Harley Davidson Engine Cooling Fin Oxidation

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hatzo1

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Well I just got bike from Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach and my poor bike paid the price . I had to park outside and the side of the bike that got the wind off the ocean now has oxidization on what use to be polished Engine Fins. I'm now in search of something that will safely clean/polish this back. I had to do other pieces on the bike and Mothers Aluminum polish worked fine. However I worry about residue being left on the black wrinkle finish of the engine if i use it. Any tips tricks or suggestions would be great. I'm still searching. Thanks

 
There is always taping. I would imagine you could clean the rest of the fin pretty easily should some go over the edge. I've never had a problem on my bike getting it off again after cleaning the edges. But if you are really worried then you could take the time to tape off the fin so only the edges are showing. It just depends on how much time it would take to clean the fin afterwards compared to how much time it would take to tape it off. My guess is that cleaning would be faster than taping.
 
OCDetails said:
There is always taping. I would imagine you could clean the rest of the fin pretty easily should some go over the edge. I've never had a problem on my bike getting it off again after cleaning the edges. But if you are really worried then you could take the time to tape off the fin so only the edges are showing. It just depends on how much time it would take to clean the fin afterwards compared to how much time it would take to tape it off. My guess is that cleaning would be faster than taping.
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Good point, taping would be a SOB. Very frustrated at the moment. I've owned a few Harley's and this is the first time I've had to deal with this both on a personal and professional level. Looking for an easy fix but not looking that way. Normally we get a place with a cover of some sort, but not this time.:mad: Glad I don't live on the beach.
 
I figure polishing is going to be unavoidable. I'd assume these parts aren't anodized. And that at some point in the Bike's life, they would've eventually dulled from age-weather. That salty florida air just sped things up a bit.

About the only thing I can think of would be polish by hand with your polish of choice, then to use a mild ph neutral soap-shampoo wash and a small soft trim paintbrush to remove any residues that might be left behind in the Fins.

Now, what to do after, to keep such from re-occurring?

About the only thing that comes to my mind to stave off this issue, would be a meticulous final wipe with Carpro Eraser, then "Coat" these areas with a product like Carpro CQuartz DLX.

I believe DLX can handle the heat, said to supposedly handle up to 800F Temps.
 
Once, in my life, I detailed a Motocycle, it was a friend's in Chicago, a 1979 or '80 Dyno-Jetted and Tuned Kaw KZ-1000 LTD with the Kerker 4-1 Pipes.

I can easily grasp how a meticulous detail can turn into days, not just hours.

After I was done, he handed me the keys, but first asked, "You ever drive a bike before?" I said "Yeah, a crummy little Honda 350". He said then you know clutch, go ahead!

For the first 15 minutes I was riding the bike like a 90 year old lady, after that, it was effortless to hit 100+ on the Chicago city streets as I was just getting to 3rd gear. Bike would almost literally pull your arms out of their sockets! Never drove anything faster in my life. It surely was a freak, even in experienced rider's circles I understood. Wouldn't had surprised me of 10 sec 1/4mile times.
(Was one reason I never bought one, I knew I'd probably eventually kill myself! LOL)
 
How to describe "fun"? Hell, I described fun, when it took me 3 plus weeks just to detail the engine compartment of my '68 SS396 Camaro. install a new 4 row core radiator, Lovingly giving utmost care to a huge pair of chrome factory BB Valve Covers, touching up some chevy orange paint, cleaning those inner fender wells and treating them till they glowed, replacing the hoses. belts
plug wires in their correct places, then dressing them after, cap, rotor, points, plugs, dwell and time. Rebuilt front Calipers and shoes, new Rotors, new tires, etc.

Lots of blood, and sweat and tribulations, and would I go back there again? Yep, in a heartbeat!

Funny that I found out a year after I sold that car, it possessed a 427 engine, not a 396! Somebody did a swap at some point.
 
