2011 harley davidson electra glide

andyo

andyo

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is the paint on this motor cycle hard or soft. there is swirls on the fiberglass or plastic saddle bags and need to be buffed out.
 
I have a 2003 electra glide, and I have found that the paint is pretty soft

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How bad are the swirls and what are you going to be using to remove them by hand or machine ??? Harley paint is far from hard as compared to something like a Corvette's clear . Use the least aggressive pad you have and least aggressive polish . That's why is so important to do a test spot . How many miles are on the bike just curious .
 
the swirls are noticeable in certin light merlo color bike.

was thinking megs swirl remover 2.0 or megs 205 by hand or by da with polishing pad.

my bad... my friend has a road glide.
 
andyo said:
is the paint on this motor cycle hard or soft. there is swirls on the fiberglass or plastic saddle bags and need to be buffed out.
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Depends on the color. IME solid colors are softer than metallics with Vivid Black being miserably soft. The black tin on baggers and Softails are much softer than anything that comes out of the KC plant, everything out of York is much softer. Actually, it polishes like a medium hardness but swirls like a super-soft. Go figure. The clear on the tanks are actually clear powdercoat vs traditiaonl clearcoat... dunno why, I figure it might have something to do with fuel spillage resistance.

The clear on the fiberglass is considerably harder than on the metal parts, the fibergalss all comes out of Tomahawk and the finishes are very uniform. I still wouldn't call it hard. Mediumish (izzat a word?)

Knowing the color would be helpful. Also whether you plan to machine polish or work by hand and any materials you have on hand or plan to purchase.

TL
 
andyo said:
the swirls are noticeable in certin light merlo color bike.

was thinking megs swirl remover 2.0 or megs 205 by hand or by da with polishing pad.

my bad... my friend has a road glide.
Click to expand...

Swirl X would be a good choice either by machine or by hand. Decent defect removal and it finishes well. However, if you're talking about Scratch X 2.0 I'd say that may be a bit too aggressive for soft paint unless you're talking about some serious swirling. The 2.0 Scratch X is a ton more aggressive than the diminishing abrasive v1 product that preceded it.

On black I've found the softest, plushest MFs mar when you wipe off residue. Other colors and metallics not so much. If you have an induced marring problem with MFs try wiping off residue using soft WWs spritzed with a QD.

TL
 
merlo is the color.

if it is soft ill do it by hand.

i have megs 105 and 205 can get others.

i have megs g100 and all megs and lake country 5.5 pads

have griot's 4 inch polisher and all pads.
 
andyo said:
merlo is the color.

if it is soft ill do it by hand.

i have megs 105 and 205 can get others.

i have megs g100 and all megs and lake country 5.5 pads

have griot's 4 inch polisher and all pads.
Click to expand...

You may want to do a test spot by hand, 105 works well and finishes decent. I've had real good results on fairings and saddlebags with MF pads/D300. The 3+" MF pads work well, larger pads are tougher to work with on small surfaces. You're going to be working by hand regardless on some tight spots... I've cut up some LC orange pads for hand use with good results.

The GG 3" polisher is handy but it takes perfect technique to keep the pad spinning and tough to get much pressure on the pad. 3" pads spin easier and correct better than 4" pads. Might consider cutting down some 4" pads to slightly larger than the backing plate since smaller pads are hard to find. Don't expect a lot of correction out of the smaller GG polisher. I haven't had much luck getting 205 to finish micromarring-free by machine on H-D paint. Might get better results by hand.

I prefer to work on batwing fairings off the bike. Removing the shark nose from a Road Glide is more of a pain in the neck to remove though and not so easy to lay on a flat surface to work on.

Lots of electricals under the side covers. The covers are easier to work on off the bike. Underneath will be an incredible amount of grunge. Be EXTREMELY careful if you decide to do any cleanup under there, lots of stuff you don't want to disturb as it's a hair-pulling exercise to find a loose connection if something gets moved wrong. Everything under there will be covered with grime again in a 100 miles anyway.

Use caution if you work on the windshield. H-D OEM shields have a hard coating that distorts with vigorous machine polishing. I only use Novus 3-step by hand and coat with Plexxus. Same with the headlight lens covers on the RoadGlide.

Avoid getting polish on the black trim strip along the bottom edge of the tank console. Impossible to clean up without marring the tank. I remove the console... one screw under the nose of the seat, two under the fuel filler door and one teensy hex screw at the very front of the console that takes a long-shank T-handle to get to it. Wrap the console in a towel and lay it back on top of of the rear fender using care not to disturb the attached wire bundles that run under the console.

If you're going to work on the wheels and it has the 28-spoke cast jobs designed by a sadist MF gloves will not only save your knuckles they're handy to put polish right on the fingertips to reach tight spots. S100 polishing soap available at AG as well as H-D dealers works excellent, especially if the rear has been neglected.

If you're dealing with wire wheels be sure you're dealing with the optional chrome before polishing the spokes. The non-chrome spokes are cadmium plated and the plating is thin and comes off easily using aggressive polishing.

TL
 
Why dont you pull of a saddlebag and buff the back or underside for a quick idea. You could always ask the dealership what they recommend.
 
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