Tackling rust/corrosion

[tim0409]

Hi

I'm looking for some advice on the following; I bought a 2009 BMW G650 XCountry in June last year and it's been the ideal bike to get me back into biking. I've done 5k since then in all weathers, and unfortunately it won't be garaged till May/June when I move to a new house, so until then it lives under a cover. The previous owner (a friend) barely used it in the 5 years he owned it and I've noticed it has deteriorated quite quickly over the last few months as you would expect; I keep it clean although stupidly haven't used ACF 50 or similar on it.

I'm keen to really tidy it up and wondered what the best way of doing this; I've seen chemical kits to clean and plate each bolt, but the idea of replacing with new stainless steel nuts/bolts appeals. The swing arm has a bit of corrosion and somebody mentioned vapour blasting, but I have no experience with having this done. It's not a valuable bike but I'm a bit anal about my stuff so want it looking as good as possible within reason. I had planned to sell it but will probably keep it when I buy a second bike in the Summer.


Here is a picture of the level of corrosion -

[Jazoli]

Honestly you never will unless you fully strip and rebuild, I'd just make sure the adjusters and stuff that needs to move occasionally have a coating of anti-sieze or copper grease and just ride the thing.

Edited by Jazoli on Sunday 9th January 10:42

[Rubin215]

Yeah, the plating on those has already gone and, unless you clean and oil them regularly, they will only rust more.

Just keep riding it and work your way round it replacing fasteners bit by bit.

Stainless or titanium is the way to go.

[KTMsm]

As it's already a bit late and mid winter

Clean it, ACF it and worry about it when winter's gone and you've got a garage

[adam85]

ACF50 can do excellently well at reversing corrosion, or at least slow it.
Try carefully applying some to the bolts using a small paint brush. Leave for 12 hours and you might surprised.

A few orange fasteners and bolts on my bike have come around very well after ACF50.

Oh, and do the whole bike using this method while you’re at it!

https://youtu.be/8EMMP1whBsI

Edited by adam85 on Saturday 8th January 18:19

Edited by adam85 on Saturday 8th January 18:19

[Tardigrade]

KTMsm said:

As it's already a bit late and mid winter

Clean it, ACF it and worry about it when winter's gone and you've got a garage

I agree. You don't want to be dealing with this stuff outdoors in Winter. Postpone action until you've got the garage, then replace all the bolts with stainless steel.

Definitely ACF it in the meantime, which will reduce corrosion by 90%. The best way is to scrupulously clean and dry the bike first, but if you haven't had any road gritters out in your area it's okay to apply ACF generously over dry muck. It soaks through to the metal, and turns the muck into a protective greasy 'skin'. That's what it will look like in a few weeks anyway.

[Jazoli]

As an aside XCP has been found to be even more effective than acf50 in several independent tests, whether that matters to anyone of course is moot.

[jjones]

Jazoli said:

As an aside XCP has been found to be even more effective than acf50 in several independent tests, whether that matters to anyone of course is moot.

There are also different types of XCP, when I checked i found "XCP Rust Blocker CLEAR COAT" had the best results.

[tim0409]

Thanks for the helpful advice; will give it a good clean this week and protect with ACF 50 (which I already have), and not worry about it till Summer!

[Wildfire]

I use a combination of XCP and ACF-50 on the bikes. Regular treatment kept my 821 in really good condition through 2 years of all year riding in all conditions. The only part that showed any real spotting was the shock threads (when I had t do 2 weeks of commuting in winter before I got the AYB out, did it myself after that) and the banjos.

[Biker9090]

Unfortunately you've had your first welcome to the world of BMW and their finish "quality".

You can remove parts and have them powder coated (works out easier, surprisingly cheaper and MUCH better lasting than spray cans) .

If you can work out the bolt sizes look at Titan Classics for replacement bolts/fixings.

[KTMsm]

Biker9090 said:

If you can work out the bolt sizes look at Titan Classics for replacement bolts/fixings.

