ACF 50 applied professionally?

[alhendo1 3,031]

I've been thinking of ACF 50 ing my bike for a while now and doing it myself with the spray bottle ,wiping down with a cloth etc but read about this company who have people who will forensically wash/clean/dry/prep the bike then apply the stuff all over with a proper compressor....

www.allyearbiker.co.uk

I had a look on the site which explains how it's all done and it costs £70 (still to be confirmed.) The benefits seem to be proper atomisation of the acf50 getting into nooks/crannies/electrical connectors etc.

Has anyone ever used them? What are the collective thoughts. ..are you as well doing it yourself and save a few quid (already have a bottle) or does the proper  application promised seem the way to go....your thoughts would be appreciated. 

[PoppetM 16,827]

How much?! 

I do mine myself. I wouldn't pay that to have my car valet! 

[Dunnster 1,650]

I had allyearbiker do mine going in to the first winter of ownership. Can't fault the service, took the bloke 3hrs to clean, de-grease, dry and apply acf50, had a few brews and a chat while it was being done. However, I bought my own ACF50 and it's not hard to apply, so I do it myself now. 

[Dashwood 151]

Might be worthwhile if you don’t wash your bike all winter, but if you’re washing it regularly I prefer FS365. Very easy to apply, neutralises salt, and relatively easy to remove from brakes etc.

 

 

[Trumpet 215]

I sware by ACF 50. It does need re-applying every couple of weeks to the really exposed stuff like the brake banjo's and bolts.

[Swissheavy 186]

I’ve used All Year Biker. Franchise arrangement. I visited the chap in Leicester. It is extremely thorough and serious cleansing process before treatment. Very good value for money. 

[Andy m 23,463]

Buy a compressor when Aldi have them or machine mart have a sale. You'll be ahead by the third application.

 

Andy 

[Guest machinman]

1 hour ago, Andy m said:

Buy a compressor when Aldi have them or machine mart have a sale. You'll be ahead by the third application.

 

Andy 

Andy,  if i was to buy a cheap compressor, say 100 quid. Would it be ok for tyres? 

Have they got enough balls?

Cheers.

Stuart.

Edited January 15, 2018 by machinman
Typo

[roddy 845]

There isn't a allyear biker franchise near me, but if there was I would definitely give them a go. For me my bike plays an important part of living a great life and to having it looking as good as new and fully protected is worth the money. 

[neojynx 722]

I used them once, did a good job, but nothing I couldnt do myself really and a lot of ACF was left on the plastics which I wasnt expecting.  Anyway now after my 800 miles a week, I wash my bike every week, ACF50 all over and grease the chain.  

 

My bike looks disgusting on Friday, by Saturday looks like new again.  It doesnt take me long, but I make sure its done every week without fail.

[Guest machinman]

1 hour ago, roddy said:

There isn't a allyear biker franchise near me, but if there was I would definitely give them a go. For me my bike plays an important part of living a great life and to having it looking as good as new and fully protected is worth the money. 

I admire your outlook on life🖒

[Trev 18,561]

A few years ago my local IAM group organised and ACF 'love in' with a local guy who cleaned our bike and applied the ACF50. From memory it was £45 each (was 5 or 6 years ago), took a couple of hours, the guy definitely did a better job than I do with my home application efforts and it was a lot easier just racking up, having a cuppa and watching someone else do it. If such a group offer came up again I would probably go for it but not at £70. 

[rjp996 1,091]

i thought of getting a compressor this year to apply  - I found a website were a chap who sprays it was explaining the best size spray gun - will look it out, but from memory it was a fine one.

 

ACF'd my bike about 6 weeks ago and its looking like it needs a clean, esp with salt built up on the parts !!!!!

[Andy m 23,463]

I got one similar to this when it was on sale

 

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-ranger-7240-2hp-24-litre-air-compresso/

 

Came with a spray can set as part of the offer https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/kit-1000-5-piece-air-tool-kit/ and I bought a 20M air hose on top, IIRC £130.00 all in.

 

It will:

 

Spray ACF50

Inflate tyres quickly enough to pop tubeless onto the bead

Spray Creosote type gunk onto fence panels (wear overalls or get the fake tan from hell!)

Run the airgun I borrowed from work to undo wheel nuts Renault-Dacia gorillas had put on with one.

Spray thinned down Hammerite onto my dads old trailer chassis.

Blow swarf out of things I've drilled or washed in petrol, water out of nooks and crannies etc.

 

Doing the fence it tripped out after 40 minutes continuous use. I'm sure a more professional one would run continuously, but i don't need it to.

 

You get 10 goes out of the £80 bottle of ACF-50, so that's £8 a go. The other cleaning stuff, muck-off or foam to get clean before you put it on is going to be under a fiver, I use a jet wash (carefully). At £13 an application, you are saving £40 a go on the professionals, so the compressor is paid for at the fourth go, call it five if you take one to get the hang of it.

