Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Paul1]

Seems to be rust appearing & creeping under the paintwork, really bad on rear fender, but just started on front fender & now think the tank also, surely this is an issue with the painter & obviously moisture got to metalwork prior to paint ? Definately no signs of damage to top surface of paint anywhere.

I heard Harley had issues in 2006 with some of there metal grind paintwork.  Paid a huge amount of money for this custom paint job from a very reputable custom paint company in the UK & cant believe the state of it now, obviously its not on my CVO but my dyna & hardly used.

Any advice / input on this would be greatly appreciated.  Cheers, Paul.

[Paul1]

 no2

[Paul1]

no3

[Paul1]

no4

[Paul1]

no5

[Paul1]

no6

[Paul1]

Looking at it now you would never think it won the best custom paint in last years SOFER HOG Rally.  It just looks a complete mess 

[plasmadaddy]

Not good at all Paul

If it were me, I'd show it to the painter. If he's as reputable as you say (and I'm sure he is!) he wouldn't want to get a a bad rep for poor paint prep.

Good luck!

[Paul1]

Not good at all Paul

If it were me, I'd show it to the painter. If he's as reputable as you say (and I'm sure he is!) he wouldn't want to get a a bad rep for poor paint prep.

Good luck!

Jury's out on that at present, took rear fender in to them on Friday & they said they would put it right, although got the impression they were not accepting any liability & just said rust can be a nightmare ! Then at w/e thoroughly checked the bike & it is showing signs on tank & front fender, emailed them & told them I wanted everything re-painting, but as yet no reply.

Can't believe they would sell this type of custom work if these are the problems !

Cheers, Paul.

[Twolanerider]

You don't mention how long ago this paint work was done.  How old is the work?

[Paul1]

You don't mention how long ago this paint work was done.  How old is the work?

It was done 12 months ago, but first noticed a problem about 6 mths ago, but was told then that it was due to moisture getting in where the paint had chipped on the rear fender where the back of the seat bolts down, but it now seems that was not the cause as it is showing in another 4 places on the rear fender, the tank & front fender. Personally I think it is down to moisture in the airline during spraying.  The company have now accepted responsibility & have said that they will rectify all the paintwork, however, now I am not so sure about this type of painting & future problems with rust.  I have asked them to confirm that it will not happen again, still waiting on a reply as I want there response in writing. Beginning to think I would be better off with a more conventional paint job !

[Twolanerider]

I have asked them to confirm that it will not happen again, still waiting on a reply as I want there response in writing. Beginning to think I would be better off with a more conventional paint job !

That's asking them to confirm what they obviously can't.  Too many variables both in and out of their control.  In fact if a vendor did promise me that such a problem could never happen again I'd take that as reason not to trust them as it's a promise that can only be made from hubris or as a means to make a sale or pacify a customer.

Conventional paint will equal less risk.  That's a certainty.  Liking the look will mean accepting that some risk will go along with having it.  I'd worry that the slightest imperfection (at time of production or caused by riding or maintenance any time later) could allow migration that would eventually lead to a similar problem.

[grc]

IMHO, the "metal grind" paint treatment is a fad that came from the show bike circuit, where the paint doesn't have to hold up and the bikes don't have to actually run or be able to be ridden more than a hundred yards if they do actually run. 

It is not necessary to actually break the paint film to have the result you have.  And it doesn't necessarily mean there was moisture in the air supply or on the metal when they sprayed it.  There really are very good reasons why we in the auto industry use galvaneal metal in the body panels, then we clean and acid etch the bodies, then we phosphate coat them, then we dip them in tanks of electrocoat primers, then we apply spray primers, then we apply basecoat (color), and then we apply multiple coats of clear urethane.  Trust me, if it was just as good to throw a couple coats of clear on bare metal, we would have saved billions of dollars in facility, materials, and labor costs over the years and just shot the raw steel with a couple coats of paint.

You asked for opinions, so here is mine.  Get a real paint job using a full conventional process if you want durability.  Anyone who guarantees they can do a grind/clear paint job without such a failure is likely to be very uninformed at best, or a charlatan at worst.  There is no magic.


Jerry

[Paul1]

Really appreciate your comments guys, looks like I'll be going for a conventional paint finish, just got to decide what colour now ! Cheers, Paul 

[wicked110]

I have had this type of paint work for 9 years on my bike. Mine is still flawless so dont let them tell you it just happens.