Very basic question - visor cleaning.......

[Phil C]

What's the assembled wisdom regarding best way of cleaning visors? Inside and out? Mine has the pinlock system and currently using just kitchen roll and water.

Thanks!

[RemaL]

I use autoglym visor cleaner and a microfiber cloth. if out on the bike then a v2 sponge

[black-k1]

I use kitchen roll and water too but I soak the kitchen roll in warm water than lay it over the outside of the visor for about 10 to 15 minutes. That softens all the flies etc. stuck to the visor so that they just wipe off.

[Phil C]

Thanks - really wanted to make sure that in using the kitchen roll I wasn't inadvertantly creating scratches - didn't think so but......

[Sossige]

Hi Phil -

Well I wouldn't use kitchen roll to "wipe" the visor as I don't think they are soft enough, especially the cheaper ones.

I do what others also do - wet a few sheets of kitchen roll and lay them on the visor for 10 mins. After that I remove the kicthen towel, get my Muc-Off visor cleaner and spray it over the visor/helmet. I then wipe it clean with a microfibre cloth that won't scratch the visor or helmet finish.

Most important things I guess is to make sure the bugs etc are softened first and that when using a cloth, it has no dirt or grit in it that will simply scratch the visor or helmet.

S

[V8NRG]

I usually use the towel from the bathroom (shh dont tell the girlfriend;)).
Wet one corner give visor a wipe, wipe again with dry end.
Worked well for the last 3 years and hasn't scratched the visor yet.

[m3psm]

As above, kitchen roll is too harsh and will scratch the soft plastic of the pinlock.

I run the visor under the tap first to get rid of any road grit before using anything on it, then use warm soapy water and a soft sponge and dry with a soft tea-towel.

[Glade]

I use autoglym visor cleaner, but have read on other forums that it is quite an aggressive mix of chemicals that can react with some visor materials and make it brittle. The polycarbonate on Arai's iirc.

[dern]

If it's covered in dead flies I lay a wet kitchen roll on it over night. I just clean it under the tap with hand soap or whatever is handy and try with a tea towel. I get tiny scratches on the visor but not enough to make headlights flare up. When it gets too scratched I order a new one and sling the old.

[black-k1]

Sossige said:

Well I wouldn't use kitchen roll to "wipe" the visor as I don't think they are soft enough, especially the cheaper ones.

While I can understand the concerns relating to the pinlock insert being scratched by kitchen towel, I think that the risk to the main visor is minimal. Given that a visor gets ‘sand blasted’ with any dust/grit on the road at speeds in excess of 100mph (Germany only – of course) then I would think that a gentle wipe with a bit of damp kitchen role is not going make a significant difference as long as you are careful not to 'grind in' anything stuck to the visor.

[sjtscott]

Windolene and cloth/soft paper towl, inside and outside. Works a treat got the tip from my mate who's been biking since the late 80s, I've been using the same method since I started riding in 1996.

[amare32]

black-k1 said:

Sossige said:

Well I wouldn't use kitchen roll to "wipe" the visor as I don't think they are soft enough, especially the cheaper ones.

While I can understand the concerns relating to the pinlock insert being scratched by kitchen towel, I think that the risk to the main visor is minimal. Given that a visor gets ‘sand blasted’ with any dust/grit on the road at speeds in excess of 100mph (Germany only – of course) then I would think that a gentle wipe with a bit of damp kitchen role is not going make a significant difference as long as you are careful not to 'grind in' anything stuck to the visor.

+1

The first thing I do when get home from a bike run is to clean the visor straightaway with a slight damp kitchen roll with fairy liquid, the flies come off easily and then wipe again with a damp kitchen roll with warm water and wipe off dry with another sheet. Job done. No scratches on my Shoei X-Spirit pin lock visor so far.

[sprinter885]

I've been trying something different from the "under the sink" cleaning store. I've found those things called Oxy wipes by that horribly named Cif brand seem to work well on both visor & the lid itself.

Not sure about chemical content etc but they seem gentle enough & have been effective on flies etc with minimal pressure. Quick wipe with clean damp cloth to remove any smears & polish with dry soft cloth & comes up a treat.
If anybody knows of adverse effects I'd be pleased to hear..

[smack]

In the kitchen sink, a squirt of washing up liquid, and my hands to dislodge the bugs, and rinse.

For a quick clean, and wet paper towel if in the office.

On summer blasts in Europe when 90 minutes you can kill about 100,000 bugs, the winscreen squeegy at the services.

[Matthew-TMM]

I'm using washing up liquid rubbed on with my hand, then thoroughly rinsed off under the tap, and allowed to air dry (everything I've used so far to wipe it dry causes smears, but using washing up liquid means that air drying doesn't leave any marks anyway).

[King Herald]

Phil C said:

Thanks - really wanted to make sure that in using the kitchen roll I wasn't inadvertantly creating scratches - didn't think so but......

I used to hold my visors under the hot tap until the bug splat went soft then wash it lightly with soapy water and my fingers, careful not to drag any tiny dead bodies across the soft plastic.

I'm not sure how much visors cost nowadays but I used to buy a new one every week back in my day, as they would soon be lightly scratched all over and that played havoc riding fast at night.

[paul_tim2000]

I damp the outer surface with warm water then a bit of washing up liquid applied with my fingers, leave a couple of min then rinse off with running water. Wipe dry with kitchen towel or similar.
Done every morning before leaving for work and doesn't seem to scratch. Very rarely need to clean inside of visor and pinlock insert, new or very clean microfibre cloth is the best I've found but this still scratches so I usually don't bother unless it's really bad.

Like tyres, visors have improved so much since the days of the Griffin Clubman and similar helmets of the 70's / 80's. Visors then, even with 'anti-scratch' coatings only lasted a few weeks if you were using them daily.