Brand New Vivid Black Harley

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Surfrat2

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I have sitting in my garage a brand new Harley in Vivid Black... a notoriously soft paint. I am wondering what is the safest products to apply to protect my paint before it gets the dreaded spider webs and swirls. Apparently they washed the bike down at the dealer and left some water spots, other than that I think it hasnt been coated with anything as far as waxes and sealers. i contemplated a glass coating but Im afraid I'll ruin the paint. any help would be appreciated, its 8 degrees outside so all i can do is clean her at this point. Can you please suggest products and in what order? Thanks
 
Id def put a coating on it. Hows the paint at this point? have you ever polished with a machine or by hand?

I did a Harley last year and the paint was so soft I told the guy you'll be putting defects in the paint just applying wax or sealant.
 
I have two vivid black Harleys...a 1995 Sportster and a 2002 Dyna. I purchased both of them new and they still look great. I treat them in pretty much the same manner as my other vehicles. Right now I am using Meguiar's Ultimate products as needed. Harley Davidson also has some excellent products available. Like Mike has said....find a product your like and use it often.
 
I have done black Harleys and all were"Soft". But, I never marred the paint applying a sealant or wax. Use quality towels, pads, etc. and you will be fine. Menzerna polishes is what I use and they worked awesome on them and every other bike or car I have done. If its a bagger, take the bags off and work on them. A lift will be your best friend owning a bike!
Have unopened bottles of HD cut and polish I will be using this weekend. Curious to see how they do.
Good luck on the Harley.
 
I should add that I always use quality foam pads and quality microfiber towels and polishing cloths. Also, Harley Davidson appears to apply a ton of clear coat. Just don't become more "aggressive" than you have to be.

Besides that, you shouldn't be looking for swirls or spiderwebs when you are riding and Harleys were meant to be ridden...a lot.:xyxthumbs:
 
I've had my plushest towels mar my paint when removing wax. Artic whites which are some of the finest towels I own.

What works best for me is using a damp ONR towel to remove polish and wax followed by a waffle weave towel.

OP when you get some time do a search for vivid black and read some of TLMitchells posts. He offers some pretty good insight on how to work with this paint.

One thing he discovered and that I was able to replicate on my Dyna when I polished it last year was that he got his best results using an extra fine polish on a firmer cutting pad. Certainly not a conventional method but it worked for him and it worked for me.
 
The bike is BRAND NEW...19.4 miles on it so i havent even wiped her down with a QD yet or anything. My worst nightmare is any kind of mechanical buffer in MY hands going anywhere near my bike.I've never used one and I would probably leave it to the pros. I will just be doing everything by hand.
Thanbks for all the replies fellas!
 
I have two black Harleys. A 2002 Deuce and a 2011 Ultra Limited. They have always been hand polished and waxed. You don't need machines anywhere near a Harley. Even if you did use a machine, there's probably at least 50% of the surfaces that you'd have to finish by hand.

People are always asking me what I do to keep my paint looking so good and it's really nothing special. Just Meguiar's Ultimate compound and/or polish as required followed by ultimate wax - all by hand.

And like others have said, the Harley clear-coat is very soft so you'll definitely be needing to polish it occasionally prior to wax. The paint is so soft that no matter how well you try to take care of it you'll need to be removing fine scratches regularly... Unless it just sits in the garage - like so many Harley's do LOL. Mine both have 80,000+ miles on them and the paint looks as good, actually better (minus the road scars), than when new.
 
2black1s said:
I have two black Harleys. A 2002 Deuce and a 2011 Ultra Limited. They have always been hand polished and waxed. You don't need machines anywhere near a Harley. Even if you did use a machine, there's probably at least 50% of the surfaces that you'd have to finish by hand.

People are always asking me what I do to keep my paint looking so good and it's really nothing special. Just Meguiar's Ultimate compound and/or polish as required followed by ultimate wax - all by hand.