Ooo Titanium, very nice but £40 for 6 sprocket bolts, I'll be sticking with zinc plated / stainless

[Simon Cadelic]

Not wishing to throw a spanner in the works, but stainless into alloy ( like the tensioner in the picture ) corrodes the alloy even worse. OK the bolt is shiney, but the electro chemical potential between the chromium in the stainless and the alloy is far greater than between a plated bolt and the alloy. The result is alumium oxide and siezed bolts. Having struggled with a Triumph's siezed chain adjusters, you wouldn't want to go there, let alone make it worse. If you must use SS grease it well.

[Biker9090]

Simon Cadelic said:

Not wishing to throw a spanner in the works, but stainless into alloy ( like the tensioner in the picture ) corrodes the alloy even worse. OK the bolt is shiney, but the electro chemical potential between the chromium in the stainless and the alloy is far greater than between a plated bolt and the alloy. The result is alumium oxide and siezed bolts. Having struggled with a Triumph's siezed chain adjusters, you wouldn't want to go there, let alone make it worse. If you must use SS grease it well.

Just use duralac and you won't have any problems

[wsn03]

All my bikes are immaculate, various ages and materials. The answer - WD40.
I use stainless bolts often, always with copper slip.
But every winter the bikes get a full WD40 shower - I've never had rusty finishes

ACf50 is great for keeping off salt, but WD40 is a water repellent with some amazing cleaning properties

[Krikkit]

wsn03 said:

I use stainless bolts often, always with copper slip.

Why?

[wsn03]

Krikkit said:

wsn03 said:

I use stainless bolts often, always with copper slip.

Why?

Why what? Stainless bolts or the copper slip?

Stainless:
If I have a cosmetic requirement stainless fasteners are good because of the way they look and don't corrode.
However - to be fair I stick to standard whatever that might be because I like to restore things to original, but there are plenty of cases where cheap and nasty fasteners warrant it, especially for things like brackets, mudguards etc, anything on display.
Exhausts I like to insert copper threads with stainless nuts - depends on the application.

Basically stainless wears well.



Copper Slip:
On most vehicles I put copper-slip in the thread to ensure I don't have problems removing it in the future. Sometimes I use grease, but generally copper slip seems to be generally preferred amongst all the engineers and restorers that I know.
The big one for me though is with stainless, because in some situations stainless will "cold weld" itself to steel - don't know the science behind it (did read it once) - some sort of chemical reaction / fusion. I do know that it is nasty when it happens, as it did to a bolt I had securing a mudguard in a bike I was restoring. Cost me an arm and a leg to get that bolt out when the head broke off, such was the way the thread was completely locked.
Copper slip prevents that reaction.

Edited by wsn03 on Monday 31st January 14:58

Edited by wsn03 on Monday 31st January 15:00

[moanthebairns]

wsn03 said:

Krikkit said:

wsn03 said:

I use stainless bolts often, always with copper slip.

Why?

Why what? Stainless bolts or the copper slip?

Stainless:
If I have a cosmetic requirement stainless fasteners are good because of the way they look and don't corrode.
However - to be fair I stick to standard whatever that might be because I like to restore things to original, but there are plenty of cases where cheap and nasty fasteners warrant it, especially for things like brackets, mudguards etc, anything on display.
Exhausts I like to insert copper threads with stainless nuts - depends on the application.

Basically stainless wears well.



Copper Slip:
On most vehicles I put copper-slip in the thread to ensure I don't have problems removing it in the future. Sometimes I use grease, but generally copper slip seems to be generally preferred amongst all the engineers and restorers that I know.
The big one for me though is with stainless, because in some situations stainless will "cold weld" itself to steel - don't know the science behind it (did read it once) - some sort of chemical reaction / fusion. I do know that it is nasty when it happens, as it did to a bolt I had securing a mudguard in a bike I was restoring. Cost me an arm and a leg to get that bolt out when the head broke off, such was the way the thread was completely locked.
Copper slip prevents that reaction.

Edited by wsn03 on Monday 31st January 14:58

Edited by wsn03 on Monday 31st January 15:00

Have to agree I continually copper slip everything, its quite therapeutic. I just don't bother with the back of the brake pads like some folk do....

On this topic the sight of even a glimmer of rust disheartens me, I try to always spray the header nuts when I've the fairings off or get the chance. But fk me I saw a 3 year old MT-07 in the flesh a few weeks ago with the back wheel off. The rust on the inside of a swingarm was frightening.