free website stats program 400 miles and the finish has deteriorated on my Street Bob | Harley Davidson Forums

400 miles and the finish has deteriorated on my Street Bob

My rocker covers are starting to look shabby already. I realise they are not chrome. I looked at the price of wrinkle black to match the engine and they are £70 here. I am considering having them powder coated wrinkle black and have had a price of £20 each including tax. Anybody done this? I am in the UK so do not suggest a really good coater in Kansas or something lol...
 
Try metal polish on them. I use a paste cleaner on all the alloy castings. Rims, triple trees, and rocker covers works well if do it once a month. Fights corrision from brake dust and road salt.
Metal cleaner polish, followed by a coat of wax should help bring back some of the luster to those rocker covers. Good Luck.
 
My rocker covers are starting to look shabby already. I realise they are not chrome. I looked at the price of wrinkle black to match the engine and they are £70 here. I am considering having them powder coated wrinkle black and have had a price of £20 each including tax. Anybody done this? I am in the UK so do not suggest a really good coater in Kansas or something lol...

If your covers are polished rather than chromed, and you are taking them off the engine to work on them, try using a buffing wheel on a grinder or electric drill. You can just start with a dry wheel and see if that works. If not good enough add some metal polish or even jeweler's rouge to a different wheel, and finish up with the dry wheel. You are probably seeing staining based on what the roads are being treated with to combat snow and icing.

TQ
 
My bikes are a wee bit older but the ones that dont have the chrome on the rocker covers are polished aluminium that has been covered in a clear lacquer and the lacquer got damaged and corrosion would spread out like spider webs under the lacquer
the only way to get that shiny again is to remove the lacquer polish and reapply lacquer or no lacquer and polish regularly
nitro pors paint stripper from b&q will make the lacquer jump off the covers but much easier done if removed from the bike

Brian
 
My rocker covers are starting to look shabby already. I realise they are not chrome. I looked at the price of wrinkle black to match the engine and they are £70 here. I am considering having them powder coated wrinkle black and have had a price of £20 each including tax. Anybody done this? I am in the UK so do not suggest a really good coater in Kansas or something lol...

This is a common problem with Street Bobs. As the previous posters said there is only one solution (unless you want to black them) and that is regular polishing.
I bought my Bob 3 plus yrs old and not just the rockers were bad, the front lower forks (also laquer finish) was bad. It also will spread to your triple trees (as mine were) if you don't regular polish, not to mention the rims and spokes.

I spent two solid days rubbing several coats of a product called AutoSol to get all of the above to an acceptable (but still not perfect) condition on my Bob. Then I finished it up with two applications of NuFinish auto polish. I love that stuff, works good on helmets too, will take scratchs out. Now I still go over it once a week with a silicone product like Pig Snot or NuFinish Cling. And once a month I try to wash it and wax it totally. Don't let it get away from you because it's a lot harder to bring it back than to keep as it was.

Oh and if you don't already have the 2 inch tank lift, do that. It makes polishing the rockers sooooo much easier.
 
This is a common problem with Street Bobs. As the previous posters said there is only one solution (unless you want to black them) and that is regular polishing.
I bought my Bob 3 plus yrs old and not just the rockers were bad, the front lower forks (also laquer finish) was bad. It also will spread to your triple trees (as mine were) if you don't regular polish, not to mention the rims and spokes.

I spent two solid days rubbing several coats of a product called AutoSol to get all of the above to an acceptable (but still not perfect) condition on my Bob. Then I finished it up with two applications of NuFinish auto polish. I love that stuff, works good on helmets too, will take scratchs out. Now I still go over it once a week with a silicone product like Pig Snot or NuFinish Cling. And once a month I try to wash it and wax it totally. Don't let it get away from you because it's a lot harder to bring it back than to keep as it was.

Oh and if you don't already have the 2 inch tank lift, do that. It makes polishing the rockers sooooo much easier.

All good advice thanks. Where can I get these 2"tank lifts?
 
Bottom end of my forks and all the alloy bits get a good polish with BRASSO, and then a good waxing.Look great for a while,but likes been said already, you gotta keep on top of it.
 
Bottom end of my forks and all the alloy bits get a good polish with BRASSO, and then a good waxing.Look great for a while,but likes been said already, you gotta keep on top of it.

Once you have polished the parts a coat of bare metal lacquer can keep them looking good for a wee while without more polishing only problem is the lacquer gets stone chips and allows corrosion to start again
Here is the lacquer i have used with fair results
Eastwoods Clear - Gloss Finish for Bare Metal Surfaces (312g)(10200) - Frost Auto Restoration Techniques Clear - Gloss Finish for Bare Metal Surfaces (312g)

Brian
 
I have a manual and am looking in at tank removal.

It says to pull the fuse to the fuel pump. Do I need to remove the speedo? Is there a gas shut of so when I pull the quick disconnect the tank doesn't drain?

Thanks
 
Back
Top