Case Savers after 8 months

[acalliste]

Went out to see if I could find my bike under all the road grime and discovered that my black case savers are turning reddish. It doesn't look horrible, I'm just surprised that they are turning so soon.












And there is a huge rock chip on the rear side cover.

[acalliste]

Here's what they looked like when I first got them earlier this year, in Feb I think -

[Fizzer]

Must be the heat.

[LaurenOE]

Anodization is a funny thing. If you wash your bike with anything "Citrus" it can affect the anodization color significantly. Why? Because the Citric acid acts like an anodization/electrolytic agent and can re-introduce colors into the surface layer. Another thing is if you use too much "base" cleaners that might contain lye in some form or another. That too, affects the anodization process.

[LaurenOE]

Citrus based chain cleaners wreak havoc on aluminum parts because of what I said above.

[LaurenOE]

Of course, I'm not saying you washed your bike or cleaned your chain with citris, I'm just saying "you" in a broader sense.

[acalliste]

I have no idea what a Citrus based cleaner is. I have been using this same bottle of Mr Clean Autodry carwash soap for about 4 years.

Amazon.com: Mr Clean AutoDry Car Wash Soap (Large 20 oz Bottle): Office Products

Amazon.com: Mr Clean AutoDry Car Wash Soap (Large 20 oz Bottle): Office Products

[LaurenOE]

Originally Posted by acalliste

I have no idea what a Citrus based cleaner is. I have been using this same bottle of Mr Clean Autodry carwash soap for about 4 years.

Amazon.com: Mr Clean AutoDry Car Wash Soap (Large 20 oz Bottle): Office Products

I looked up the MSDS and it contains...

Cleaning agent(s)
999999-47-1 -

Sudsing agent
999999-62-4 -

Aqueous polymer (nonhazardous)
000000-55-6 -

Preservative(s) (unspecified)
999999-41-6 -

Colorant/Pigment/Dye(s)
999999-49-3 -

Fragrance(s)/perfume(s)
000000-00-1

I don't see anything "Citrus" in thos chemicals, but I do see some other formulas that affect "scale" and "lime", which would lend themselves to being acidic.

I would do a PH test to see if the formula is base or acid.

[LaurenOE]

Ah..I found it!

pH is a 5.0 and with tap water is a 7.0, so it's pretty neutral.

[acalliste]

I'm not going to stop using it no matter what it is, so it doesn't really matter.