Wind screen cleaner.....

Coyote Chris

Coyote Chris

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Joined
Aug 25, 2011
Messages
3,112
Location
Spokane
Bike
10 Red NT 14 FJR, 17 XT
I looked at the price of Plexus on the web and thought I was in a nightmare. $36??? Forgetabout it.
I really like Honda pro spray and clean. I get the little cans for touring and the big cans for the garage. Works great on face shields and windscreens and plastic. But i am open to anything else that can be put in a small spray bottle and fits right into the tank bag. Ace has something inexpensive, for instance. Frosty likes hydrogen peroxide but its not a polish.
 
Generic wal-mart eye glass cleaner works great for sunglasses and face shields. I haven't found anything that dissolves/loosens bugs much faster. Since sunglasses and face shields are made of plastic and so is a windscreen... yep, works great on windscreens too. I use the small eye glass cleaner spray bottles from getting prescription glasses for road trips. It's amazing how long an 8 oz refill bottle will last.
 
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HONDA Spray Clean/Polish (alternate being Bike Spirits) is the G.O.A.T. I carry a can of either aforementioned and a wad of microfiber towels. That stuff can be used on everything but fabrics. Paint, chrome, mirror glass, plastics, windshields, removing bugs from helmet+visor (what I use it most for)
 
dnktng said:
Generic wal-mart eye glass cleaner works great for sunglasses and face shields. I haven't found anything that dissolves/loosens bugs much faster. Since sunglasses and face shields are made of plastic and so is a windscreen... yep, works great on windscreens too. I use the small eye glass cleaner spray bottles from getting prescription glasses for road trips. It's amazing how long an 8 oz refill bottle will last.
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I have bottles of the eye glass cleaner so I just tried some on some bugs on the plastic of my bike. Eye glass cleaner is alchohol, a tiny bit of detergent, and sometimes things like anti fog agents. I must admit it works...maybe not as well as Honda Pro but it works. A bit harder to polish till the film is gone. My eye doc says to clean my glasses first, then use the eye glass cleaner.
 
NewTo700V said:
HONDA Spray Clean/Polish (alternate being Bike Spirits) is the G.O.A.T. I carry a can of either aforementioned and a wad of microfiber towels. That stuff can be used on everything but fabrics. Paint, chrome, mirror glass, plastics, windshields, removing bugs from helmet+visor (what I use it most for)
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I have to admit now that Plexus is prices out of the market, I ordered four ea 4 ounce spray cans of Honda Pro so I can carry one in my tank bag and 2 ea 12 ounce cans for at home. The Ace hardware cleaner is just water and alchohol, much like eyeglass cleaner.
 
If all you want to do on a road trip is clean bugs off your helmet, no special product is needed.. Just have some soft dry microfibers in luggage. At a gas stop, take the helmet in the bathroom. Saturate a paper towel with water and drape it over the helmet/visor so the wet towel conforms flush with the surfaces needing clean. Set the helmet down with the wet towel draped over it and fill up your bike with gas. When you're done with fueling, grab one side of the wet towel and give one big wipe across as you remove it. This will take most bugs with it. Use microfiber to dry and remove anything else.

ProHonda is just insanely quick with no need to go inside the gas station.

The wet towel trick also works on bike body work. If you've got a front end fairing and windscreen covered in bug bits, soak some paper towels and just cover the whole front. Wait 10-15 minutes. Long enough for bug guts to reconstitute, but not long enough that towels dry (do this in the shade if you can). Remove towels and wiped down front with dry microfiber.
 
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ST1100Y said:
Then go for the original:


Also my preferred tincture for cleaning and refreshing any polycarbonate and colored plastics, bike or car...

To soften up serious bug-splash: wet Bounty kitchen towel... apply, let soak, wipe off...
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Never seen that. You would laugh if you saw my basement! Full of FULL SHEET Bounty paper towels. They dry out and can be reused for lower purposes, like cleaning floors and for 6 months, cleaning heatalator/fire place glass.
 
