Stainless appliance polish as great bike cleaner/polish

[54ny77]

On a fluke I tried using Hope's stainless steel appliance polish on my Ottrott, which has ti and painted tubes. Figured if it works on appliances (which it does very well--easy wipe off of grime, keeps things shiny), it should work well on a bike.

Conclusion: AWESOME. Leaves a nice smooth waxed finish, and helps loosen grease and grime. If you have a ti bike, this stuff would be great. Makes the various bike parts look nice too-brakes, drivetrain, etc. And shines up black anodized rims as well as stainless spokes and polished rims.

Just thought I'd pass along if you don't have a $20 bottle of bike polish/cleaner available in the moment, but have this kind of product in the kitchen. And at 1/3 or so the price of bike-specific stuff, even better.

[robt57]

I have some of that from the previous stainless face fridge. Never again FWIW.

But never thought to use it on the Ti brushed bike, great idea.

[54ny77]

yeah certain brands of stainless appliance stuff either work or they don't, depending on the stainless material & finish. this hope-branded stuff seems to work best--i wipe it on, it looks like crap, but then it "dries" and all streaks go away leaving a nice shiny finish that after getting grimy from cooking, is an easy wipe off.

i have about 4 different brands in the kitchen cabinet from experimenting.

and the upside upon this discovery is i now have about 5 years' worth of bike cleaner/polish. no longer need to buy the $25 bottle of pedro's.

Originally Posted by robt57

I have some of that from the previous stainless face fridge. Never again FWIW.

But never thought to use it on the Ti brushed bike, great idea.

[Steve in SLO]

White vinegar and olive oil is cheaper yet.

[54ny77]

sounds like salad dressing!



by the way i saw your moto thread post, which reminded me of waaaaay back when i'd tear thru the backcountry of rural slo county for hours on end with nary a car in site. those were the days. got toasty in leathers/riding gear, but the various cdf stations were a blessing for stopping and drenching the head with water.

Originally Posted by Steve in SLO

White vinegar and olive oil is cheaper yet.

[Steve in SLO]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

sounds like salad dressing!



by the way i saw your moto thread post, which reminded me of waaaaay back when i'd tear thru the backcountry of rural slo county for hours on end with nary a car in site. those were the days. got toasty in leathers/riding gear, but the various cdf stations were a blessing for stopping and drenching the head with water.

There are some great rides around here for sure. The secret for the heat is timing...ride early in the summers and late in the winters. Neither in the shoulder seasons unless you want to see a lot of deer.

[Ozz]

Timely post....my wife wants to throw out some Weimans stainless cleaner as she does not like it.

Has anyone used this, or is it one of the brands that doesn't work?

[54ny77]

Don't toss! I have that too (Weiman's aerosol cleaner & polish, in the grey/silver can), and while I haven't tried it yet, given that it's nice & waxy, am sure it works just the same.

Originally Posted by Ozz

Timely post....my wife wants to throw out some Weimans stainless cleaner as she does not like it.

Has anyone used this, or is it one of the brands that doesn't work?

[Danny Boy]

My Airborne Ti frame from the early 2000's recommends WD-40. Works great and is always handy in my garage. Cleans, shines and removes finger prints. Works on my Lynsey Ti frames too.

[buddybikes]

I am sold on formula 303. Reminds me to run over to my kayaks afterward...

[unterhausen]

I thought most metal polishes use the same chemical, sort of like various carriers for the active ingredient in Brasso. I got some from Lee Valley that works pretty well.

[Steve in SLO]

Originally Posted by Danny Boy

My Airborne Ti frame from the early 2000's recommends WD-40. Works great and is always handy in my garage. Cleans, shines and removes finger prints. Works on my Lynsey Ti frames too.

That’s what our local stainless appliance dealer uses both in the show rooms and after installation. Says it’s cheap and works great.

[J.Higgins]

Originally Posted by Danny Boy

My Airborne Ti frame from the early 2000's recommends WD-40. Works great and is always handy in my garage. Cleans, shines and removes finger prints. Works on my Lynsey Ti frames too.

I'll happily second the motion for WD40. There is a lot of hate for this product, but its been nothing but good for me for decades. The secret is not to expect it to perform like a lubricant, but instead use it as a cleaner and polish. I use it to flush derailleurs and shifters and then some compressed air. Works every time.

My other go-to products for bikes are:

Fluidfilm, which is way better than Framesaver.

Lemon Pledge. Beats just about any OTC auto detailer spray hands down. They changed the formula, although I can not find any supporting evidence of that to be true, but I think it has a lot less actual wax in it than it had in years past.

Butcher's Wax. I use a good cleaner-wax to clean up the paint on frames and then use Butcher's to give it a nice hard surface and shine. Way better than car-wax, especially if you want to keep the old decals intact. Recently, I've used Renaissance Wax, which works great, but is like 3x more expensive than Butcher's, and Butcher's leaves a very acceptable shine.

I dont have any Ti frames in the shop atm, but I'll have to try the stainless appliance stuff, of which we got a couple cans of, and find it lacking.

[Steve in SLO]

Does Lemon Pledge actually contain wax? I thought it was silicone-based. No matter, it works great on bike frames.

[J.Higgins]

Originally Posted by Steve in SLO

Does Lemon Pledge actually contain wax? I thought it was silicone-based. No matter, it works great on bike frames.

I'm pretty sure it used to have wax. Not now.