Cleaning yellow fuel stains (R1100GS) with MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone)

gog

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My bike is rough, its got corrosion in all the normal places and all the fasteners are rusty. These things I can deal with, im not usually particularly fussy about the appearance of my vehicles, but the yellow piss-stained engine/gearbox is annoying me a bit. Its obviously had a significant fuel leak at some point and no amount of rubbing with WD40 seems to have any effect.

I saw a post by Steptoe saying that MEK might shift it, so I have ordered a litre from eBay (£7.50 delivered) so will use this thread to document its success (or failure).

Has anyone used this stuff before to shift the stains? Is there some technique to it or is it just 'have at it' with a scotch-brite soaked in the undiluted chemical? I know its nasty stuff not to be inhaled (or drunk, even by our forgiving Scottish standards), and ill be sure to use gloves.

Will update once its arrived.
 
Used to use MEK and TCE many years ago just with a cloth though never anything more abrasive, seemed to work a treat but had some interesting effects on people in confined areas before H&S was taken seriously.
 
well. it removed the yellow stain but also everything else in its path. some bits down to bare metal. I don't think it's possible to remove the yellow without removing the clearcoat and the paint. it's very nasty stuff.

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Just degrease the area with degreasing thinners

Mask off black bits and blow it in with Steel wheels or Bright wheels

You could try a bit of card for a colour match first

I've done it for a couple of folks now and it just takes the bad look off it
 
cheers jay. that's what I'm going to do. I've got the spray paint and just need to find a spare couple hours. the bike is scruffy anyway and I'm not particularly fussed about it. wouldn't recommend the MEK to anyone that has an otherwise nice condition bike, the potential for problems is high.
 
gordongraham said:
wouldn't recommend the MEK to anyone that has an otherwise nice condition bike, the potential for problems is high.
Click to expand...


Use gently gently. as in slowly slowly catchy a monkey type of use. Looks like you've been very aggressive using it to get the result shown.

Warming the case also helps.
 
I did try to be gentle neil, very small amount applied with a toothbrush. as soon as it was on, the texture of the paint changed, went gummy and I immediately rinsed it off with warm water. dish sponge pad used after and the paint just disintegrated leaving bare metal. I suspect the paint was damaged and had lifted somewhat already.
 
Wear rubber gloves! I used to use this stuff when I was a litho printer.
It'll strip the oils from your skin and make your skin powdery and sore.



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