I usually carry a terry towel about the size of my windshield when travelling. When I stop for the night, I take the towel and soak it with warm water and drape it over the windshield. After about an hour, I take a non-scratch scrunge pad soaked in wamer water and scrub the bug guts off easily. I also use Rain-X for plastic windscreens periodically as it keeps the bug innards from adhering too tightly to the windshield. Whatever you do, don't use regular Rain-X on an acrylic or polycarbonate windscreens or faceshields as they can be damaged.

Mike
 
mikesim said:
I usually carry a terry towel about the size of my windshield when travelling. When I stop for the night, I take the towel and soak it with warm water and drape it over the windshield. After about an hour, I take a non-scratch scrunge pad soaked in wamer water and scrub the bug guts off easily. I also use Rain-X for plastic windscreens periodically as it keeps the bug innards from adhering too tightly to the windshield. Whatever you do, don't use regular Rain-X on an acrylic or polycarbonate windscreens or faceshields as they can be damaged.

Mike
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Thanks for the tip about not using rain x. I use it extensively on my car wind screen.
 
mikesim said:
When I stop for the night, I take the towel and soak it with warm water and drape it over the windshield. After about an hour, I take a non-scratch scrunge pad soaked in wamer water and scrub the bug guts off easily.
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There also dedicated bug remover sprays/detergents avail, designed to dissolve proteins while being soft on paint and plastics...
McKee's - Road Kill Remover, Bugz Out, Muc-Off Bug & Tar Remover, etc...
Bears the question how much stuff you want to haul around...
And with the progressively restrictive environmental regs, I found those products grown less effective over the years...
 
ST1100Y said:
I found those products grown less effective over the years...
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The old Turtle Wax Bug and Tar Remover goop in a can used to be my final and best effort for heavy schmoo removal. It is especially effective at removing old stickers and glue. I see they sell a pump spray version today and might give it a try when I run out of the old stuff.

For the everyday bugs on plastic I'll continue using eye glass cleaner. It's cheap, safe on plastic, work in less than a minute, and I have it around for glasses and faceshields anyway.
 
ST1100Y said:
There also dedicated bug remover sprays/detergents avail, designed to dissolve proteins while being soft on paint and plastics...
McKee's - Road Kill Remover, Bugz Out, Muc-Off Bug & Tar Remover, etc...
Bears the question how much stuff you want to haul around...
And with the progressively restrictive environmental regs, I found those products grown less effective over the years...
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I pick up used cans of bug and tar remover at the recycling center but I choose not to carry them around nor use them on face shields.
 
ST1100Y said:
Bears the question how much stuff you want to haul around...
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Bike Spirits is the only chem I carry for the bike. Long touring I will bring stuff to keep my riding clothes from smelling like a hockey gear duffel bag. Small spritz bottle of Molecule Helmet Refresh, and a small spray bottle filled with Febreeze to hit some key areas in pants and jacket hit by sweatiness.
 
NewTo700V said:
Bike Spirits is the only chem I carry for the bike. Long touring I will bring stuff to keep my riding clothes from smelling like a hockey gear duffel bag. Small spritz bottle of Molecule Helmet Refresh, and a small spray bottle filled with Febreeze to hit some key areas in pants and jacket hit by sweatiness.
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Well, we old men must be special cause we dont stink! I never have smelled my riding clothes.
 
NewTo700V said:
...Febreeze to hit some key areas in pants and jacket hit by sweatiness.
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Ouch, that oily stuff is likely bad for breathable fabrics, membranes and textiles in general... and it makes everything sticky...
(I once made the error of applying it on velours car seats... took quite a session with an extraction vacuum (like wet carpet cleaning) to get that out again...)
 
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Coyote Chris said:
Well, we old men must be special cause we dont stink! I never have smelled my riding clothes.
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Riiiiight! A few years ago I noticed an odor in my clothes closet. I checked the bottoms of my shoes and boots, jacket pockets, etc. A long search revealed the source. It was my motorcycle helmet.
 
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