Damaged Aluminum Finish?

Hmmmm.....so I'm a little embarrased about this, but it seems I used a rather nasty degreaser on my swingarm (removing sticky chain lube). As a result I now have these ugly white spots on the arm which won't polish out. Now every time I see her swingarm a small part of my soul dies. Is there anything I can do short of replaceing the swingarm?

[jambo]

Got any pictures? It sounds like the laquer over the top of the paint work may have been dammaged. If this is the case it's not great news as unless anyone else knows better I'd have thought the swingarm may need to be repainted. Not sure you can re-laquer over the top to remove the imperfections....

Hopefully someone who knows the first thing about paint & finishes will be along shortly as I generally keep my swingarm under a few mm of oil and dirt....

this happened to a freinds swing arm on his blade, when he cleaned it with some chemicals, it left a streaky effect, which seemed to dissepear after a few washes?

I've got quite a few on mine, although my SV is a lot older than yours. Won't be popular for saying this, but the finish quality of the SV means it's going to be very hard work keeping it in the pristine state you'd like it to be.

It's really not worthwhile replacing - the degreaser has most likely stripped off the top layer exposing the metal underneath and/or formed an oxide layer.
Stripping the white stuff back - rust remover does it (due to its reducing properties) even though it's not 'rust'.

It might be possible to get it electroplated/polished if the base metal can take it.

I can take some pictures, but robwireless sounds like he decribed the problem fairly well. These spots arents going anywhere. But if i could somehow get the swingarm cleaner than it currently is, the spots would be less noticeable.

It's not just degreaser that causes these white spots either.

Those of you who ride in the winter might not realise that the chemicals on
the road get sprayed over the bike. It's not just the salt that causes the alloy corrosion. Trying to get into the habit of washing down the SV after a ride isn't easy but it's worthwhile if you want to keep your SV looking good..

Originally Posted by RobWireless

It's not just degreaser that causes these white spots either.

Those of you who ride in the winter might not realise that the chemicals on
the road get sprayed over the bike. It's not just the salt that causes the alloy corrosion. Trying to get into the habit of washing down the SV after a ride isn't easy but it's worthwhile if you want to keep your SV looking good..

I do just that and after each day of riding i give the bike a good hose down to get salt and chemicals off and after 2 winters the bike still looks like new

Well it's a little late for "good as new". Unless I find a way to restore the finish. Maybe I should just strip the whole thing....

I think you'll find that the finish is anodised, i.e. a bit like electroplating but using a hard oxide layer. If you strip it off it will never be the same again, you will be down to the soft aluminium alloy underneath which will corrode like crazy at the slightest hint of salt. I wouldn't have thought that Suzuki would lacquer on top of the anodised layer, but it does sound like they have and your cleaner has affected the lacquer. Don't know what to suggest.