Topic: 2015 CVO soft clear coat (Read 7174 times)

G-Man · « **on:** May 18, 2015, 01:28:10 AM »

I have the 2015 CVO street glide in starfire black and the clear coat is extremely soft, I cannot even wipe it down with a micro fiber towel with out leaving marks in the clear coat. the dealer buffed the tank at the 1000 mile service due to the clear coat being so messed up. I called the dealer and told them I am going to bring it back in to have it looked at and see what they can do to fix it.

Has anyone else have this issue on their new CVO?

Any help on this issue is greatly appreciated

grc · « **Reply #1 on:** May 18, 2015, 09:00:52 AM »

Yes, others have posted about the same issue with that paint. If in fact the clear didn't cure and harden properly, there is no simple solution no matter what Harley may tell you. Their approach will be similar to what happened with CVO's back in 2006 when they had a major problem with the paint. Sanding and polishing out the surface scratches and haze will not fix the problem.

Jerry

Chains · « **Reply #2 on:** May 18, 2015, 09:10:08 AM »

Had a bike painted base coat clear coat one time, clear was soft. Turned out clear was old and would never harden. Painter had to start all over and strip and repaint. I don't know of anything to cure soft paint that wont set.

Good luck

Cross threaded · « **Reply #3 on:** May 18, 2015, 12:21:22 PM »

Sorry to hear about this G-Man. Hope they get you straight.

DOWNTOWN DON · « **Reply #4 on:** May 18, 2015, 01:50:33 PM »

Same bike, same color, same issue.
When i picked my bike up from the dealer, they didn't even detail it. They said every time they touched it, it just marked it. I rode it for about 6 weeks or more, just pressure washing the grime off, without actually touching it. It has finally hardened enough that last weekend i washed it and went over the whole bike with Meguiars paste wax, (pure synthetic polymer) and happy to say that 99% of the scuffs and micro scratches came out. It now looks better than the day i picked it up.

G-Man · « **Reply #5 on:** May 18, 2015, 02:15:37 PM »

Thanks for the replies, I live 4 hours from the dealer so I will not be able to bring the bike back to them until June 7th, I am hoping they will have an answer to the clear coat issue. its an awesome bike but it would be nice to be able to wash it without leaving scratches.

Nicky Pass · « **Reply #6 on:** May 18, 2015, 05:04:58 PM »

I'd say the clear in my HC Mercury is pretty hard! I had the spacers for the exhaust put on and some how....the dealer managed to get the bottom lip of the lower between the floor board and foot pad! After freaking out, I was sure the paint was gonna be marred after the 8 mile ride to get it fixed, but to my surprise.....it was fine....and I'm anal! I think that they paint them and ship them and the clear needs to harden. I was always told the clear isn't cured for atleast 60 days.

dean77 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 19, 2015, 12:38:58 PM »

Quote from: Nicky Pass on May 18, 2015, 05:04:58 PM

I'd say the clear in my HC Mercury is pretty hard! I had the spacers for the exhaust put on and some how....the dealer managed to get the bottom lip of the lower between the floor board and foot pad! After freaking out, I was sure the paint was gonna be marred after the 8 mile ride to get it fixed, but to my surprise.....it was fine....and I'm anal! I think that they paint them and ship them and the clear needs to harden. I was always told the clear isn't cured for atleast 60 days.

I have heard the same thing. My clearcoat seems rock solid as well but then being in New England it got to sit for over 3 months waiting for the snow to melt before I ever rode it!

grc · « **Reply #8 on:** May 19, 2015, 02:52:41 PM »

The urethane based clearcoats used to take 30 plus days to fully cure, back in the bad old days. That is not the case these days. Back in the early 2000's when I was running the paint department at an auto assembly plant, we had just upgraded to either the third or fourth generation clears, I forget which, and they were sufficiently cured and hard enough to be sanded and polished right after the paint ovens. The dealers could run the cars through their automatic car washes without scratching the paint as soon as they received them. That had not been the case with the first generation urethane clears. Those were the ones that lead many manufacturers to warn their dealers to not polish, wax, or run them through automatic car washes for at least 30 days.

