anyone else had this problem?

sailortot · Post by **sailortot** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:50 am

every time it rains it seems like a piece of equipment in the seat causes something black to run down the sides of my scooter. it is very hard to clean off.

we havent noticed this on my husbands italia, but it happens regularly with mine. is it just the light color that makes this more visible?

any ideas to stop this messiness?

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:52 am

Do you clean the interior panels with anything? The only thing I can think of is dirt on the road sticking to it for some reason. But it looks like oil rubbed on there with fingers.

maribell · Post by **maribell** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:53 am

I have that stuff too. I have no idea what it is. And no, magic eraser will not take it off.

sailortot · Post by **sailortot** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:53 am

its not from the road (because this happens after it rains, before i ride it)...its coming from the parts underneath the seat i think.

i just cant figure it out, though.

sailortot · Post by **sailortot** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:55 am

maribell wrote:I have that stuff too. I have no idea what it is. And no, magic eraser will not take it off.

i used bleche-white to remove it. it works well, but still requires a lot of scrubbing, which im afraid will eventually destroy my painted panels.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:56 am

Bleach residue may be causing dirt or dust from the road to stick, and overtime it just keeps building up in that pattern.

toddrw2251 · Post by **toddrw2251** » Fri May 02, 2008 3:08 am

I used either water and a magic eraser or 409 and a magic eraser and most of mine came off my brown panels. I didn’t have the problem quite as bad as it is on pinky. It was not easy and it took a lot of scrubbing. I might as well have used light sandpaper. I think it is from the black rubber seal under the seat. It seemed to show up on my scooter when it was left in the rain w/o a cover.

toddrw2251 · Post by **toddrw2251** » Fri May 02, 2008 12:15 pm

How about using powdered comet bathroom cleaner. It’s probably abrasive enough to get the stains off, but not so much that it will damage the plastic. Seems sound in logic, but not yet tested.

nissanman · Post by **nissanman** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:29 pm

Try soft scrub, no abrasives. It's the dirt that gets worked into the seams of your buddy seat.

sailortot · Post by **sailortot** » Fri May 02, 2008 11:15 pm

thanks

i will see which one works best.

Dooglas · Post by **Dooglas** » Sat May 03, 2008 12:15 am

sailortot wrote:thanks i will see which one works best.

Try soft scrub if magic eraser won't do the trick. I would strongly advise against comet, zud or other abrasive cleansers. You will see right on the label, that the manufacturers of powdered abrasive cleansers say to not use them on plastics. I think comet does also make a non-abrasive cleaner that is much like soft scrub. Be sure you are using a non-abrasive one that is safe for plastics.

voodoosix · Post by **voodoosix** » Sat May 03, 2008 12:49 am

i had a similar prob on a Porsche 914 i had years ago, rain would run off the vinyl side pillars and leave the same looking residue down the side of the car. turned out to be the vinyl protectant i used when washing.

try washing the plastics around the fuel filler and surrounding areas under the seat really good, not sure if it'll work but worth a try.

michaelg · Post by **michaelg** » Sat May 03, 2008 12:53 am

Not sure if it will work but there is a product call "black streak remover" and I used to use it when I had our travel trailer. Worked great and removed the streaks with out much work. Would have to make sure it is ok to use on plastic.

You can get it at any RV shop or most big retail boxes have it that carry RV supplies.

justscooten · Post by **justscooten** » Sat May 03, 2008 2:21 am

the black streaks are coming from the vinal of the seat and the foam . vinal when exposed to sun light ( and this is ture) releases a gas and when it gets wet you get the black streaks. it is from the vinal breaking down . its natural

8 ACES · Post by **8 ACES** » Sat May 03, 2008 2:28 am

That is scooter mascara. The scooter is so happy it is crying and the mascara is running.

