Hi everyone! So I went on a long camping trip on the new Dyna and I came home to wash it and used some degreaser and apparently this stuff can't be used on Aluminum. Attached are some pics of what the parts look like now. Is there anyway to polish these out with some kind of aluminum polish? The cleaner was not on there for very long. Thank you all for the help!

 

Read the instructions on the can/bottle, and look at what it contains.

Quite a few of these products are highly corrosive to aluminum.

 

Try Never Dull to polish the aluminum. Available at Whamart and auto parts stores.

 

Its not corroded just like discolored and looks like water spots.

 

What the heck brand of degreaser did you use? I've been using GUNK for 40 years and it never did that. Only stuff I've seen do that is cleaner for rough cast aluminum wheels. It has an acid in it. Used to use that on my Shovel cases and heads.

If that aluminum is clear coated then the finish is toast. If not the the spots should polish out with some Flitz or any quality metal polish made for use on aluminum.

 

I would try Nevr-Dull too. If it doesn't work, I would try a Magic Eraser. If that doesn't work, try Bon Ami.

Simple Green makes a degreaser for Aluminum. I have never used it, but they say it is safe for aluminum.
https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Green-...re-bullets-btf

 

If the forum didn't exist, what would you do? Try and clean it with something... water, Windex, vinegar, metal cleaners for use on aluminum, metal polishes for use on aluminum, etc.

What's the worst thing that will happen? It won't look better. What's the best thing that will happen? It'll look like new. Just try something. Walmart or local auto parts stores have a myriad of products to try.

 

Here's my educated guess. The "degreaser" ate into some type of clear coat that is factory applied to the bike. Since you are lacking in knowledge regarding what to use or don't use to keep your new bike shiny, I would turn this over to a professional detailer. Almost all HD dealers have someone knowledgeable on cleaning up aluminum since it is a fairly significant problem with Harley lowers.

Ask the detailer at the dealership what he will do to clean it up. Probably he will buff off the remaining clear coat and either re-apply some or leave it for future maintenance.

Go to the Honda dealer and buy some aerosol spray called "Original" spray cleaner and polish or "Honda" spray cleaner and polish. For about 30 yrs I only used "Lemon Pledge" to clean up my bikes, but the Honda stuff is better, and I believe Lemon Pledge is now a different formula. NEVER use anything corrosive.

 

Honda spray cleaner and wax is not the same formulation it used to be. Suzuki and Original Bike Spirits are the old formulation.
Simple Green is known to stain Aluminum. Unless you get the Aircraft one I posted earlier.

 

Blue Magic polish is good too. Goes on light blue and turns the rag black.
That clear-coating wasn't going to last anyway. I just polish mine..after about three sessions, the aluminum looks like chrome. Hit it lightly about once a month (if you don't get caught in the rain), and it will stay that way.