I'm still riding my moped out there ... but the elements are starting to take their toll. There's quite a bit of rust on the muffler and some creeping on other areas of chrome. Any ideas on what I can do to help fix this and/or prevent this in the future. I don't want it to fall apart on me before Spring.
rust prevention ideas?
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Miguel, by springtime, all that will be left of your bike will be the handlebars if you don't get that road salt off, it will eat it up like a fat lady on a box of chocolates.
Some things you can do to prevent this, is apply a heavy coat of a good automotive wax (after a good cleaning) and rinse off the road slop everytime you put the bike away. It's a pain in the as, but thats what you have to deal with in winter riding. Also spray all moving parts with WD 40 and apply a vinyl protector on the seat. (seats can crack very easily in the cold) maybe by the time you do all these things, it will be spring, have fun.
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Yes, I definitely have to keep the moped clean. I put it under my stairwell and out of the snow for a while. But I live in apartments, so storage space is limited. Since it's out in the open most of the time ... and since I have no car ... I figure I might as well ride it when the roads are pretty clear.
But I'll get the car wax and such right away and treat my poor little "Lucia" to a bath. I'll be sure to put the WD40 on as much stuff as I can. Thanks for the tip.
Anything else I should do? My Bianchi is in really nice shape, and I'd like to keep it that way. So far only the chrome parts (rims and muffler, mainly) are rusting.
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Believe it or not, Ripley, but plain ol' aluminum foil balled up works great for rusty chrome, simply rub it on the rusted area then seal it with the auto wax, or a brass brush will do the same. also there are a number of chrome polishes available. The main idea is to keep moisture from penetrating into the metal. You don't want your baby
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Yes ... I've pretty much decided to put the moped away for at least a month or so. I just never thought the salt would do THAT much damage! :-(
She'll get a nice bath and waxing and then back under the stairwell again. The cold and some snow will get to her, unfortunately, but at least no salt damage. That's the best I can really do for now.
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Miguel,
After cleaning and waxing, if you are not going to ride for a while, buy a heavy duty plastic drop cloth, roll the ped onto it, pick up the sides and duct tape it into an air tight package. You should put a large packet of anhydrous material in the bag. I am not sure where to get this, but a shipping and crating company may have it as it is often used in machinery packages.
Ron
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Ron, that's an awesome idea! I may do that, or else just roll it into my bedroom. Then I could sit on it and pretend to be riding making "vroom vroom" noises. ;-)
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Get some WD40, Teflon spray, drive-chain spray and some rags you can use to polish your bike with. First clean your bike untill it shines, use WD40 to get the tougher dirt off. If you look at the chain you can see it's completely dry and it may already have started rusting. Snow, ice and rain wash the chainlubrication off and will make the chain start to rust wich will cost you a lot of engine power. Drown the chain in WD40 and use a rag to wipe it clean, the rag will be blackened by the dirt. Now put your bike on the center stand, start the engine and drown the chain in chainspray while the chain runs over the sprockets. This'll protect your chain pretty well, add a little chainspray every couple of days to keep the chain lubed. Polish all the metal parts (inc. painted parts) of your bike with teflonspray. This'll form a protective layer over the metal parts and will make all the parts shine really nice (sort of like a waxcoating). Just wipe a cloth with some teflonspray on it over all the metal parts every couple of days to keep the parts clean and shiny.
If your bike is really dirty, I mean half-an-inch-of-black-goo dirty, than DON'T clean your bike. The black goo wil form an excellent protector against the elements.
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Where can I get Teflon spray or something similar? So far I have the following thigs to clean my moped:
- Never Dull wadding polish (cleans dirt and removes rust)
- Turtle Wax chrome polish and rust remover
- WD40
- assorted rags
I'll look for some chainspray and use that. Thanks for the tip, Ivo, I've dropped 5mph, so that would explain it (if the chain is no longer greased properly).
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Hey! i bought that moped you are refering to!
dan
moped army
swarm and destroy
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Whoa, wax ain't gonna help that one. good luck with the restore job, Dan.
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Rustoleum
Re: rust prevention ideas?
Hey, that Never Dull stuff was awesome! It took all the rust off and my moped now looks almost like new. When I get more time (and nice weather), I want to go over it again and then wax it w/ this stuff I bought that is supposed to protect it specifically against salt. Then ... back to riding in the winter! Rock out!
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