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  1. #1
    Super Member BradsDetailing's Avatar
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    First Detail: Harley Davidson

    I would like to thank everyone on this forum. Most of you have helped me indirectly or directly in gaining knowledge and choosing the right products for the job. So I probably wouldn't be starting a detailing gig if it wasn't for autogeek, the forum and all of you awesome people.


    History of myself in detailing:

    Ok, this was my first ever detail for a profit. I've done your typical wash, vacuum and wax on my own cars with mostly over the counter stuff. In the last couple months I've done hours of research to get all the right knowledge on all the products and build my lineup with everything I liked. So this was my first ever detail on an auto that wasn't of my own with the serious products.


    The Job:

    A Harley Davidson motorcycle, not sure of type or year, I'm not a huge motorcycle buff so maybe someone can shed some light on it. The owner wanted an overall cleanup, he wasn't too into any knowledge about detailing and said he wanted it too look nice but nothing over the top.


    The Motorcycle:

    Per the owner, it's been sitting in storage for several years. He hasn't washed it in about 3 years he said. There was a lot of small surface rust on the chrome and some more major stuff on the exhaust. Nothing too serious but not all of it could be removed.


    The products:

    Wash
    Duragloss 901
    2 bucket method
    Micro-Chenille mitt
    Cobra guzzler

    Decontamination
    Iron X

    Polish
    GG 3"
    Orange polishing pad
    Meguiars 205
    Mothers chrome polish

    Sealants/Protection
    Klasse HGSG
    Mothers California Gold carnauba liquid wax
    UTTG
    Meguiars Leather Cleaner and Conditioner

    Process:
    Washed everything down with the two bucket method. There wasn't a whole lot of dirt or dust on it that had too be removed. There was more surface rust and neglected chrome than anything else.

    I used Iron X for the first time and this was a savior. It made a huge difference and removed a lot of metal and particles from all over the bike. The rims went from that dull neglected look to a shinier chrome appearance. If I didn't know about this stuff this job would of been a lot more labor intensive.

    After drying and rinsing everything off I used Meguiars 205 with an 3" orange polishing pad on a gg 3" da. There was no swirls of any kind but the paint looked a bit hazy and fogged. So after polishing up the paint I could see a huge difference in the silver flake, it had way more pop in it.

    Then I topped all the painted surfaces with a coat of Klasse HGSG with a foam applicatr and a fine mist spray bottle and waited 24 hours after wiping it off. Then I added a coat of Mothers California Gold Liquid Carnauba wax. The shine it had looked like it was brand new.

    Every chrome piece was polished with Mothers Chrome polish. I didn't have a chrome polish on hand but this worked decent I thought having never used a chrome polish. So if anyone has any recommendations on a chrome polish please let me know.

    There were some parts on the bike that were too neglected and beyond repair unless I took a serious buffing at them which I wasn't feeling too confident about.

    The tires were dressed with UTTG and the seat was cleaned and conditioned with Meguiars Leather cleaner and conditioner.

    Forgot to take any before pictures but here is what I have. Thanks for looking.



















    2010 Honda Civic LX-S Crystal Black Pearl

  2. #2
    Super Member Pureshine's Avatar
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    Re: First Detail: Harley Davidson

    Great job

  3. #3
    Super Member BradsDetailing's Avatar
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    Re: First Detail: Harley Davidson

    Thank you!
    2010 Honda Civic LX-S Crystal Black Pearl

  4. #4
    Junior Member
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    Looks great. I wanna start getting into cleaning motorcycles. Any tips on getting the smaller parts cleaned up

    Sent from my Dell Streak using AG Online

  5. #5
    Super Member BradsDetailing's Avatar
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    Re: First Detail: Harley Davidson

    small hands lol

    I used some foam applicators, mf towels, iron x and a mothers mini powerball. Took a lot of time getting all the crevices and spokes all polished up.
    2010 Honda Civic LX-S Crystal Black Pearl

  6. #6
    Super Member zmcgovern45's Avatar
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    Re: First Detail: Harley Davidson

    Looks great!

    Retired Professional Detailer

  7. #7
    Super Member dpk20x's Avatar
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    Great job!

    How far up the sidewall did you go with the UTTG+?

  8. #8
    Super Member zmcgovern45's Avatar
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    Re: First Detail: Harley Davidson

    Quote Originally Posted by dpk20x View Post
    Great job!

    How far up the sidewall did you go with the UTTG+?
    Good point... missed that part in the "Process" section of his write up...

    As a previous motorcycle owner... I absolutely never applied any sort of dressing to my tires. Granted I was on a crotch rocket and typically leaned quite a bit more than the standard cruiser, it would still worry me to have any sort of product that might interfere with the traction. That could be a huge liability on your hands if he were to have an accident... just saying.

    Retired Professional Detailer

  9. #9
    Super Member dpk20x's Avatar
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    Exactly. Dressing on tires is no bueno.

    I guess on most of the sidewall would be ok as that area never makes contact with the pavement (I hope!). And you COULD go as far as the chicken strip ... But that's really pushing it and could spell disaster if you ever really need to lean your bike over.

  10. #10
    Super Member zmcgovern45's Avatar
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    Re: First Detail: Harley Davidson

    Better safe than sorry... especially on a motorcycle.

    Retired Professional Detailer

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