Brake Cleaner and Ducati

[chisel]

So,
Bike: 09 696, my first Duc.
I was having some minor issues with my brakes after a new set of brake pads.
After bleeding the brakes I sprayed the whole mess down with brake cleaner, something I've done with every other vehicle I've owned.
Some of the cleaner appeared to be pooling, so I wiped up the mess.
Below this mess was what appeared to be road grime.
I got some of my wash and wax cleaner and went to work. It wouldn't come up. I started to get nervous.
I took my finger nail and pushed in a little just to see if I could get a little of the grime off.
Taking my finger nail away, I could see the aluminum of the wheel where I scratched.
What this means, to me, is that stock 696 wheel paint DOES NOT like brake cleaner.
Just wanted to put that out there so that no one else makes the bone-head mistake / assumption that I did.
I would guess there is a posting of this somewhere on here and I should "know" that brake cleaner and Duc wheel paint doesn't go together.
However, that sounds 100% stupid and illogical to me, so I didn't search for it ahead of time.

[ducatiz]

that's crazy

i've used brake cleaner on my bikes for ages, never had a problem...hrmmm

[DarkStaR]

I did that with some adhesive remover. 

As least mine is in an unnoticable place.

[He Man]

the paint on your wheel should not be that easy to remove. Even straight up  aircraft grade paint stripper wont remove it easily.

[DarkStaR]

well, I don't know what to tell you, but it is.

[Raux]

i cleaned adhesive off my rims with WD40. look sooo nice too. no paint issues.

[chisel]

I'm glad for all those that haven't had this sort of problem. I never would have thought that could have happened, obviously.
I agree with He Man that this shouldn't happen, and I've cleaned many parts on other bikes with WD40 and never accidentally removed paint. However, this time I did. So...

If any of you are in doubt, remember that there are those of us, like DarkStar and I, that have removed paint from our wheels simply by using standard chemicals.

[motox79]

It may not have been the brake cleaner, but actually the brake fluid that you were "washing" off. If this mixed with the brake clean, then pooled, and was allowed to sit for a min., it could be enough to take off the paint. I am very careful about what i use to remove residue off wheels, usually you want to look for a "contact cleaner" as it is safer on paints than brake clean. 

[He Man]

ill also say this, while i was powder coating my rims, ive soaked them in DOT 3  and 4 brake fluid with no ill effects except for losing luster.

I have not tried 5.1 but i suspect that it will have the same effect, as in, it will just rub some color off and lose its luster.

[chisel]

The possibility of brake fluid getting onto ANY painted surface is a good thing to bring up.
There is always the possibility that some brake fluid made it onto any of the surfaces surrounding the bleeder valve.

However, I am hyper careful with brake fluid. I believe it to be the liquid embodiment of the devil.

As a side note, and an indicator as to why I'm hyper careful, the stock master cylinder and reservoir for the front brakes is set up in just a way that it will spurt fluid out of the reservoir if the cap is off even with a gentle flick of the lever.
When I last checked the fluid level, I was lucky enough to not learn that lesson the hard way. The spurt landed on the ground and not on any painted surface.

@He Man
After this episode, I'm thinking to remove my wheels and get them powder coated or anodized (they are aluminum, no?) seeing as I know both of those surface treatments are more durable than the paint on these wheels.

[He Man]

dont be so sure on that.

the OEM paint is a liquid spray on paint that is EXTREMELY durable. Trust me on that. i had black OEM Marchensini wheels and i used some harsh stuff on it to try and take it off, its pretty damn durable. i think you might of had a faulty paint job, or it simply was chiping off from an impact with a rock, and  you just so happen to be in the right spot at hte right time.

[DarkStaR]

Just for fun, go ahead and try this on your oem finished wheels then.  


I'm just kidding, don't do that.  Goof Off is what messed up the paint on my wheels.  

[He Man]

well if your looking to strip the paint go for it. cause

Kleen strip , aircraft grade stripper doenst work.

[ducatiz]

well if your looking to strip the paint go for it. cause

Kleen strip , aircraft grade stripper doenst work.

well duh, you should have tried their motorcycle grade stripper

[He Man]

OHHH tahts why it didnt work. duh. aircraft..motorcycle. shit i should of put 2 and 2 together.