I just messed with it for about an hour and half today after work and had to stop as I got so pissed off. Hit it with Mothers, NeverDull and a few other metal polishes nothing doing to much. I have to be careful of over lap on the black as its textured and a pain to get stuff off of it. It just amazes me how fast they corroded. My 2008 SuperGlide didnt have a issue once in the 8 years I owned it and it went to FLA several times, this bike I just bought in June (2016 Model)less than 3k on it. I have a detail business here on the south side of Atlanta, and am very familiar with the Cquartz products from Carpro. I'll call Corey at Carpro and ask him about the heat factor for the DLX. Never even thought about applying that, thanks for putting the bug in my head about that. Sometimes it helps to have a different perspective. Being my bike Im more frustrated than normal,LOL. But again this is the first time I've encountered this and I do a fair amount of Harley's. Not sure the P21S soap with do much for the oxidation. Also kills me I watched a demo at the event on a polish they were saying was great for this and I just blew it off. LOL. Was really hoping to find something that would kick off quick, but looks like it is going to be a royal PITA.
 
Yeah, what you said above.

I have owned my 1996 Custom Sportser since new and live in Florida and never had that happen.

What's crazier is it's a 2016.

Wish I had answer for you. Maybe try some vinegar in a small area and see if it's mineral based.

This was the first year the put the wrinkle black and machined look on the fins on the Sporty.

 
I've owned 10 Harleys and one was a 2006 Road King which I bought used and had horrible edges. I can say without a doubt, there is no product which will fix that problem (by the way, yours is not that bad) without some type of mechanical abrasion. I've tried various grits of sand paper on a block which helped to a degree. The problem is cleaning each fin without marring or hurting the wrinkle black by dulling it. If it bugs you that much, have the fins diamond cut for a sweet, blingy, poseur look.
 
hatzo1 said:
I just messed with it for about an hour and half today after work and had to stop as I got so pissed off. Hit it with Mothers, NeverDull and a few other metal polishes nothing doing to much. I have to be careful of over lap on the black as its textured and a pain to get stuff off of it. It just amazes me how fast they corroded. My 2008 SuperGlide didnt have a issue once in the 8 years I owned it and it went to FLA several times, this bike I just bought in June (2016 Model)less than 3k on it. I have a detail business here on the south side of Atlanta, and am very familiar with the Cquartz products from Carpro. I'll call Corey at Carpro and ask him about the heat factor for the DLX. Never even thought about applying that, thanks for putting the bug in my head about that. Sometimes it helps to have a different perspective. Being my bike Im more frustrated than normal,LOL. But again this is the first time I've encountered this and I do a fair amount of Harley's. Not sure the P21S soap with do much for the oxidation. Also kills me I watched a demo at the event on a polish they were saying was great for this and I just blew it off. LOL. Was really hoping to find something that would kick off quick, but looks like it is going to be a royal PITA.
Click to expand...

I am a member of the Carpro Forum, and seem to recall somewhere, that Corey said that CQ DLX was heat resistant enough that it could be used on Motorcycle Exhausts. On their site and the description of DLX, it does state heat resistance over 800F.

Re-reading your original post, I'm beginning to think that the damage that has occurred is not from salt spray and the effects of salt, but rather a literal "sand blasting" damage to the metal.

Possible, if as you say, there were perhaps high winds and blowing sands.

I've experienced a little bit of florida weather on the gulf coast where some "no name hurricanes" came in while I was vacationing, was down at the beach, and the blowing sand had quite a wicked stinging effect. And I can recall seeing evidence of some cars down there having that "sand blasted" look about them as well.

Perhaps closer examination with a magnifying glass might better tell the tale? To see if the damage looks like pitting to the metal surface?

Again, I am unsure if Harley Davidson clear anodized these parts? I'd guess that if they possibly did, it would make damage removal even harder yet as the anodizing process hardens the surface.
 
Its the salt spray for sure. My triple fork trees and levers all had the same corrosion, its just easier to deal with an large pieces of aluminum where you do not have to worry about getting polish on the black wrinkle coating.They are corrected now. I used Flitz that I bought tonight and its just about all gone now, just quit tonight as Im tired from working on other vehicles. So the opinion of nothing will get rid of it I don't accept. Plan on using a dremel 422 felt polishing cone on my dremel this weekend once the come in. After doing some searching on the Harley Forums I found this, thats where the dremel idea came in. Guy made a nice PDF on it. But again thanks for the various inputs again.
Cleaning Machined Cooling Fins - Harley Davidson Forums
 
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