I decided to give the GS a bath today, along with a fresh coat of paste wax. Is there anything that will easily get the gunk and filth off of the front of the lowers (right behind the front tire)? Would a degreaser do the trick? A whole ton of scrubbing made a difference, but it still wasn't clean enough that I wanted to wax over it.
The rest of it looks nice, though. 8)
You must have an F model. One way to get the gunk off is to take off the fairings.
That's it.
Try taking some concentrated cleaner (more soap to water) and scrub even more. Sometimes it take more scrubbing. And more. And more.
I don't know if it is a good idea, but I might try hand cleaner. It seems to clean my hands, and doesn't rough them up. Hand cleaner as in, for working on cars and stuff. Maybe the non-grit ones.
Then after you have it nice and clean, besure to give it lots of wax. The cleaner might take some off.
Actually no, that might be bad. Try it on a small section away from view first. I don't think it will take off paint, but the factory wax/clear coat maybe.
For dirt, use soap, water, and elbow grease. Often, soaking it for a few minutes to loosen up the dirt.
Tar is harder to get off. For that, after Step 1, use clay. Lubricate with Griot's Speed Shine or Meguiar's Quick Detailer, and clay off the surface. Use detailer clay - both of those makers sell it.
If it's rock chips, it's not coming off. :P
I've used WD-40 on enough plastic car bumpers and grills to remove bug corpses and road tar gunk. It can't be too harmful to the GS. I hope.
when I want to clean my fairing ( bugs ) I use window cleaner & if I need to clean tar I use nor degreaser but don't leave it on too long not good for the paint. just until the tar starts to run it's good to clean your wheels too. and then give her a waxs :mrgreen:
all the best matt:) your friend
Safe Ride :cheers:
I use bug tar to get mine off. Worked well, not much elbow required.