Clear coat polished forks?

vufromlu

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Just stripped the gold painted forks on my 650 and polished them down to a bright finish.
Should I leave them as is or spray clear coat on them? Anyone have comments on either option?
Thanks in advance
 
IMHO, if you clear-coat them, they'll just wind up "yellowing" like the original finish did (quicker, if the new finish isn't up to snuff...). You may want to give them a good wax job with some of the modern products out there (Mother's, McGuire's, etc.). If you notice it starting to dull up, give it another shine & wax (probably get away with doing it in the spring, before the start of riding season...). :twocents:
 
IMHO, if you clear-coat them, they'll just wind up "yellowing" like the original finish did (quicker, if the new finish isn't up to snuff...). You may want to give them a good wax job with some of the modern products out there (Mother's, McGuire's, etc.). If you notice it starting to dull up, give it another shine & wax (probably get away with doing it in the spring, before the start of riding season...). :twocents:

Yeah , what Tebo said. They are easy to keep shined up after you’ve polished them. I personally like Blue Magic polish, :thumbsup:
 
IMHO, if you clear-coat them, they'll just wind up "yellowing" like the original finish did (quicker, if the new finish isn't up to snuff...). You may want to give them a good wax job with some of the modern products out there (Mother's, McGuire's, etc.). If you notice it starting to dull up, give it another shine & wax (probably get away with doing it in the spring, before the start of riding season...). :twocents:
IMHO, if you clear-coat them, they'll just wind up "yellowing" like the original finish did (quicker, if the new finish isn't up to snuff...). You may want to give them a good wax job with some of the modern products out there (Mother's, McGuire's, etc.). If you notice it starting to dull up, give it another shine & wax (probably get away with doing it in the spring, before the start of riding season...). :twocents:
Just stripped the gold painted forks on my 650 and polished them down to a bright finish.
Should I leave them as is or spray clear coat on them? Anyone have comments on either option?
Thanks in advance

Good point ! Thanks for this
 
If you want to look at clear coating options Google cerakote MC 5100

Many Thanks!
IMHO, if you clear-coat them, they'll just wind up "yellowing" like the original finish did (quicker, if the new finish isn't up to snuff...). You may want to give them a good wax job with some of the modern products out there (Mother's, McGuire's, etc.). If you notice it starting to dull up, give it another shine & wax (probably get away with doing it in the spring, before the start of riding season...). :twocents:

Thx for great tip
 
Oh....just buffing the polish with what product? Were your forks previously biffed down to to base aluminum or just maintaining
the original clear coat (which was applied by factory)?
 
These were "probably" done 30 years ago.
front brake detail.jpg

Tubes and calipers clear powdercoat.
Quick rub with a rag and Blue Magic now and then. I've put 9,000 miles on it in the last few years.
 
Look great...so no real yellowing on clear coat!
Did you apply the clearcoat or done processionally in a booth, etc?
Thx so much ggggGary
 
PO ~ Previous Owner, the cause of all troubles on our beloved XS650s :rolleyes:
Technically it was the PPPO that had the powdercoat done. On this bike most of the "problems areas" were from the PPO
 
LOL...excellent...gotta learn the archive talk...
Thx gggGary....you’re the best..
I have spray clear coated a polished billet alum brake fluid reservoir
and it looks good but doing the forks may be a tad more difficult to get even coverage and hence equal reflected light...or maybe I am just worrying too much....
 
Thanks Marty....I may consider....this requires decemt spray paint tools which I don’t have at the moment (compared to rookie spray paint can) lol
 
I haven't tried it but this rattle can 2 part clear should work.
SprayMax 2K Automotive CLEAR COAT 3680061
Don't F around use PROPER breathing protection, this stuff can kill!
 
Thx Gary....yes just viewed a video about it. Great info and a buddy if mine is a Napa dealer
so I think I can get a small discount on it. Of course, I will be spending money on a mask of some sort...ugh
Cheers
 
For what it's worth, back when I was building my XS, I stripped my forks down to bare aluminum and got rid of all the yellowing factory clear coat. I then spent the hours wet sanding them up to a mirror polish (I want to say 2500 or 3000 grit?), anyways...when I was done I was considering clear coat, etc...but I didn't want to deal with yellowing again, pay someone to do it, nor does clear coat mean you don't have to clean them/shine them up after a wash, etc.

I just use autosol to get the metal to shine, and call it good...I can't say I do it regularly, only when I notice it needs it or when I have time. Which usually means once a year (maybe). :)
 
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