Post by **ericalm** » Sat May 03, 2008 4:10 am

Considered buying a cover? You can get them online for less than $20. Not highest quality, but it'll keep the rain off.

toddrw2251 · Post by **toddrw2251** » Sat May 10, 2008 4:51 pm

Alright peoples... I figured out an easy fix to the staining problem. The staining on my brown panels wasn't as bad as sailortot's, but it was there none the less. I used Clorox Clean-Up with bleach kitchen spray. I tested it in a small section first and it doesn't seem to do any damage tot he plastic. You might want to test it yourself on your scooter. I then scrubbed it with the Mr. Clean magic eraser sponge. It cleaned right up with little effort. Afterward I washed the panels with water to remove any bleach residue.

ryder1 · Post by **ryder1** » Sun May 11, 2008 4:45 pm

I have a PINK Buddy 2007 with black seat and grips and I do NOT have the running mascara down the sides.

If you hose it down, does the same thing happen or only after it rains?

DennisD · Post by **DennisD** » Sun May 11, 2008 5:43 pm

Have you tried "Original Spray Cleaner and Polish"? It used to be "Pro Honda Spray Cleaner and Polish" and is super good. Use it on rubber, plastic, glass, metal, any surface at all. I use it with a micro fiber wash cloth and have not found anything it will not clean on my bikes. It can be found at Honda dealers in a pink and black spray can. Different labeling now, but same product from same manufacturer according to the dealer. Honda is getting out of the aerosol market as far as their name being on anything. Great product, you may want to try it. I use it on the same streaks that appear on my van after a rain. It spends most of its time in the driveway.

Dennis

sailortot · Post by **sailortot** » Sun May 11, 2008 5:46 pm

ryder1 wrote:I have a PINK Buddy 2007 with black seat and grips and I do NOT have the running mascara down the sides.

If you hose it down, does the same thing happen or only after it rains?

do you keep yours covered? mine sits outside.

EDIT: just realized the black seat/grips that you mentioned. that might be why you arent experiencing the mascara problem.

toddrw2251 · Post by **toddrw2251** » Sun May 11, 2008 8:05 pm

I leave my sunset b125 with a brown seat outside and I don't have streaking problems unless I forget to cover it when it rains. The stains appear below the seat seams.

babblefish · Post by **babblefish** » Sun May 11, 2008 9:38 pm

Just as a side note; after cleaning, waxing the area should help make the next clean-up easier or may prevent the black stuff from sticking at all.

ryder1 · Post by **ryder1** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:57 am

No, mine is parked inside the garage when not riding.

Even after riding in the rain--not by choice--I did NOT have the running masscara.

My scoot came from the dealer with black seat and grips. I had a choice of white seat & grips or the black & seat grips (just came in the day I was there)

mandyscoots · Post by **mandyscoots** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:25 pm

I have a pink buddy (her name is Pepto), she has white seat, and we have had no problems with running masacra.

toddrw2251 · Post by **toddrw2251** » Tue May 13, 2008 1:03 pm

It seems to take some time to occur. It shows up after several days of sitting out in heavy rain.

SScooterG · Post by **SScooterG** » Tue May 13, 2008 1:14 pm

mandyscoots wrote:I have a pink buddy (her name is Pepto), she has white seat, and we have had no problems with running masacra.

sailortot's pink buddy has the white seat...so where is her mascara coming from??

toddrw2251 · Post by **toddrw2251** » Tue May 13, 2008 2:11 pm

SScooterG wrote:
mandyscoots wrote:I have a pink buddy (her name is Pepto), she has white seat, and we have had no problems with running masacra.
sailortot's pink buddy has the white seat...so where is her mascara coming from??

It comes from the seams of the seat. The foam rubber pad under the cover must be black.

chancerbeans13 · Post by **chancerbeans13** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:29 pm

Odds are it is coming from the weather stripping between the seat and the body. After rubber sits outside (as you stated it does) for a while, it will start to break down slightly, and the water running against it is carrying trace amounts which then accumulate on the plastic on the way down the body. If you cant get them off, get some rubbing compound and rub gently with a moist cloth. Then wax and they should just be able to just be wiped off in the future

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:34 am

justscooten wrote:the black streaks are coming from the vinal of the seat and the foam . vinal when exposed to sun light ( and this is ture) releases a gas and when it gets wet you get the black streaks. it is from the vinal breaking down . its natural

Ya know... it's bad enough when I'm riding along and have some gas; now I have to worry about my scooter not only letting them rip, but it leaves streaks that I have to go and clean up??? Oy, time to introduce my Buddy to Beano...