Getting ready to detail two Harleys....

B

bdaly84

New member
I have never detailed bikes before, but I have had an extreme amount of calls about them. One of my regulars has two Harley's, one stock, the other has been modified, not so much chrome, but custom tank and paint work. He is letting me "practice on his bikes" since I have not done bikes before. So, I want to make him happy, and at the same time make it a learning exprience for me.



I have read some of the back threads about bikes, wash, blow dry, hand polish and wax. I have also read about some of the products. I still have a few Q's....



1. Can you use ONR?



2. As far as polishing the chrome, can you use a Mothers Polish ball? Or could you use a polishing wheel on a dremel?



3. What is the best polish/wax to use on the chrome?



4. This may be a dumb Q...but do you use tire shine on the tires, how bout the leather...Lexol?



Thanks in advance.
 
Just did a Harley over the weekend.



1. Mine wasn't that dirty so I didn't need to wash it.



2 and 3. Alot of chrome can just be wiped off with a MF towel if it's in good shape. (mine was) No polish needed, but I'd stick with a chrome type polish and not Mothers. Apply by hand. The aluminum is another story. Mothers is best for that.



4. Tires can be treated but be careful not to get any on the tread surface....it's very slippery. For the leather I used PoorBoy's Leather Stuff.



And a tip....don't get any polish on any of the black powder coated stuff. It's really hard if not impossible to remove.
 
I love to detail Harleys. If I could keep busy only detailing them I wouldn’t detail anything else!



Bring a mechanics seat with wheels with you and comfortable knee pads. A motorcycle jack is also very nice to have. Most bike owners will have them, ask to use it.



Also I like to partially disassemble the bike to get to everything so I take some tools as well.



If there is polished aluminum you do not want to use degreaser on it. We polish with machine what we can reach. Everything else gets polished by hand. I do put a chrome polish / protectant on all the chrome.



Bring plenty of small brushes.



I charge $250+ to detail a Harley.
 
I wouldnt use anything on the tires anywhere unless asked by the owner. If the tire gets anything on the tread it can mean a bad spill. I have had two (minor luckily) spills on bikes and one was due to a front tire washing out on wet pavement and a wet manhole cover, not fun.



The black crinkle on HD is famous for holding onto polish and making white stains stay forever in it.
 
01SVTvert said:
I wouldnt use anything on the tires anywhere unless asked by the owner. If the tire gets anything on the tread it can mean a bad spill.
Click to expand...



This is probably one of the most important things to keep in mind when doing bikes!

You do not want to be the one responsible for the owner wrecking their pride and joy.
 
Wow, thanks for the tips fellas. I did see alot about S100 products. They have kit with a few products in it for a reasonable price. Would that be worth it? Their products seem to be well acknowledged on the Harley sites.
 
I have used Zaino, Souveran, Adams, and One Grand items on my Harley for the last ten years, the same items that I have used on my cars. S100 makes some nice things, especially for cleaning spokes and wheels, but none of other product line has done anything for me. If the Hogs have any Billet, Mother's Billet polish does a wonderful job. I do use a lot of One Grands Chrome polish and white wall cleaners. Great product that has left my Harley looking better than new for a decade. One other word of caution, be mindful of what you dress the seat with! If it is too slick, well that spells a little trouble.
 
HarleyTC95 said:
I have used Zaino, Souveran, Adams, and One Grand items on my Harley for the last ten years, the same items that I have used on my cars. S100 makes some nice things, especially for cleaning spokes and wheels, but none of other product line has done anything for me. If the Hogs have any Billet, Mother's Billet polish does a wonderful job. I do use a lot of One Grands Chrome polish and white wall cleaners. Great product that has left my Harley looking better than new for a decade. One other word of caution, be mindful of what you dress the seat with! If it is too slick, well that spells a little trouble.
Click to expand...



Thanks for that info. I was going to purchase the set, but maybe I'll just purchase one or two items of the S100, just to try it out. If these details go well, I am going to start advertising bike details. Which S100 products would recommend trying? Again, I always like to at least try something, if it doesn't work, than it doesnt work.
 
I really like S100's Total Cycle Cleaner and Wheel Cleaner. My favorite product of S100's that I have not been able to find anything similar is Engine Brightener. When I have accidently gotten wax or polish on the black engine cases, it is extremely hard to remove. Engine Brightener removes it with no fuss and gives the engine an incredible deep black. Use this product first, prior to polishing the chrome engine cases in case you get some over spray on to the chrome. FYI, if you are familar with p21s wax, then you are familar with S100. P21S is the car line, S100 is the motorcycle line of the same company(at least it was last time I looked). They look, smell, and taste the same... Good luck!
 
