How Do You Remove Oxidation from A Motorcycle Engine?

You are riding your speedster and dashing-looking motorbike in the streets for a long time. But things are not looking good now.  Your bike engine has been covered by ugly rusting and dirt. You are thinking about a bike cleaning service but don’t want to spend much on these oxidized brown rusts. 

Have no worries, in this article, I am going to tell you about some effective and easy ways that will help you to get rid of oxidation from your bike engine and help it to shine like a brand new one. 

To remove oxidation from the bike engine you need acidic components because acid reacts with the rust and helps rust to dissolve. Bike engines are generally made of aluminum or steel. Engines are oxidized when they come in contact with the Oxygen of air thus causing rust or yellowish coating all over the body. Applying acidic cleaners, rubbing with sandpaper, and lastly polishing, are three primary steps of cleaning an oxidized bike engine.

These steps will be discussed with proper explanation in the following parts. 

5 Steps To Remove Oxidation from Motorcycle Engine: 

You can clean your rugged or oxidized bike engine by following these five simple  steps,  they are very easy to apply and you can find most of the cleaning tools inside your home. Let’s start the cleaning process. 

1. Use Vinegar and Baking Soda:

Vinegar and baking soda are two of the most effective and affordable items to clean your oxidized bike engine. The acidic properties of vinegar and the cleaning power of baking soda both work together against all rusts. To start the cleaning process go through the following steps :

• Unplug all the cables from the engine, detach the bike pedal for more space. 

• Take a dry paper and clean any excess dirt from the body. 

• Now take vinegar in a spray bottle and keep spraying all over the engine body. Let the vinegar do its work for 2-3 hours. 

• Take sandpaper and rub all the oxidized rusts out from the engine. 

• Mix baking soda and water. and wash the wh engine body thoroughly. Make sure no oxidized particle is still there. Take a plain cloth or paper and wash the water from the body leave it to dry completely. The last thing you need is polishing the engine for better shining and that’s it. Your bike engine is now rust and oxidation-free. 

2. Soda Splash Machine for Oxidation: 

A soda blasting or splashing machine is a good option to remove all the oxidation or rusts from your motorbike engine. These machines spray soda mixtures at a very fast speed to wash all the dirt and rusts from metal or aluminum surfaces. Follow these steps, to begin with

• Collect a soda splash bottle that comes with an air compressor. Open the nozzle and fill up the bottle with baking soda.

• Once the bottle is full, put the pipe back inside and tighten the lid. Now plug the air supply line with the end of the sprayer.
• Take the blaster near the oxidized engine and press the trigger,  the soda will blast from the nozzle and gather over the engine. Keep releasing soda until it’s empty and let it dry for a while. 

• When the soda changes its color. Remove it with a cleaning brush, but the brush and clean through engine fins too. This will clean the surface of the engine and make it new alike.

3. Hydrochloric/Muriatic Acid for Heavy Oxidation Removal:

Muriatic Acid or formally known as Hydrochloric acid is very useful to clean all kinds of heavy rust and dirt from metal or aluminum-made engines. A bottle of Muriatic acid can be found easily in cleaning accessory stores. However, because of its strong acidic nature, there are plenty of precautions you will have to follow before using it. Let’s talk about it briefly.

• Muriatic acid should always be diluted in water first. Never use it directly over any surface. Use hand gloves, and wear a mask and glass properly for safety.

• Take your bike engine out, dip it in the water – acid solution. Leave it for 5-6 hours so that acid can react with oxidized rusts. 

• The next thing you need is baking soda and water solution. Take your engine out of solution carefully. Then pour baking soda solution all over the engine. This will do two things: Remove all the remaining rusts and neutralize the leftover acid. You can now clean the engine with dry paper or towels. 

4. Sandpaper Rubbing and Polishing:

Sandpaper rubbing takes all rusts away that were formed over the engine because of oxidation. Although the task is very strenuous, it is the most accurate and easy way to restore your engine’s shining. You need some tools in this process such as sandpaper, sand plate with machine and polishers. The cleaning steps are as follows :

• First set up the sand plate in the machine. Then set the speed in medium and press the trigger switch. remove all rusts from the engine body. This process will clean the rusts but leave heavy scratches over the engine. 

• Clean the engine fins with metal scrubbers. Then take sandpaper and start rubbing it all over the engine. The scratches will go away. 

• The last step is to use polishers. Take any kind of polishers according to requirement. You can use an aluminum polisher or metal polisher both according to what your engine is made of. The polishing will hide the scrubbing effects and bring back a glossy reflective surface. 

5. Citric Acid and Water Solution:

Citric acid is one of the safest and effective solutions to remove oxidation from bike engines. Being a weak acid, Citric acid does not possess any threat to the bike body or health. Although using this process takes a longer time than other mentioned steps. You need a pack of citric acid and water and that’s it. Let’s go to the cleaning process: 

• Mix A large pack of dry Citric acid with 5L of Water.

• Take your oxidized engine out from the bike and plunge it into the solution of Acid and Water. 

• As Citric acid reacts slowly, you should leave the engine body in solution for at least 24 hours. 

• Wash the bike engine with baking soda and water mixture. That’s it. Your oxidized bike engine will shine like a brand new one now. 

Related Questions:

How Can I Polish Motorcycle Engine Fins?

Engine fins are the toughest places to reach, clean and polish. Rusts get stuck roughly inside these spaces. To clean engine fins from oxidation or rust first you need a metal scrub that is long in size. 

Put the scrub inside the spaces of fins. Hold two sides of the scrub and start rubbing with a good force. This should clean the rusts. Then apply any polisher with a thick brush to polish inside. 

What Can I Use to Clean My Motorcycle Engine?

Motorcycle engines can be cleaned by both homemade and aftermarket solutions. You can use natural ingredients like vinegar and baking soda to clean the engine. Also, you can choose a cleaner/degreaser from the bike shops for precise cleaning. 

How to Clean Cast Aluminum Motorcycle Engine?

Cast Aluminum is different than light Aluminum. If your bike’s engine is made of cast Aluminum, you have to clean it by using two ingredients. Tartar and water. Mix two items and boil. Leave your engine inside the boiling mixture for 4 hours. This will clean your engine body properly. 

How Can I Remove Corrosion from Bike Engine?

Any type of corrosion can be removed from the bike engine by using acid and baking soda. You can use vinegar as a main ingredient in this process. Pour acid all over the engine body and start cleaning with a metallic scrubber. Then finish the cleaning process by applying baking soda and water solution.

Final Words:

Removing oxidation from the bike engine is pretty easy and you can do it by using tools and ingredients available in your home. Just select a proper time to gather all the tools, and clean all the oxidized particles away from your lovely bike, and ride on the streets with a new shiny out looking two-wheeler.