ACF50 - any good?

[daveuprite]

I just got a shiny new-ish enduro bike, and I am going to try to keep it looking nice.

So what about ACF50 ? Seems pretty expensive for a 400ml can, but is it worth it?

Bear in mind this bike will be plastered in mud and dust once every fortnight, then karchered, scrubbed with Muck-off, washed again and dried every ride. Is ACF50 any use with this regime? Will it actually help?

[dave h]

yep, best thing I've found,
I hate cleaning bikes,
I mainly use to keep the winter salt and weather at bay,
good video how to use,



dave.

[Hugh]

Greetings,

My experience with ACF50 has been positive especially as it has great cling and search properties. It is used quite extensively in the aircraft servicing realms as it protects against corrosion and it is a lubricant too.

However, if you are going to use aggressive cleaning materials and methods they will tend to wash it off require that you will need to reapply it, and as you have said it is initially expensive. If you were putting a bike into storage over winter then definitely spray it with ACF50.

You could try regular Autoglym car wash which is not so aggressive as the products and methods you had described and it does leave a thin coating of protection on painted surfaces (also windscreens too). 'Elbow Grease' sold by Aldi and B&M is good and cheaper, plus Aldi sometimes sell a car and caravan cleaner which is great at removing algae that tends to build up on caravans.

I don't like the use of high pressure power washers.

TTFN

Hugh.

[Agent Orange]

It is fantastic stuff....buy the quart bottle with free sprayer. Apply it as per vid, notbwatched that BTW.
I use it everytime I wash my bike...I keep the cloth in a zip bag and use it everytime. It keeps the plastics pristine. I spray the electrics on a regular basis...you soon realise how much to use and how often....I generally go to town on the bike in November B4 the salt come out.....and notbwash the bike until the salt goes away.....be strong very strong....If applies correctly and reapplied on high usage areas.....front of bike and under the sub frame, nut heads on forks and the like etc. I used to commute all year in all weathers, come May, deep clean and hey presto gleaming. Be strong.
Watch where you apply...keep away from discs, pads and tyres. I cling film my discs BTW

[Agent Orange]

I bought one of these 3 years ago, and I clean my bike a lot, I have more than half left. Do not buy the cans.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

I've had good results with it...although some comparative tests on youtube indicate that it's not actually very good (the Bennets channel I think was one).

Most impressive for me was I had an MoT 'advisory' that the cross-members on my old Ford Focus were starting to corrode. I blasted them off with a pressure-washer then crawled underneath and applied ACF50...most of the rust vanished, and they looked all new, black and shiny.

Next MoT...no mention of corrosion...so they now get 'the treatment' every year. It's a horrible job.

For motorcycles...it works quite well, but there are obvious limitations as to what you can apply it too... the brakes for instance. It makes quite a nice polish applied sparingly with a cloth.

I agree with Hugh about the pressure washer...I'll use it on a spray setting to shift mud from engines and the underside of mudguards, but for most of the rest I spray on a diluted mix of car shampoo, agitate, rinse, and repeat if necessary.

To make the ACF50 go further and cover better, warm the can in a bucket of hot water.

I also buy the straight bottles of the stuff. Opie Oils near here in Cornwall is the cheapest place I've found to buy it. I apply a bit every time I have an electrical connector apart.

[daveuprite]

Thanks everyone - great advice - all noted.

[simonw]

This article's a bit old now, and doesn't take your proposed washing ritual into consideration, but it's interesting nevertheless: https://f2mcltd.blogspot.com/2012/01/wi ... 65-or.html

The commonly touted approach is to ACF the bike, then hose off the mud and crap afterwards (with just a hose and no cleaning products), obviating the need to re-apply it so frequently.

Those little pump bottles are hard work, even for those with assymetrical biceps. Ahem. The easiest/bestest way to apply is with a compressor and spray gun (or air brush, which is what I use).

XCP is allegedly better than ACF, but either is better than none (or WD40). Some stuff about XCP here: https://allyearbiker.co.uk/featured/test-feature-2/

[mark vb]

The better way I've found to spray ACF is using a compressor and spray gun, which gives a fine mist that gets everywhere. The manual spray bottle provided with the bottle of ACF is pretty rubbish really, but as said warming it up makes application far easier. Once on, it seems to last well. I used to put it on wheel rims, spokes and forks with a brush what I thought was sparingly.... the next day there would be puddles of the stuff under each wheel, but thereafter it was fine and clung well.
I used to clean my Africa Twin thoroughly once a year when I commuted, and for many years used WD40, which did a great job. After a salty/muddy ride, spray down with cold water from a hose (never a pressure washer), and quickly spray a bit of WD and spray grease over the more exposed corrodable elements. The bike looked like shite for 11 months of the year, but when cleaned always came up great, even now after19 yrs there's no corrosion.
In my experience WD performed as well as ACF, but I suspect it wouldn't have unless I 'topped up' the WD every so often.

[Cornishman]

Bear in mind this bike will be plastered in mud and dust once every fortnight, then karchered, scrubbed with Muck-off, washed again and dried every ride. Is ACF50 any use with this regime? Will it actually help?

Presumably as you will only be using it once a fortnight you will be bringing it into the house near the woodburner so it’s comfortable over the winter. While it’s there I’m sure Tracie will keep it dusted and polished