what suds do you use?

famas · 4 Aug 2012 at 20:14

Hey all

I've nearly ran out of both sdoc 100 and muc off nano bike cleaner so i'm after some new stuff.

Sdoc 100 gel is by far the best cleaner i've used but its ridiculously expensive and if you clean your bike more than once a year it doesn't last very long, I could use a whole bottle in 3-4 washes, This is why I have muc off as well and only use the sdoc on stuborn parts.

I saw a deal on the bay the other day for 10 litre's or muc off for £20 which seems a good deal but i'm wondering if there is any thing like sdoc 100 thats a similar cost to muc off?

Or something better than muc off for the same sort of money?

so whats every one else using to clean their broom brooms?

famas · 5 Aug 2012 at 12:29

Fuchs off sounds pretty good Might give that a try.

famas · 5 Aug 2012 at 20:09

I use wd40 and acf-50 once the bike is clean and dry. Just after something thats good at cleaning and getting all the crap off.

Personally i'd never put petrol any where near my bike other than in the tank. I've seen the effects first hand what it can do to paint work.

any one use snow foam?
Can you use it from a spray bottle or do you have to use it with one of the lances?

famas · 6 Aug 2012 at 17:20

If petrol gets onto paint work in most cases as long as its wiped off immediately it wont cause any damage. If its left it will start to disolve the clear coat just like thinners would and as mentioned on some paints/plastics the damage can be instant.
It was much more common on older celolose based paints, its not such a problem with modern 2k and water based finishes.

Hector try a light rubbing compound on the effected area like t-cut or better still farecla g3 followed by g10.

As for ACF-50, its a anti corrosive spray and lubricant which is also very good at removing grime and dirt. its safe to use all over the bike (except braking areas) and will keep metal looking new for longer. It really is amazing stuff!
I wouldn't use it to polish panels on the bike though, its leaves a greasy film which seems to attract more dirt quickly.

Sdoc is brilliant just too expensive.

I might give this snow foam a try, says its got wax in it to leave a shiny finish and you can get 5 liters for a around a tenner.

famas · 14 Aug 2012 at 19:56

So I got my snow foam with wax through the post and also a cheapy pressure spray bottle.

I didnt want to spend out for the lance attachment for my pressure washer as I dont like using it on the bike and my car never gets washed anyway

I've seen videos on youtube of people getting pretty good results with pressure bottles so thought i'd give it a go.

Have to say im pretty impressed with the snow foam, it cleaned off the dirt and dried on bugs with ease and the added wax certainly left a nice shine to the bike.
I didnt manage to get the thick foam like i've seen in the videos but I reckon with a few tries at different mixture levels i'll get decent results. it still worked well but came out more as a wet soapy spray.

I only gave the bike panels a quick clean, i'm going to have another more thorough clean at the weekend and see how the wheels and metals come up, but so far im impressed.