Helmet cleaning tips

[ThrillHo]

What do you guys do as far as maintaining helmet aesthetics? You harley riding brain bucket wearers need not reply j/k but seriously, anyone else with full face helmets have any cleaning/waxing tips? Here's mine:



-Megs QD on exterior (excluding visor)

-Megs GC or Nxt afterwards

-Novus plastic polish #1 on both sides of my visor

-unscented baby wipes on the interior (my face tends to be more greasy than sweaty, so I can go longer between shampooing the pads).



I've found this works great, especially the baby wipes on the padding :2thumbs:

 

[gofastman]

Plexus on the exterior.

My helmet (Shoei V-MT) has removable pads on the inside so a lil laundry soap and water is all they need

I had very good luck with Poli-Seal on my girlfriend's pearl white helmet

 

[topnotchtouch]

Shoei RF1000 here, I have been wearing the RF line since the 800.



I generally use Zaino AIO on the exterior. It doesn't leave residue and it is usually all I need to remove the very minor swirl marks from day to day handling. I use Meguiars quick detail for day to day cleaning on the exterior and the visor. I do carry a small .42 ounce can of Plexus and a microfiber towel in the tankbag while I am on the road for bugs and such.



Good idea on the baby wipes for the interior, I will have to give that a try. The RF1000 has great ventilation so I don't tend to sweat much even on the hot days. I generally use a light misting of Febreze to keep the helmet fresh inside, has worked pretty well...

 

[ThrillHo]

Haha how funny that we're all Shoei guys. I have the "cheap" model though--the TZ-R. The ventilation definitely isn't as good as your sexy RFs. Hell, your front mouth vent is MUCH larger than mine--I just have a little bitty tab that opens and closes. On cooler nights I tend to have fogging problems at lower speeds. As soon as I see an RF-1000 on clearance somewhere, it is MINE. I'm definitely gonna try KAIO on it, that's brilliant.

 

[Dan]

I tried the woolite + dishwasher (take out top rack, set on low temp, no dry, etc). It works very well, cleans the inside and outside. First try was on a junker helmet, but it works well and no damage. The helmet was clean as new inside.

 

[ten39]

For exterior cleaning of my street bike helmet I use (what's still generally referred to as) Honda Spray Cleaner and Polish. I don't believe Honda actually sells it anymore, but the company that produced it for Honda still sells it in a rather generic form. Since the Pro Honda-branded bottles disappeared, I've seen it packaged like this:

or more recently this:

This stuff has so many uses. Melts bug residue, road grime and tar like nothing I've ever seen. Automotive QD's can't touch it's cleaning ability. I've even used it in place of a QD as a last step after a traditional automotive wash. I'm sure it's protection is nill, but it offers a lot shine and slickness. To be honest, I'm surprised it's not talked about more here on autopia as a psuedo-QD product. I'm guessing since it's petroleum-based it maybe doesn't play well with LSP's.



As for helmet interiors- I don't do anything with mine, other than the occasional wipe-down.

 

[gofastman]

For exterior cleaning of my street bike helmet I use (what's still generally referred to as) Honda Spray Cleaner and Polish. I don't believe Honda actually sells it anymore, but the company that produced it for Honda still sells it in a rather generic form. Since the Pro Honda-branded bottles disappeared, I've seen it packaged like this:

or more recently this:

This stuff has so many uses. Melts bug residue, road grime and tar like nothing I've ever seen. Automotive QD's can't touch it's cleaning ability. I've even used it in place of a QD as a last step after a traditional automotive wash. I'm sure it's protection is nill, but it offers a lot shine and slickness. To be honest, I'm surprised it's not talked about more here on autopia as a psuedo-QD product. I'm guessing since it's petroleum-based it maybe doesn't play well with LSP's.



As for helmet interiors- I don't do anything with mine, other than the occasional wipe-down.

IIRC Plexus is almost identical to that stuff, dont remember where I read that though.

 

[topnotchtouch]

I can't count how many cans of Honda Spray Cleaner and Polish I have gone through over the years. I actually used to use a lot of the Honda chemicals like Hondabright and the Honda Polishes. When I found Autopia though and the Honda Spray Cleaner became harder to find, I went to other products that I thought worked just as well and were MUCH easier to find.

 

[advice12]

Thanks for the tips. Helmet is quite necessary to wear. It covers the risks of brain injury in case of accident.

