pitting

Getting on well with softail, wife loves it. when cleaning the other day noticed some pitting on engine fins though only minor. i have been advised not to use solvol autosol on harley chrome so bought some harley chrome cleaner but this didnt touch the pitting but then again neither did the solvol.
any suggestions on what will fetch the pitting off, been advised to use scotch bright pan washer with solvol but i am concerned that it might be to harsh.
Rich h

[Ming the Merciless]

Rich,

I assume that you are referring to the milled face (edge) of the fins? If so, personally I would be wary of cleaning them with any substance other than Gunk.

Remember that the top and bottom surfaces of the fins are powder coated, which means that there is a 'lip' where the powder coat meets the edge of the fin - if you disturb this with too much fettling, you make it more likely that the powder coat will lift in future - then you'll be really pissed off!

At the end of the day, this is only a minor cosmetic blemish and it shows that a bike has been ridden as intended.

Also, be very wary of chrome cleaners - the vast majority are abrasive (although they rarely state this on the packaging ). The ONLY reason to use chrome cleaner is for restoring badly corroded old metal, which is clearly not going to be the case for your pride and joy. I use simple Turtle Wax to clean my chrome, with no abrasion and great results.

[snowflake]

Originally Posted by Ming the Merciless

I use simple Turtle Wax to clean my chrome, with no abrasion and great results.

S100 Detail & Wax - Outstanding!!!

[weedavie_j]

When you say engine fins Rich you mean the fins of your cylinder barrels right
Coz they are aluminium M8 not chrome.;)
The barrels are aluminium and depending on what model softail you have will be either black with the edges of the fins polished aluminium or plain cast aluminium barrels with the polished edges.

Either way the edges are what will be showing signs of pitting.
That being the case, 800 or 1200 wet or dry polishing paper (use wet with water or autosol or similar) wrapped around something flat and gentle rub with the direction of the fins until u remove any marks.
The important thing being you don't want to be rubbing against the black part of the fins (if thats what ya got) coz it will mark that surface, hence the paper wrapped around something flat eg. small wooden flat block or small piece of flat metal bar.
Hope this is helpful

[weedavie_j]

[quote=Ming the Merciless]Rich,


Remember that the top and bottom surfaces of the fins are powder coated, which means that there is a 'lip' where the powder coat meets the edge of the fin - if you disturb this with too much fettling, you make it more likely that the powder coat will lift in future - then you'll be really pissed off!

At the end of the day, this is only a minor cosmetic blemish and it shows that a bike has been ridden as intended.


Very good points there Ming

Thanks for advice chaps i will poss have a go at weekend although dealer has offered to take a look, i will let you know how i got on. Thinks me is getting a tad obcessed as my blackbird just needs a hose down but Harley needs a bit more care.
Rich.

[weedavie_j]

Originally Posted by Rich h

Thanks for advice chaps i will poss have a go at weekend although dealer has offered to take a look, i will let you know how i got on. Thinks me is getting a tad obcessed as my blackbird just needs a hose down but Harley needs a bit more care.
Rich.

Thouroughbreads always take more lookin after than mongrels M8