I'm with DD on the WD40, it works really well, I use it on the frame and alloy wheels, they come up a treat with little effort.
Aerosol Brake & Clutch cleaner. Spray on, wipe off with paper towel and then wipe off anything that's left. No effort requ. at all.
I use Mr Sheen or similar. Works well, leaves the wheel (or whatever - chain lube gets everywhere!) clean and shiny, and .... it smells nice! It also cleans hands in an emergency - it even cleans grease off work trousers when they have an accidental interface with mucky air lines and electrical suzies that run between the tractor unit and the trailer on an articulated wagon. Don't ask me how I know, just use your imagination!!
WD40 usually for me too. The only lighter fluid I've got is in aerosol form so not much use as it uses adapters and not a spray nozzle. Have used white spirit before but it takes the sheene off painted wheels and paraffin leaves s slippy residue so needs washing off defeating the object.
I had white wheels on my GSXR and tried everything. One day by pure accident I found that Mr Sheen did the job better than anything I tried and of course its something the wife had loads of and its cheaper than WD40, Diesel, paraffin etc. EDIT: I second Steve's post regarding Mr Sheen.
Of course, to back up the lighter fluid theory, the yanks found the perfect answer for this using napalm, unfortunately it didn't catch on as they couldn't find any evidence to prove it!!
DD and the Biglad your both right The watered down weak brake cleaner fluid you buy in Aerosols will work on paint work The real stuff found in garages will F2ck up your paint in a single wipe
WD40 is good, but I use sainsbury's basic furniture polish. Removes it easily then leaves a nice polished surface and at 35p a tin its almost cheaper than water
Motul chain cleaner, I got a free can last time I bought a can of chain lube and used it on my Bonnie's back wheel, worked a treat!
Just says Hydro-carbons, C9-11, n-alkanes, isoalkanes, cyclics, aromatics, DANGER H222 extremely inflammable. H319 causes eye irritation, use Optrex instead, oh, and probably monosodium glutomate in there as well some-where. Loads of others. Says its safe to use on x ring, O ring, and Z ring, but NOT brown ring! Basically all the components are listed in their chemical reference numbers so I'm none the wiser, although H2O not listed. (The only 1 I know!)
Naptha......can be a generic term like 'beer'. Ale? Lager? Mild? Bitter? Most 'naptha' is the fraction from crude oil that sits in the paraffin, kerosine, jet fuel, domestic heating oil bracket. Cleans like petrol but leaves marginally more residue to wipe off and ignites much less readily without a wick! Bulk paraffin is less than 40p per litre. WD40 is £3 for 200mls. .
A thin film will protect chrome or alloy but it has some lubricant properties so needs to be kept off the brakes! Chain rings of whatever type must be nitrile or the internal grease would rot them. Oil companies will happily package paraffin plus and sell it at £15 a litre. If you are happy, so are they at 40x the cost of production.
It is worth remembering that 'Marketing' is normally defined along the lines of 'a satisfying exchange based on perceived value...' The key word is 'perceived'. You are happy (satisfied) because of the perception of value more than the actuality. For years BMW, Audi et al have appealed to UK badge snobbery and sold a 10% better car for 30% more than a Ford That is a very profitable business and why Lexus, Infiniti etc., exist. You wouldn't shell out over the odds for a Toyota or a Nissan. Funny things, people.......
