Torque and Chrome

Who can tell me what this is on my motorcycle rims and forks?

So, I've purchased a used motorcycle that has a little bit of rush and tarnish on it. I've been using never-dull and a turtlewax chrome polisher and rust remover to get most of it off of the engine and exhaust. But there is something that's on the forks, wheels, and front of the handlebars that has me puzzled. It's not rust. it's not scratches. Its something that's "on" the metal. It looks kind of like miniature silly string. With my finger nail I can tell that it sits on top of the metal. It seems like it might be some sort of corrosion, but so far it hasn't come off with gasoline, the never dull, or the turtlewax product. I know that the person who had this motorcycle used to park it at a pier next to the ocean...I don't know if that helps. I'm hoping someone can see this and recognize it. Maybe then I can figure out how to remove it. I've posted a picture of it on tinypic. Here is the picture link: http://i34.tinypic.com/1zxtdth.jpg Thanks!

Public Comments

1. It's corrosion from the salt air. It looks different because the parts are aluminum. Unfortunately it's eaten into the metal and you won't be able to remove it. The best you can do is try to neutralize it.
2. try some 0000 steel wool. it looks like road guck. it could be salt corrosion or seagull poo.
3. A friend of mine has an older 70's Suzuki that has the same problem. I did some searching and read that manufacturers put a clear coat over aluminum parts such as engine casings. Heat, sunlight and chemicals can affect the clear coating. The clear coat can be removed with chemicals, then the aluminum underneath can be cleaned, sanded and recoated. Do a search for "motorcycle refinish clearcoat" for numerous pages on the topic. The one I read my initial info from is included below.
4. Aluminum oxidation. Your picture is what aluminum looks like when it corrodes (gets rusty). Sand down the oxidation with fine sand paper, until you get to clean aluminum. Then polish the metal to get the scratches out from the sand paper. Free how to buff & polish book - http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm Aluminum polishing kit - http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/alpolkit.htm Aluminum can be polished to look as shiny as chrome - you won't know the difference.