 

[advice12]

Thanks for the tips. Helmet is quite necessary to wear. It covers the risks of brain injury in case of accident.



cleaning your helmet shell with mild soap and water only. The helmet may be damaged and rendered ineffective by petroleum products, cleaning agents, paint, adhesives and the like, without the damage being visible to the user.

 

[gofastman]

Thanks for the tips. Helmet is quite necessary to wear. It covers the risks of brain injury in case of accident.



cleaning your helmet shell with mild soap and water only. The helmet may be damaged and rendered ineffective by petroleum products, cleaning agents, paint, adhesives and the like, without the damage being visible to the user.

:nomore:

Most helmets use a basecoat/clearcoat paint system just like automotive paint.

Now, please leave our forum, spamer.

 

[topnotchtouch]

Thanks for the tips. Helmet is quite necessary to wear. It covers the risks of brain injury in case of accident.

That link in your signature is gonna get you banned dude. If you are here for legitimate reasons I would get rid of it NOW....

 

[purplenurple]

I've an X-11 and it says not to use any solvents (window cleaner was their example) since it may mess with the integrity of the shell. How true is this? I'd like to clean it up with ONR/QD and seal it with DG/OOS

 

[ThrillHo]

Fellow shoei guy here although the X-11 is too rich for my blood (I have a TZ-R).



As far as interior care, I highly recommend unscented baby wipes. Depending how badly you sweat, you're obviously going to want to do it more often. Does the X-11 have a removable liner too? If so, you're golden for that. I used to hand wash the remoavable liner in my old helmet, before I thought of the baby wipes. In extreme cases I have heard of guys shampooing their helmet, and then rinsing is out with a garden hose. I'm not comfortable with that, and I never let it get that gross on the inside.



As far as exterior care of the shell, all I do is QD. Works GREAT. Then I recommend following up with your wax of choice.



On my shield I use Novus Plastic Polish #1 (white bottle with blue text). Makes both my smoked shield and clear shield crystal clear, and it has anti-fogging ingredients in it.

 

[Dan]

I've an X-11 and it says not to use any solvents (window cleaner was their example) since it may mess with the integrity of the shell. How true is this? I'd like to clean it up with ONR/QD and seal it with DG/OOS

I think if you use common sense, you will be fine. Treat it like a painted surface and you will be fine. I don't think anyone here is dumb enough to use a window cleaner on their hood....

 

[dazco]

that stuff is THE number one best thing any bike owner can use on thier bike, period. For helmets it would be fine too, but it really excels on bikes, more than anything on chrome. I guess the formula is public domian or something because many companies make it. But the one i use is "Liquid Performance" detailer/cleaner.



As to the shield, please trust me on this, and i guarantee you will love this. Go to a pep boys and find a microfiber towel called "SPA polishing towel" by a company called peak. Two towels for $5, and i kid you not, anything you polish with these no matter what compound you use with it will leave 90% less fine scratches. Try it on the shield with your plastic polish and you'll be amazed. the towel actually makes a world of difference and much more than the polish. In fact, you can use most any polish for any use with this thing. it's just amazing. I mentioned it here a few weeks ago and a guy tried it and agreed. He seemed extremely impressed as was I. I polished a vinyl strat guitar pick guard that had years of fingernail scratches in it that you'd never believe could come out. I used what was handy....mother's billet polish. and using one of these towels i completely removed them in no time till it actually looked new except for a few deep scratches which had i wanted to i could have sanded out first and had it perfect. One of the best if not THE best products i've ever bought.

For exterior cleaning of my street bike helmet I use (what's still generally referred to as) Honda Spray Cleaner and Polish. I don't believe Honda actually sells it anymore, but the company that produced it for Honda still sells it in a rather generic form. Since the Pro Honda-branded bottles disappeared, I've seen it packaged like this:

or more recently this:

This stuff has so many uses. Melts bug residue, road grime and tar like nothing I've ever seen. Automotive QD's can't touch it's cleaning ability. I've even used it in place of a QD as a last step after a traditional automotive wash. I'm sure it's protection is nill, but it offers a lot shine and slickness. To be honest, I'm surprised it's not talked about more here on autopia as a psuedo-QD product. I'm guessing since it's petroleum-based it maybe doesn't play well with LSP's.



As for helmet interiors- I don't do anything with mine, other than the occasional wipe-down.