And like others have said, the Harley clear-coat is very soft so you'll definitely be needing to polish it occasionally prior to wax. The paint is so soft that no matter how well you try to take care of it you'll need to be removing fine scratches regularly... Unless it just sits in the garage - like so many Harley's do LOL. Mine both have 80,000+ miles on them and the paint looks as good, actually better (minus the road scars), than when new.
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You don't need a machine, but it will come out better. I only hand polish very very little. Pull bags, seat, up on a bike jack, and go to town.
 
And I on the other hand, rarely use a "machine" to polish and wax my black Harleys and they come out just fine. Thing is no matter whether you work by "machine" or by hand you will be doing it often.
 
I agree tguil. We can all argue until the cows come home over the results of hand vs. machine results but the bottom line is this... Regardless of whether you machine or hand polish, the final results really boil down to the "attention-to-detail" that the operator puts forth. To say that it will come out better by machine is simply not true. Easier - yes, better - not necessarily.
 
so...whats the verdict on products? I'm going to probably stick to the basics and go with my hands...no machine. Not to open a can of worms but is there a coating you guys lean towards as well? I have three detailers recommending three different coatings..Opti Pro, Cquartz, and Ceramic Pro. The opti Pro is by far the most expensive.
 
I'd hold off on a coating until I had some advice from Mike Phillips himself. A coating may not be the best answer. If it were, that's what all vivid black owners would be using. You are going to have to do some corrections regardless of what you use. Be patient.
 
I have no experience with Harleys but my 2012 Tacoma does have paint that is on the soft side. I know I have put some defects in the paint using quick detail type or waterless wash type products, so now I use these products a lot more sparingly. Sometimes the best way to keep your paint looking good is knowing what not to do.

Finding the right detailer will be more important then what coating you end up going with. Maybe you can find one through here. Its always best to do some correction before a coating.
Of the three you mentioned I would go with Cquartz Finest.
 
Surfrat2 said:
so...whats the verdict on products? I'm going to probably stick to the basics and go with my hands...no machine. Not to open a can of worms but is there a coating you guys lean towards as well? I have three detailers recommending three different coatings..Opti Pro, Cquartz, and Ceramic Pro. The opti Pro is by far the most expensive.
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Were you planning on doing this yourself or having a detailer apply the coating?

I don't have experience with any of the coatings you mentioned. The thing to keep in mind is these coatings will swirl over time too. So then you're gonna have to have the swirls polished out and coat the bike all over again.

Personally I think you're better off finding a good glaze and wax combo. One of my favorite glazes is Prima Amigo which can be applied by hand or machine. Top that off with whatever wax or sealant you may have lying around and you're good to go.
 
If I were new to the detailing game and didn't have much product on hand, I think that I might give Meguiars Black Wax a try. Meguiars Black Wax, black wax for cars

Apply with a soft foam pad and remove with a quality microfiber polishing cloth.

One of my black Harleys is twenty years old. The other thirteen. They have received a ton of polishing and waxing and still have lots of clear coat left.

In maintaining your Harley, be especially careful washing. This is when you instill a lot of swirls, etc. "It's just the nature of the beast."

I forgot to ask...What model Harley do you have? If you have a vivid black "bagger", you are looking at lots of hours spent keeping her "lookin' good" no matter what product you use.

I drove only black cars and trucks for thirty years. I know "black". Finally I got smart...except in my choice of color for Harleys. Take a look at my signature.
 
yep, shes a Bagger...RoadGlide. I dont mind spending time keeping her clean tho...its just that feeling of having wasted your time when you take her out in the sun and all you see is swirls and scratches. I have to admit though, I have always been ignorant as to how to take care of paint. I just assumed wax was wax...had no idea that there was a specific way to care for paint. Had no clue as to the steps involved. I used to wash,dry,wax and be done. Now I have a closet full of swirl removers,clearcoat safe stuff, a glaze, a polish, and about three bottles of quick detail stuff. I'm going to have to just get myself a "system" and stick to it. I wouldnt do the coating myself, I would have a professional detailer do it. I've recieved quotes of $299 for Cquartz, $650 for OptiPro and $399 for Ceramic Pro.
 
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