Harley uses current generation clearcoats in their production, and I'm pretty sure they would require the same of their outside vendors for the CVO parts. If this was a normal condition, all the parts of all the various colors from the vendor would have the same haze and easily scratched issue. They do not. So don't let anyone blow you off with that "normal" BS.

Jerry

Puppypushr · « **Reply #9 on:** May 19, 2015, 08:10:18 PM »

Yep, same issue with mine. Very frustrating

Nicky Pass · « **Reply #10 on:** May 19, 2015, 09:35:31 PM »

Black is not a color......it's a commitment!

lrubio · « **Reply #11 on:** May 19, 2015, 11:22:08 PM »

HighOnHD posted this and it worked for me: http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=100557.0 It's a lot of work but the paint looked amazing after I finished.

G-Man · « **Reply #12 on:** May 20, 2015, 12:55:00 AM »

Thanks to everyone for the replies, and yes Irubio it sounds like HighOnHD is having the same problem I am with the clear coat. I thought I was getting a good deal when I paid 2000 under MSRP,I would have paid the full price if I didn't have to deal with this issue. I will keep you all posted on what the dealer says when I make it in to see them. Does anyone know if I can just have a harder clear sprayed over the soft clear on thebike our does it all have to be removed first?

Thanks!

HighOnHD · « **Reply #13 on:** May 20, 2015, 01:55:57 AM »

Quote from: grc on May 19, 2015, 02:52:41 PM

The urethane based clearcoats used to take 30 plus days to fully cure, back in the bad old days. That is not the case these days. Back in the early 2000's when I was running the paint department at an auto assembly plant, we had just upgraded to either the third or fourth generation clears, I forget which, and they were sufficiently cured and hard enough to be sanded and polished right after the paint ovens. The dealers could run the cars through their automatic car washes without scratching the paint as soon as they received them. That had not been the case with the first generation urethane clears. Those were the ones that lead many manufacturers to warn their dealers to not polish, wax, or run them through automatic car washes for at least 30 days.

Harley uses current generation clearcoats in their production, and I'm pretty sure they would require the same of their outside vendors for the CVO parts. If this was a normal condition, all the parts of all the various colors from the vendor would have the same haze and easily scratched issue. They do not. So don't let anyone blow you off with that "normal" BS.

Jerry

Quote from: lrubio on May 19, 2015, 11:22:08 PM

HighOnHD posted this and it worked for me: http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=100557.0 It's a lot of work but the paint looked amazing after I finished.

Well I suppose I should chime in here and also give an update on my paint. First off sorry to hear about the additional cases of the so called "soft clear". In my humble opinion it is likely that all of the colors have this issue. In my email exchanges with Gunslinger I was told they use VT5200 (or maybe it was DCU5200) clear and if I wanted to respray with a harder clear that would be compatible to use DCU4000. If you look up the specs on PPG VT5200 it is designed specifically for custom painting and especially for covering graphics and pinstripe. It has very high solids and is more challenging to spray, yet it is advertised as easy to buff (this equals soft). I doubt very much that non-cvo's are cleared with VT5200, and are more likely cleared with DCU4000 or similar.

Anyway, as for an update on my paint... the clear has definitely increased in hardness since the early (miserable) months of ownership. The lead painter at Gunslinger said it would continue to harden a little for as much as a year. Unlike some others I have been riding it throughout the Winter, caught in the rain several times, bugs splattered on it religiously, and even ridden on gravel roads a lot... you get the point. I get it dirty and actually have to clean it!!! Some colors hide the scratching better (like the lava flames on my bike AND like the silver on the HC). I have felt all along that as others actually get some time on their bikes this issue would surface more, and it seems like that is the case.

