Pledge: Urban myth or useful product??

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

Other than it doesn't seem to take off 2-week old baked on bugs, is the furniture polish Pledge any good for wiping down the bike? Or does it help the bugs get cleaned off easier?

 

I tried it tonight and it just seemed to make a nice smelling mess so I went to my tried and true micro-fiber cloths and water. Hot water seems to help faster than cold, but I'm getting off-topic.

 

So I put it to the community: Pledge: help or hype?

[Tony_K]

Back several years ago we used to use Pledge to "spiffy up" sun baked plastics right before a sale. The prospective buyer was so bedazzled by the sparkle they would immediately hand over the money!

 

Some asked why it smelled so purty but they still gave us the money.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

I use Plexus, McGuires Instant Detail, and Honda spray cleaner/polish. The Honda stuff is the best for shine. Plexus is OK. The Mcguires stuff is best when the bike is grungy such as after a rain. It has the most surfactant but the least wax. All of these depend on a very good coat of carnuba wax applied before hand and renewed once a year or so.

[BFish]

i spray a bit of pledge on prior to riding when it's love bug season down here. also use it to shine/clean the moto. like and use honda polish as well. either of the two work well for me.

[Effervescent]

Pledge is actually the PERFECT product for cleaning plastic rear windows on convertibles...like on my older Miata.

 

-Eff

[Mike O]

Steve,

 

Don't know...first I've heard of this. Is there any HARM in trying it?

 

Mike O

[Yankee_Dog]

I have found that it works very well on windshields. For the rest of the plastics it works OK, but seems to be hard to work in. I have found that for the rest of the bike lots of plain water works the best.

 

Yankee Dog

[Global_Rider]

Other than it doesn't seem to take off 2-week old baked on bugs, is the furniture polish Pledge any good for wiping down the bike? Or does it help the bugs get cleaned off easier?

 

So I put it to the community: Pledge: help or hype?

 

I don't think anybody ever claimed Pledge was good as removing baked on bugs.

 

I wipe down my bike with a wet towel to remove bugs and dust and then use Pledge. Bugs come off a lot easier the next time. Same when used on a helmet and visor.

 

Pledge? Not a myth. And at a fraction of the cost of those other dedicated overpriced products, I'm more than just satisfied with the performance of Pledge.

[smiller]

I thought that Pledge had oils in it, plus it has a smell that suggests some kind of light solvent. It might not be so good for long-term use on plastics.

[Gregori]

My father has a pretty strong prescription for his glasses, so he has gotten plastic lenses to make them lighter. Of course, plastic scratches pretty easily, and he'd have to replace the lenses almost annually. The eye doc told him to try using Pledge, which extended his replacement cycle to about once every two years. So it seemed to make a pretty good difference to HIM.

 

I've also used it on CDs and DVDs that are too scratched to play well - it has frequently done a reasonably decent job of making them readable enough to play.

 

But I do use Plexus on my helmet and windscreen.

 

G.

[Yankee_Dog]

I thought that Pledge had oils in it, plus it has a smell that suggests some kind of light solvent. It might not be so good for long-term use on plastics.

 

I have heard that warning before, but I have never heard any actually say Pledge hurt their windshield and a lot of folks have been using it for a lot of years.

 

Yankee Dog

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

But I do use Plexus on my helmet and windscreen.

Thanks all for the replies. I use Zooke for my helmet and faceshield...works great, even on brake fluid (don't ask... ) and is an anti-fog.

 

I have often used Novus on my windshields, also with good results.

 

I'm forced to admit here that I don't frequently wash my bike at all, have never washed the inside of the bodywork, except the belly pan and that only to get out the accumulated crud. It has never been waxed, so I guess I need to learn how and get products for that too.

[Smoky]

I've been using Pledge for more than 2 years now. I wash the bike with a long handled brush and car wash soap. Then I do the detailing with Pledge. I carry a can of the orange flavored in my glove box, and do the windshield whenever it needs it.

 

A generous spray on the system cases makes 'em look like new.

 

If you want to pull Totes over your leather boots, spray 'em with Pledge and they slip right on.

 

It takes the grey off the master cylinder and switch-gear.

 

The orange flavour works best!

[Yeti]

The orange flavour works best!

I didn't know it tasted like oranges too!!

[chrisz]

I heard that it works good on leathers. It was recommended by a leather gear manufacturer (not sure which one) to clean and preserve leathers. But already have other expensive crap to use up first hence havn't tried Pledge myself.

[Sputnik]

Steve -

 

The fact that you are asking the question at all is amazing. This must mean you are trying to... wash your bike?

 

You know that RT1100GS of yours will never run the same after you wash it don't you!

 

As for the Pledge, I've used it on my bags for years. Works great and smells good too.

[Yeeha! Stephen]

Back several years ago we used to use Pledge to "spiffy up" sun baked plastics right before a sale. The prospective buyer was so bedazzled by the sparkle they would immediately hand over the money!

 

Some asked why it smelled so purty but they still gave us the money.

 

We did the same thing on the used cars for sale at my Dad's Exxon station. Really will shine up a faded paint job... for a while.

 

I used it on my bike till switching to Plexus. The Space Age stuff is so much better.

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

The fact that you are asking the question at all is amazing. This must mean you are trying to... wash your bike?

Sigh...I admit it...yes-indeedy I am actually washing my bike...chiseling off the bugs is more like it though! One of the guys at work was giving me hell because he just went to the dealer for an oil change and came out with a new bike! So anything else does look a little old.

 

I'm sure my interest will be a passing fad though!