<-- detailed a few bikes.

Ask the owner/rider if they want tire dressing. and as said Do Not get any on the tread.

Becareful with the seat and grips.

Most people I have encountered keep their bikes pretty clean, most OTS stuff will work very well.

Chrome should be easy- do it by hand, less chance of splatter.

I personally do not take anything off or loosen things. Most bike owners are picky about that. Unless they do it for you, don't.

One last thing, blow drying it, make sure it's 100%. nothing more annoying then water splashing up on the rider's face when going 40+
 
Bbasso said:
<-- detailed a few bikes.

Ask the owner/rider if they want tire dressing. and as said Do Not get any on the tread.

Becareful with the seat and grips.

Most people I have encountered keep their bikes pretty clean, most OTS stuff will work very well.

Chrome should be easy- do it by hand, less chance of splatter.

I personally do not take anything off or loosen things. Most bike owners are picky about that. Unless they do it for you, don't.

One last thing, blow drying it, make sure it's 100%. nothing more annoying then water splashing up on the rider's face when going 40+
Click to expand...



I will use my compressor to blow the air out of the nooks and crannies, followed by a complete wipe down. I going to look at them today to set a price and date, I am pumped to work on them!!
 
ONR works fine on bikes that aren't too dirty but I'd go with S100 Total Cycle Cleaner if it is pretty dirty. Make sure you thoroughly rinse and blow out all areas of the bike.



Take as much of the bike apart as possible, as you can see here:



Harley_Road_KIng_during.jpg




Cleaned and put back together:



Harley_Road_KIng_side1.jpg




I don't use any tire shine and after conditioning the leather, I rewipe with a slightly damp cloth to make sure the surfaces aren't slick.
 
Scottwax said:
ONR works fine on bikes that aren't too dirty but I'd go with S100 Total Cycle Cleaner if it is pretty dirty. Make sure you thoroughly rinse and blow out all areas of the bike.



Take as much of the bike apart as possible, as you can see here:



Harley_Road_KIng_during.jpg




Cleaned and put back together:



Harley_Road_KIng_side1.jpg




I don't use any tire shine and after conditioning the leather, I rewipe with a slightly damp cloth to make sure the surfaces aren't slick.
Click to expand...



Thanks Scottwax! I am going to go with S100 TCC, I went and looked at them last night and they do have some dust/bugs/grim on them. I am also going to purchase a jack to be able to have the wheels free.



Could you go spray down the areas heavily soiled with TCC and rinse it with ONR? Then do a clean water rinse with hose and then blow it out with the compressor? Might yield a nicer shine.......
 
I have detailed one or two bikes.

Polishing Soap is a must. I banned spray cleaners such as TCC from the shop because it will easily stain aluminum. Every bike that leaves here has water-based dressing on sidewalls. Every bike that needs polishing is machine polished.

I know we go beyond what others accept (such as a two hour wash) be we , like Superior Fine, get 250.00 a bike.
 
I have owned a bike and have detailed a few. I love the S100 products like the bike cleaner. I machine polish what I can. And I NEVER, EVER dress a bikes tires. It is not worth the risk. Some riders will use every bit of tread when they lay over in a turn. Why risk it? I would lose it if someone dressed mine.



James
 
Flexin said:
I have owned a bike and have detailed a few. I love the S100 products like the bike cleaner. I machine polish what I can. And I NEVER, EVER dress a bikes tires. It is not worth the risk. Some riders will use every bit of tread when they lay over in a turn. Why risk it? I would lose it if someone dressed mine.



James
Click to expand...

If you put the sidewall of Harley on the ground its all over reguardless of a dressed tire.

Another point..water based dressings are different than petroleum based. But still gonna be hard to get a Harley sidewall to touch the ground.
 
3Dog said:
If you put the sidewall of Harley on the ground its all over reguardless of a dressed tire.

Another point..water based dressings are different than petroleum based. But still gonna be hard to get a Harley sidewall to touch the ground.
Click to expand...



My point is that you can get it on the tread while doing the sidewall. Things happen. As a rider it isn't worth the risk. I save my tire dressing for the cars.



James
 
3Dog said:
If you put the sidewall of Harley on the ground its all over reguardless of a dressed tire.

Another point..water based dressings are different than petroleum based. But still gonna be hard to get a Harley sidewall to touch the ground.
Click to expand...





Here is a Harley using every last bit of tire. :nana:



andyvr.jpg




James
 
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