BTW. Since I'm on a rant... I'm by no means an expert, but the EPA has been continually pushing to reduce VOC's for manufacturers in this regard. This has been forcing the manufacturers into new formulations and processes to comply. The EPA does not give a damn if the clear is soft, or ends up sucking as long as their numbers are being met!! This damn issue ended up having me reading some damn PPG recent patents (maybe for VT5200) where they are having to create miracles to try and satisfy their customers AND the EPA.

We can't blame everything on HD! Besides I believe in capitalism. They must be doing something right or we just would not buy the damn bikes! I love my bike!!!

G-Man · « **Reply #14 on:** June 19, 2015, 12:38:17 AM »

Well I made it into the dealer and they said they want to put a "CILAJET" coating on my SG. they said it will protect the paint and will not scratch anymore.

So I wanted to see if anybody has heard of cilajet and if anybody has had this stuff applied to their Harley? Should I allow them to apply cilajet to my new Harley?

grc · « **Reply #15 on:** June 19, 2015, 08:57:28 AM »

Quote from: G-Man on June 19, 2015, 12:38:17 AM

Well I made it into the dealer and they said they want to put a "CILAJET" coating on my SG. they said it will protect the paint and will not scratch anymore.

So I wanted to see if anybody has heard of cilajet and if anybody has had this stuff applied to their Harley? Should I allow them to apply cilajet to my new Harley?

Tell your dealer to take his bogus "paint protectant" and put it where the sun don't shine, and don't let them fool you into doing this. It's just an overpriced sealant like so many others on the market. You don't need a sealant, you need properly cured paint.

Jerry

G-Man · « **Reply #16 on:** June 19, 2015, 09:24:45 AM »

Thank you for the input, that is was I was thinking myself. If the clear coat was done right than I shouldn't need any additional coating applied.

HighOnHD · « **Reply #17 on:** June 19, 2015, 12:51:12 PM »

Quote from: G-Man on May 20, 2015, 12:55:00 AM

Thanks to everyone for the replies, and yes Irubio it sounds like HighOnHD is having the same problem I am with the clear coat. I thought I was getting a good deal when I paid 2000 under MSRP,I would have paid the full price if I didn't have to deal with this issue. I will keep you all posted on what the dealer says when I make it in to see them. Does anyone know if I can just have a harder clear sprayed over the soft clear on thebike our does it all have to be removed first?

Thanks!

Sorry you are dealing with this. I know exactly how it feels. I agree with Jerry's advice regarding the sealant offer.
When I was confronted with this issue I decided to research all of my options and obtain as much information regarding the problem I could. This included (surprisingly to me) a rather lengthy email exchange between Gunslinger and myself.

After becoming a little better educated in this regard I made the decision to do what I could regarding paint buffing and sealant, and if after a year I was still not satisfied I would pay to have the bike prepped and resprayed with the harder compatible clear that Gunslinger's lead painter recommended... DCU400.

I have reported on all my experiences regarding this in several threads including this one. As it stands, I do not need to wait until I have had the bike for a year ( the supposed amount of time in which it will have peaked in clear coat hardness ) to decide whether or not I will need to have it resprayed. As mentioned in an earlier post above my clear coat has hardened enough already that it is acceptable to me.

I decided to operate under the old saying "If you want it done right, then do it yourself." I just took charge and dealt with it. I KNOW that no one else is going to take the time to do it for me, or at least care about it as much as I do.

Hope this information helps you come to a satisfactory conclusion with yours.

Gerhard · « **Reply #18 on:** June 30, 2015, 09:25:14 AM »

Hi All, I´m planning to order a CVO Streetglide and this clear-topic doesn´t encourage me much

What I don´t understand: Why is this matter only with HD CVO? I never heard from any car-brand about problems with clear - not even my italian Ducati shows this ...
G.

skycat · « **Reply #19 on:** June 30, 2015, 05:58:04 PM »

My HC is fine though its probably the color. It seems to be a dark color issue.
My bike is only a week old so its a last build maybe the clear is harder

on the newer bikes.
I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend a CVO all day long. the HC is awesome

Author Topic: 2015 CVO soft clear coat (Read 7174 times)