently you can use it as toothpaste, so Im hoping it shouldnt cause any damage. I talked with a chemical engineer last weekend and asked him what would work. (damn young kids out of college ) He didnt have an answer. The problem is the white chalky residue also stains the aluminum metal, including clutches, but also etches the jugs-top of heads, carbs ect...... It appears the salt they use on the roads dries on the metal, and dries everything out.

 

[mtncat1]

I have used eagle one mag wheel cleaner, there are three levels I use the self etching which is the strongest. beware it is a acid. spray it on agitate it with a scrub brush. then rinse with water it removes that sulfate stuff and brightens the aluminum. just be careful not to over do it and wear gloves. I hope this helps.

 

[Bacon]

This doesn't help you out much but this is why I preach getting a enclosed trailer vs a sled deck or open trailer. The crap they use on roads anymore these days is just nasty stuff. And it's not so much the appearance under the hood but that corrosion can work its way into electrical connections and bolt threads and really cause a headache in a couple years.

 

[SRXSRULE]

the best thing to do is prevent it from happening in the first place. After a trip on nasty roads power wash everything off when you get home. Then after it dries spray it down with spray silicone.

Several of the acid based aluminum cleaners will take it off but play around with the stuff in hidden spots to see the results your going to get.

Eric

 

[andrew44]

If it is on metal surfaces. such as pipes, engine, engine head, etc. get some triple 000 steel wool. do a small test area on the part you want polished to see if it scuffs it to much. that's what I use on all my 2-stroke head pipes and exposed frames pieces.