 

Andy

[Guest machinman]

17 minutes ago, Andy m said:

I got one similar to this when it was on sale

 

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-ranger-7240-2hp-24-litre-air-compresso/

 

Came with a spray can set as part of the offer https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/kit-1000-5-piece-air-tool-kit/ and I bought a 20M air hose on top, IIRC £130.00 all in.

 

It will:

 

Spray ACF50

Inflate tyres quickly enough to pop tubeless onto the bead

Spray Creosote type gunk onto fence panels (wear overalls or get the fake tan from hell!)

Run the airgun I borrowed from work to undo wheel nuts Renault-Dacia gorillas had put on with one.

Spray thinned down Hammerite onto my dads old trailer chassis.

Blow swarf out of things I've drilled or washed in petrol, water out of nooks and crannies etc.

 

Doing the fence it tripped out after 40 minutes continuous use. I'm sure a more professional one would run continuously, but i don't need it to.

 

You get 10 goes out of the £80 bottle of ACF-50, so that's £8 a go. The other cleaning stuff, muck-off or foam to get clean before you put it on is going to be under a fiver, I use a jet wash (carefully). At £13 an application, you are saving £40 a go on the professionals, so the compressor is paid for at the fourth go, call it five if you take one to get the hang of it.

 

Andy

Champion🤸

[baben 11,695]

I now use AYB every autumn. The cleaning job is way beyond anything I could do. The key thing is he gets ACF50 into those otherwise impossible places so corrosion just does not seem to be a problem. In fact they issue a warranty to that effect with the treatment. I still rinse the road crud off on a regular basis but the bike comes up looking very nice each time. I am tempted to buy a cheap chinese bike, give it the treatment and see how it holds up - but I am not that well off!  Best thing though - they come to your home so if the weather is foul you don't get the bike dirty straight after having it done and you can sit with a cuppa and admire its shiny looks.

[roddy 845]

Thank You Stuart,just about to leave work for my 10 mile ride home and its absolutely pissing it down 'Oh the joys of biking'

[Guest machinman]

2 minutes ago, roddy said:

Thank You Stuart,just about to leave work for my 10 mile ride home and its absolutely pissing it down 'Oh the joys of biking'

I know the feeling mate, i do 35 mile a day, and id rather get wet than drive, my colleagues think im daft. I tend to agree.

[Morph 257]

8 hours ago, Andy m said:

Buy a compressor when Aldi have them or machine mart have a sale. You'll be ahead by the third application.

 

Andy 

 

TMF did one of his vids on applying the stuff recently, a FAQ response, which was helpful if you are DIY.  I noticed in the comments section that some people were using inexpensive electric guns (e.g. £30) to apply the stuff.  They don't use air but still claim to atomise the liquid which is what needs to happen for it to get everywhere.  The gun could be used for smaller jobs I expect, though... probably not got the life of a "real" one that Andy suggests.  Anyone else tried these and still work after a few uses?

 

Mike

 

 

[DaveM59 1,603]

Electric guns work really well but as for longevity, to some degree unlike air guns that can be recovered with a bit of effort, if you don't clean them thoroughly or let any liquid sit in them unused for any length of time they get gummed up and are hard work to get back into 'as new' operation. Unlike an air gun you cant up the pressure and blast them through and take them to pieces and soak the parts in thinners. I kept mine usable for a couple of years before it wouldn't spray as well as I wanted, but I have air guns that I have had far longer that are still in fine fettle, plus if you have the compressor you can use other air tools as well.

[Swissheavy 186]

Seriously guys, when you see how much labour is put in, £70 is worth it. Top end I’ll admit. But worth it. 

[Bart Stilgo 428]

8 hours ago, Andy m said:

Doing the fence it tripped out after 40 minutes continuous use. I'm sure a more professional one would run continuously, but i don't need it to.

All piston compressors have a 50% duty cycle they are not designed to run continuously.  They must run and create pressure in the receiver and then stop and cool down.

If your piston compressor is running continuously then the pump is too small. 

By the way the size of the receiver is irrelevant.  Putting a larger tank on it is going to make things worse.

 

Spent six years with a compressor company.  Put compressed air breathing systems into nuclear power stations 

 

Bob

 

 

[suffolk58 2,286]

My local provider is well thought of (allthough I've not used him myself) and gives a £5 discount for local IAM members. For an extra £15 he can spray on XCP rust blocker instead of ACF50. I think it's supposed to be more heavy duty!

[Rev Ken 6,327]

Sadly our local rep has moved on. I hope somebody takes up the franchise as my bike needs some TLC and I haven't the time or urge to do it myself!

[Andy m 23,463]

I think its a tough gig. Even if bought by the gallon the gloop is insanely expensive. It must take 20-30 minutes per bike so with travel you might get in ten a day on a Saturday in September, but a Tuesday in June? With travel, tools, materials and time you get the £70 figure  if you want to eat which makes DIY attractive. On top of that you'll have to deal with man-child complaints about chrome not looking as shiny as it did when the sun was out and the real loonies trying to get it for free (or worse) with complaints of how you contaminated the brake pads and they almost died. You'll need legal insurance.

 

Andy