CVO's have always been more prone to paint defects versus the standard production bikes, due to the fact the CVO parts are painted by outside vendors that most likely lack the latest and greatest technology found in the paint shops of major vehicle manufacturers. Also adding to the potential for flaws is how often each painted part is handled during the process that includes multiple colors, embedded graphics, and pin striping. Lots of CVO's from the 2005-2006 period had multiple parts replaced due to stupid stuff like fingerprints embedded in the paint, as well as contamination in the paint film, or the overly soft finish resulting from excessive paint film thickness and poor cure common in 2006. In other words, while you shouldn't get defective paint on a supposed top of the line and "custom built" (Harley's words, not mine) motorcycle, people intimately familiar with production vehicle paint processes can understand why we did. I ran a paint operation for a large automotive assembly plant for many years, and can assure you that the hardest department to run in an assembly plant is the paint department. No matter how well the process is designed and how well the employees are trained, it's not an exact science and stuff happens. That isn't to say it's OK to ship defects to the customer however, I'm just saying generating defects is something to be expected in paint operations. The containment and repair of any defects is still part of what the painters get paid for, and the fact that so many obvious defects get to CVO customers just shows the vendor and Harley don't pay enough attention to inspection and containment of defects.
Jerry
Author
Topic: Paint Bubbles (with pic) UPDATED (Read 3396 times)