kromozome

About to pick up my new build tomorrow and wanted to know if anyone had experience / recommendations for cleaning and caring for a satin finish bike. To make things more complicated, significant areas of the bike are gloss finished. (It's a black on black F10). I've looked at several threads on this question and there seem to be conflicting opinions. Can I just use a non-abrasive dishwashing soap and a microfiber towel? Any good Muc Off options? Thanks folks!


Edit: Sorry about that TimothyH, should have been more specific; the majority of the bike is painted in a black satin finish with silver lettering and the middle of the down tube and back of the seat post and seat stays are gloss black. Thanks for your help!

TimothyH

What make and model bike is it? Not everyone knows what F10 means.

Black on black satin what? Is it paint? Raw carbon?

You have to help us so that we don't have to google it.

If it is paint then just use your favorite automotive products. If it is raw carbon then stay away from automotive waxes.

Cold water and a microfiber towel are typically enough to clean any road bike short of a winter commuter, even after a rain ride. If you need something stronger then try warm or hot water and maybe a little mild soap. Remember that soap removes wax.

If it is a name brand then whomever makes the bike should have instructions on how to care for the finish.


-Tim-

kbarch

Don't "wash" it any more than you have to. I know people say not to use Pledge or the like, especially on matte finishes, but if you apply it to a clean bike, you should be able to wipe down a dry, dirty bike with a soft DRY cloth a few times before you really need to wash it - and re-apply the Pledge. Black-on-black, this is especially the case, since it's only dust and salt you'll have to worry about wiping off. Grease - who'd even notice? And since you're talking about a satin finish anyhow, all the better. Matte finishes can get satiny, in a sort of uneven, oily way if you use Pledge on them (one reason why it's not recommended), but I imagine satin finishes will just get satiny-er

Bob Ross

We've been dealing with this for a few years now, due to a weird screw-up at the paint shop: My wife's gloss-painted steel bike got damaged and needed the downtube replaced, and after that repair the paint shop mistakenly repainted it in a matte finish. My wife thought this was a pleasant surprise and an upgrade...until she tried cleaning it.

After consulting with a number of folks -- the framebuilder, the paint shop, and any number of anonymous internet forums -- and doing a lot of empirical experiments, we concluded that A) the worst thing for cleaning a matte/satin finish bike frame is, ironically, exactly what we'd been using to clean it when it was a gloss finished frame, Simple Green; and B) the best thing for cleaning a matte/satin finish bike frame is isopropyl alcohol

Sy Reene

I'm not sure why cleaning a frame would really ever need more than Dawn and a sponge or rag. Maybe test a bit with a pink scotchbrite dish sponge if you have something that rag or fingernail can get off?

GlennR

I use a mix of 10:1 water to simple green. My bike, Trek Emonda SLR, is 3 years old with 15,000 miles. The paint is really fragile when it rubs against something. But there's been no damage from cleaning.

vtje

Windex and microfiber towel do wonders on my wife's satin black Roubaix.

duane041

Best to clean a matte finish is Windex and a microfiber towel, or mild detergent and a microfiber towel.

Matte finishes are unique in that the surface isn't completely "closed". Matte finishes are created by adding a matting agent into normal clear coat (the matting agent is similar to talc but in a liquid form). When suspended and then sprayed, the matting agent is brought up to the surface during the flashing off period of the clear coat's curing cycle. As the solvents in the clear coat begin to dry and evaporate, the matting agent is carried to, and deposited on, the surface of the clear coat.

Sadly, as cool as it may look, the matting agent leaves microscopic holes in your clear, creating a surface where oils and the like can penetrate. This is why many matte finishes gets oily and darker near bb shells and such. Once that oily appearance happens, there is virtually no way to get it back to the way it was.

And be careful with your matte finish. Because of their nature, matte finishes are really only "matte" on the surface; underneath is normal clear coat, which is why matte finishes get shinier when rubbed too much.

Patriot1

I covered my wife’s new Trek 920 (satin sandstorm) in XPEL.com (stealth) paint protection. Called the Trek mothership and they said clean the matte paint with rubbing alcohol. It worked extremely well. Then I got busy with the tedious of work cutting the patterns for the bike out of the p/p material, it turned out great. I don’t work for XPEL, but have had this paint protection on our cars and trucks for decades. If your willing to put the time in preparing and applying the material, you will never have to worry about any paint finish chip, discoloration or cable rub issues. It’s invisible once applied unless you look really close. Cleaning care minimal -warm soap and water, then a shot of Plexus Spray Cleaner, done.

indyfabz

Windex contains ammonia, which is not good for aluminum parts (e.g., headsets) according to my frame builder. Use it carefully.

He recommended Pledge for my Cerakote finish.

kbarch

About Pledge: the film ingredient is silicone, so when it builds up and your frame takes on a satiny sheen, you'll need mineral spirits if you want to remove it. In contrast, furniture wax you could remove with vinegar, but I doubt anyone who wants a matte finish would use that.

sdmc530

GCN did a video on this. Jon their tech GURU said find a bike cleaner,not a real carnauba wax. It will protect the bike and keep the bike looking matte. It will pick up a bit of a sheen if you over wax I bet but Jon knows his stuff. I will see if I can find the video.

sdmc530

Found it:

Patriot1

Be careful if you use Simple Green

From the Simple Green Website:
"Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green® on aluminum?
When used with caution and according to the instructions, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner has been safely and successfully used to clean aluminum. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, Crystal Simple Green® Cleaner/Degreaser, Simple Green Pressure Washer Concentrates, and Pro Series™ Simple Green® Automotive Cleaner have been used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green® product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

vicbastige

I use Pedro's Bikelust with seemingly great results FWIW.

Sy Reene

Are we resolved yet to just being able to conclude that a sponge or towel in some soapy water is perfectly adequate to clean a bike?

kbarch

Adequate? For what standard of cleanliness and beauty? A reasonable standard, yes, but unfortunately, it's much less perfect at keeping a bike's finish consistent through the years than other treatments. However, I suspect it's a lot more satisfactory for matte and satin finishes than it is for gloss.

Sy Reene

Ok.. but we've had Windex YES, Windex/Ammonia No, Simple Green YES, Simple Green No, Pledge Yes, Pledge No. I'll stick with the plug for a bit of dawn and some warm water.

Edit: I missed the recommendation to clean our bikes with isopropyl alcohol. Nobody contradicted this answer, so perhaps this is the solution.

noodle soup

https://www.eastwood.com/ew-pre-pain...iABEgL9K_D_BwE

/thread

GlennR

Would be a lot cheaper as a liquid.

kbarch

/life, too, if you're not careful. Well, you'd have to be awfully careless, but still, that's some serious stuff.

It comes in gallon cans for about $45.

noodle soup

that’s what is used when doing CF frame building, and repairs.

Yes, it’s stuff you don’t want to touch or inhale, but it works.

GlennR

Zipp told me to use acetone to clean their wheels.