2002 HD Softail Deuce - Extreme Detail

2black1s

2black1s

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Today I started on a multi-day detailing job on my 2002 Harley Softail Deuce. This is no longer my primary bike and it doesn't get ridden as much as it used to, but I try to get it out for a little 15-20 mile exercise every week or two just so it won't deteriorate from non-use. As such, it hasn't gotten a really good detailing in quite a while. But today I decided to remedy that.

This is the first brand new Harley I ever bought and I'll probably keep it forever just because it was my first. Today it sits with 77,576 miles on the clock and it still runs perfectly. It's basically stock except for some added chrome goodies, gear-driven camshafts (Andrews 26G), air cleaner, pipes, and a tuner.

Here's a shot of the bike for reference...

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I'm going about this not as a general cleaning/detailing, but rather as a very meticulous process. Every nook and cranny. Toothbrushes, Q-tips, whatever it takes. I'm focusing on specific parts/sections as long as needed to get them into the best possible shape before moving on.

Today was the front wheel, front fender, front lower forks, and front brake caliper.

All of the brightwork was deep-cleaned with Never-Dull wadding, including each individual spoke, and followed by an application of 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating.

The front fender was polished with Meguiar's #210 Ultra Pro Finishing Polish using a Griot's G8, 3-inch DA with a yellow BOSS pad and the followed up with a black BOSS pad. Then the fender was coated with an application of the same 303 as the brightwork.

I also coated the brake caliper with the 303.

Here's some "after" pics of today's progress...

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That's it for today... About 3.5 hours so far. Now I have a ballgame to watch :D

I'll add to this thread as the progress continues over the next few days.
 
In for updates/progress/more pics! Looks great already, can't wait to see her done!
 
Looking damn good so far. I REALLY like how brand new the spokes/wheels and forks look.
 
- Continued -
Today I focused on the rear wheel and the engine along with the surrounding frame, suspension, and miscellaneous related components. I spent 6 hours today so that puts me at 9.5 hours so far.

- Process -
Rear Wheel (Uncoated Aluminum):
Polished using a Mother's Mini Power Ball and some no-name metal polish that I got from a metal fab shop a few years ago (BTW - one of the best metal polishes I have ever used). Then I applied two layers of 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating. The tire sidewall was coated with Meguiar's Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer.

Engine/Transmission Cases (Black Wrinkle Finish):
Treated with S100 Engine Brightener... Sprayed and then wiped/brushed to even out and remove excess.

Frame and Suspension Swingarm:
Applied 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating to the accessible areas.

Engine and Chassis Chrome:
Deep-cleaned with Never-Dull wadding and followed with an application of 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating.

Here's today's pics...

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I should finish tomorrow... I need to do the handlebars/controls, the tank, the rear fender, the windshield, and miscellaneous related components.
 
It's obvious that you're damn good at this. But the metal and chrome polishing is seriously impressive.
 
Looking awesome I really like the lift you have as well. What brand is it? what's your thoughts/pros/cons on it. Right now I use a small center jack type lift because its very portable and I can easily move it out to the driveway to jack the bikes up for washing, but want to add another lift in teh garage to get the work up at waist level. I have arthritis in my back and its getting to be too much bending for me.
 
bsmith0404 said:
Looking awesome I really like the lift you have as well. What brand is it? what's your thoughts/pros/cons on it. Right now I use a small center jack type lift because its very portable and I can easily move it out to the driveway to jack the bikes up for washing, but want to add another lift in teh garage to get the work up at waist level. I have arthritis in my back and its getting to be too much bending for me.
Click to expand...

It's a "Handy Air Lift". The only thing I'd look for if I were to buy another today (I'm not) is a drop out rear section. The drop out rear would make it easier when changing the rear wheel. It's not absolutely necessary, as there are work arounds, but I think would be nice.

I also have a center jack lift that I use in the driveway for washing.

And just as a note... In my description of the work being performed I don't mention washing the bike. That's because it was already "basically" clean before I started with the detailing.
 
- Continued -
Today I finished… I spent 5 hours today so that puts me at 14.5 hours total.

- Process -
Polished the rear fender and the fuel tank with Meguiar's #210 Ultra Pro Finishing Polish using a Griot's G8, 3-inch DA with a yellow BOSS pad and the followed up with a black BOSS pad. Also used a 1” rotary around the tail light on the rear fender.

The tail light, and the center console on the fuel tank were R&R’d for the polishing.

The fuel tank and rear fender were then coated with two applications (about an hour apart) of 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating.

Deep-cleaned all of the front end chrome and aluminum, i.e., bars, triple trees, fork uppers, brake and clutch levers, etc., with Never-Dull wadding and followed with an application of 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating.

Also applied the 303 to matte black bar mounted controls.

And the final touch was cleaning/conditioning the seat with Meguiar’s #40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner.

Here’s the pics…


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The other bike that you see in a few of the pics is my primary bike these days. I did a Show-N-Shine thread for that bike the last time I detailed it a month or two ago.

If interested you can see it here... After the Road Trip (autogeekonline.net)
 
Here's a pic of the same bike (and me) back in the days when it got most of it's nearly 80,000 miles. This pic is in the parking lot where I worked at the time and I was leaving after a half-day in the office on my first solo cross-country bike trip... 2004. I've been doing annual cross-country motorcycle trips ever since.

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Amazing results. I haven't taken the time to go that extreme on my Harleys yet. I've done a 7-8 hour detail on the Ultra with great results, but really need to get after the nooks and crannies. The Heritage has been neglected with just the occasional 3-4 clean up and wax, but still looks pretty damn good. It's amazing how an older bike with a lot of miles can still look new/better than new when taken care of. I detail a lot of Harleys and have seen some with 1/2 the miles as yours that are so bad I just shake my head.

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bsmith0404 said:
Amazing results. I haven't taken the time to go that extreme on my Harleys yet. I've done a 7-8 hour detail on the Ultra with great results, but really need to get after the nooks and crannies. The Heritage has been neglected with just the occasional 3-4 clean up and wax, but still looks pretty damn good. It's amazing how an older bike with a lot of miles can still look new/better than new when taken care of. I detail a lot of Harleys and have seen some with 1/2 the miles as yours that are so bad I just shake my head.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

The detailing process I just completed was the "once or twice a year" job. I don't regularly spend this much time/effort. Until the next one of these it will get the 1-2 hour wipe downs. My go-to for the wipe downs is my California Car Duster followed by Meguiar's D115 Rinse Free Express Wash & Wax, diluted 4:1.

Between my two bikes, it's amazing how much easier this Softail is to do in comparison to my Touring bike. Whereas this job took me 14.5 hours, a similar job on my Touring bike a month or two ago took 24.5 hours. I provided a link to the thread showing the 24.5 hour job in Post #8 of this thread.
 
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