Moisture Repellant/Coating for metal?

[Guest]

Last year, on one of those freak warm days in the middle of winter, I went out to the barn (dirt floor) to check on the bikes and they were all dripping with condensation. I mopped them off with a towel, but I'm wondering if there is some kind of coating I could put on them for the winter to keep the moisture from making contact with chrome, etc. I wouldn't even care if it was something I had to clean off in the spring, unless it's vaseline or Crisco or something gross like that.

I'm also wondering if it would be better or worse to wrap the pipes in towels or other absorbent cloth. With my schedule next semester, I may not be able to go out and mop the moisture up when it's needed.

Any practical ideas or products you've used? They chrome gets Mother's Polish but since that gets buffed off, I don't know it's adding any long term protection.

[cromwell1234]

I found a good thick cover helps when its in the garage (not heated)--but you still get some, but much less.

[jmanz6]

Put a light coating of WD-40 on them to keep the moisture off the metal parts. WD-40 stands for Water Disspersant Formula 40. It was designed to be used on aircraft to "dissperse" water from the contact points. You can then simply wipe it off in the spring. If they are just sitting in storage it will work great, if you might ride them then you would want to wipe them down before riding and reapply after you are done because it does attract dirt and dust. We used to use it all the time on the bare machine surfaces when I worked at a machine builder.

[MissFabulous]

Put a light coating of WD-40 on them to keep the moisture off the metal parts. WD-40 stands for Water Disspersant Formula 40. It was designed to be used on aircraft to "dissperse" water from the contact points. You can then simply wipe it off in the spring. If they are just sitting in storage it will work great, if you might ride them then you would want to wipe them down before riding and reapply after you are done because it does attract dirt and dust. We used to use it all the time on the bare machine surfaces when I worked at a machine builder.

Funny I knew WD was "water dispersal" but didn't even think about it in this case. Easy enough to clean off, too. So you think it will stay put all winter or should I maybe reapply every now and then? Thanks - this winter crap sprung up on me too fast!

[jmanz6]

It should stay on fine if you don't put it on too thick. My want to check on it every once in a while though. Bee sure to clean the brake parts of with brake cleaner before trying to ride. WD-40 on the rotors will make stopping near impossible.

[wazz]

Getting bike off the concrete makes a big difference, plywood on top of plastic sheeting works well and holds off some condensation.
This is one of those "heard it from an old racer" things so it must be true.....

-greg

[spyug]

WD 40 is great stuff. Back in the day when cars had points I had an old Austin Mini that didn't like to run when wet out. I carried a giant size can of the stuff and liberally applied it around the plugs, wires, cap and coil. Always started then and ran like a champ.

My buddy's dad ( a fruit farmer) swore by the stuff and always claimed it fixed the arthritis in his hands and knees....I kid you not.

One thing I would like to mention based on your findings of condensation is that you should shoot some fogging oil into the cylinders or the water will get in there too. Fogging oil is a little thicker than WD and is designed to coat cylinder walls. Available at most bike shops.

Also( if its as bad as it seems) you might want to coat your electrical connections with dialectic grease ( or vaseline jelly) if you haven't already. Packets of desicants are also good to spread around under the seat and such.

If you're storing in a barn you might want to keep the critters away so a bag of moth balls sprinkled around will help.

As has been mentioned before the other big no no for winter storage is the starting up and running at idle for a few minutes. This is a sure way to bring on condensation in the exhaust system. If you get a good day with warmish temps and dry roads go for a boot but make it minimum 20 minutes or so to get up to temp. Otherwise leave her be until April...boo hoo.

I hate this time of year it is so sad and depressing.

Spyug

[spyug]

After responding to this post I was looking at my local forum and found this new thread which you might find interesting. My compliments to Vlad at the GTA Motorcycles forum :http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum...ad.php?t=50463

Cheers,
Spyug

[jmanz6]

There are other protectants out there but as the thread says you can only buy it in bulk (group buy maybe?) and it's a lot more expensive. It's definately better than WD-40 and if I were going to do a long term storage I would look into something like that. I find everyone has some WD-40 around so it's easy and as the test shows works really well. That was a great thread to read. Actually the WD performed better than I thought it might.

[bonanzadave]

LPS is a a lot thicker and messier but it will keep away corrosion.

http://www.lpslabs.com/product_pg/corrosion_pg/LPS3.html

[Mysuzyq]

A light coating of wax (Turtle, or any other brand) will offer enough protection too, on metal as well as the painted parts.

Tony.

[MissFabulous]

Wow - the GTA thread is really interesting! Neat to see it updated after it started last year. I'm thinking WD is good enough for me - those tests Vlad did were scientific enough IMO.

I did put dielectric grease on some of the wiring, but that was a while back and I don't remember where or how many 'wheres' I do have some floating around.

Fogging oil is one I haven't heard of before. I cringe when I think about the moisture building up inside, so I'll see if I can find this. Do you know any brand names? I'll probably do better finding it online as there isn't a bike shop closer than an hour away.

Also... I remember reading on here a year or so ago that scented dryer sheets work well in the airbox for keeping out critters! I've seen a few people swear by it here.

Oi! I should have gotten to this stuff a lot sooner!

[jmanz6]

You can find fogging oil at marinas as well. Might be able to get it at a discount auto parts store too. I used to have some for my boat, then I decided I would rather store it somewhere else and let someone else do all the winterizing work. The stuff I had had a nozzle that went into the spark plug hole and you would spray it in after you had the rest of the engine winterized. No starting the engine after you put the fogging oil in. Also, when you do start it again it will smoke for a bit until it's all burned off. No biggy but the neighbors might get a bit upset...

[Zooks]

Dewatering fluid - this is exactly what it's designed for. Machine shops (engineers, motor builders etc) use it by the gallon.

http://www.premierfuelsandlubricants.co.uk/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=236&product=Premier+CORX+RP20+Dewatering+Fluid

http://www.johnnealeltd.co.uk/rustp.htm

type 'dewatering fluid rust' into google.

[Pillage]

Getting bike off the concrete makes a big difference, plywood on top of plastic sheeting works well and holds off some condensation.
This is one of those "heard it from an old racer" things so it must be true.....

-greg

Yup, most of the moisture is coming up from the dirt floor. I had a similar situation at my last house. I used a cheap tarp and a couple of 4X8 sheets of plywood and plenty of WD-40 after the first wet winter. It helped out a lot. I found that spraying the WD-40 on paper towels and wiping it on near the wheels kept it off of my brakes and tires.
Also if there any way you can increase the air circulation a bit and park the bikes out of any direct sunlight that will help too. Good luck Shirley.