[Mopplikus]

Hello!
I recently pulled out the XSR from winter storage to find that some mineral deposits have dripped onto one of the tank panels. These are brushed aluminium, EU version. I have tried everything from vinegar to calcium removers and professional cleaning agents, but none have worked up to now. Are these panels coated? If they are, I'm considering sanding them down or stripping the coat and recoating the panel if that can remove the deposits. Otherwise, I'll have to buy a whole new panel. Pics of the deposits attached. For reference, the bike was stored in a concrete garage.

 

[Rasberry18]

Thery are clear coated to resist corrosion. I'd guess there is still a chance it could buff out.
A paint professional might use super fine, wet sand paper, followed by buffing coumpound.

 

[Pistonman]

Try WD-40. It took hard water stains and calcium off my shower door when nothing else would touch it.

 

[Mopplikus]

I will try both of these when I get home. Thanks!

 

[rbt1548]

As mentioned fine wet and dry paper may do the job.

I make models and if I am doing a car, bike , anything with a smooth paint job, I can use up to a 12000 grade pad to get a polish without damaging paint work, there are kits you can get which include a paste and a selection of fine pads which you use gradually up to the finest.

Here is a link to the stuff I mostly use, you can probably get it in most countries,
Micromesh Clear Coat Paint Repair Kit - Moleroda Finishing Systems

One thing you will have already at home, unless you are toothless 😀, is toothpaste which I have also used, it is abrasive but very, very fine.

I used a similar kit above to do a final polish on this 1/12 Ducati, it will polish as smooth as you want to go.

Sorry pic not very clear, if you click on it you should see a decent shine.

 

[Skelee]

use a buffing wax on a rotary tool

 

[Smooth Cornering]

Nice job. What's the size of the Ducati 1199 model?

Ever considered making a XSR700 model?

As mentioned fine wet and dry paper may do the job.

I make models and if I am doing a car, bike , anything with a smooth paint job, I can use up to a 12000 grade pad to get a polish without damaging paint work, there are kits you can get which include a paste and a selection of fine pads which you use gradually up to the finest.

Here is a link to the stuff I mostly use, you can probably get it in most countries,
Micromesh Clear Coat Paint Repair Kit - Moleroda Finishing Systems

One thing you will have already at home, unless you are toothless 😀, is toothpaste which I have also used, it is abrasive but very, very fine.

I used a similar kit above to do a final polish on this 1/12 Ducati, it will polish as smooth as you want to go.

Sorry pic not very clear, if you click on it you should see a decent shine.



View attachment 25702

 

[rbt1548]

The Panigale is about 6.5" / 165mm long, it's from the Tamiya 1/12th scale kit, to which I added carbon decals to bits I saw were carbon from the Ducati catalogue, drilled the holes in the discs, which was a right pain, I say I'm never doing it again but always do , and further detailed with wiring, brake lines etc.

I don't think anyone makes a kit of the XSR, if they did I would certainly do one.

 

[Mopplikus]

Update: I finally found the time to take care of the mineral deposits. I did as suggested, light wet sanding, buffing and WD-40, but only the sanding did in fact work for the smaller stains with no deposits. It also turns out that the brushed aluminum tank panel is in fact not clear-coated but galvanised or otherwise coated in a special manner. This made any sanding a lot harder, as the coating is a tad darker than the aluminum underneath, and particularly thin. It is even so thin that what I thought were mineral deposits were actually just holes in the coat that go straight through to the aluminum underneath.

I guess my only options now are to buy a new panel or repainting the whole machine. Thanks for the suggestions, at least now I know how the tank is actually coated, haha.

 

[Rasberry18]

When you say "Repaint the whole machine" that sounds extreme...
But, in your case it's as simple as removing the 2 tank side covers, and dropping them off at a shop.
Choose a wrap, paint, or powdercoating that suits you, pay them, reinstall.
Probably cheaper than buying one side. Yamaha charges a pretty hefty sum for those.

 

[Mopplikus]

Well I've been considering restyling the bike from ground up anyways so now I actually have a good reason to do so. The problem is that not only the tank but the little body pieces (those with the round holes) as well as mudguard bracket, radiator covers and dash cover are all aluminum, so if I head to a shop I'll have to do those as well. No big deal, I'll see how much they charge around here for that kind of thing. Thanks for the suggestion though, hadn't considered that before