Fork Legs

[grog]

My standard fork legs just starting to show their age. Not too bad, few pit marks etc.. Just watched SA amazing polish job, i can do that. I really like Hammerite grey/black finish, same as my crash bars. Can do that also.I can also do as standard, that paint has served well. What should i choose gentlemen?

[Notty]

My standard fork legs just starting to show their age. Not too bad, few pit marks etc.. Just watched SA amazing polish job, i can do that. I really like Hammerite grey/black finish, same as my crash bars. Can do that also.I can also do as standard, that paint has served well. What should i choose gentlemen?

Polish 

[Hooli]

Salt & brake dust, it gives that 'post race' look.

[SA14]

Fly me up - pay for beer and BBQ and I'll do it for you but you have to laugh at at least 35% of my jokes.

In all seriousness, what about that chrome paint stuff? I used it once on a Nailhead intake manifold and was surprised at the result. These days it's probably not half bad - from a distance.

[SA14]

You could brush it on...

or wash it on!

[KiwiCol]

Those 2 videos are amazing, just wow!

[steve porter]

In a few months time we will all know if the ceramic coating on SA14's has Maintained the bond with the aluminum like it does with paint, mine could do with a refurb as well but I'm prepared to wait For the results as it's currently a commuter and I'm not prepared to repolish weekly or even monthly

[SA14]

In a few months time we will all know if the ceramic coating on SA14's has Maintained the bond with the aluminum like it does with paint, mine could do with a refurb as well but I'm prepared to wait For the results as it's currently a commuter and I'm not prepared to repolish weekly or even monthly

I'm with you Steve, after what I went through to get these forks to look this shiny I couldn't be arsed doing it again any time soon at all. Once a year - fine but worrying about it all the time is not for me. However I fear I won't be exposing them to the elements enough so I'm going to conduct a super test by polishing my old crusty engine covers to as shiny as I can get them, applying a triple coat of 85% SiO2 Ceramic coating and just leaving them out in the rain or spraying them with the hose every now and then or even leaving them in the shower. A real torture test.

Just on this, the headlight mounts I polished a bit over 2 months ago only received a single coat of ceramic and they still fantastic. Been washed a few times and rained on twice. Every time just wiped down like regular paint and no signs of tarnish yet so it's looking good. Plus this ceramic is used on stainless surgical instruments, paint, plastic (I've been using it on headlights I polish for years) glass, anything hard that needs protection. It's pretty amazing stuff and I'm really hoping it passes my torture test because it'll be a game changer for all of us. I might even turn it into a little business because I'm sure heaps of other bikers are sick of polishing their raw alumunium all the time too. Here's a pic of how they looked yesterday.

How long do you think they would last before losing shine and starting to tarnish? I.E. when will we know for sure it's a solution?

From the Wurtzite website...

Wurtzite P85 High-grade 85% SiO2 proprietary composite blend with superior wax like finish unlike any other coating on the market, extremely durable NanoCeramic protectant for paint surface.

P85 85% ADVANTAGE:
P85 is the only 85% SiO2 Nano-ceramic coating on the market this means the active ingredient in P85 is 85% SiO2 solid content, unlike other brands on the market are 50% or less. The wax like gloss and above 9H hardens can only be achieved with Wurtzite P85's High solid content. Other brands tend to use toppers to enhance gloss the problem with this is they use non-permanent coatings that wash away. SiO2 coatings are not all created equal P85 uses a High Grade of SiO2 manufactured in Japan. P85 has a performance life of 10 years and has become the number one choice for professionals in the luxury car market internationally all backed by Wurtzite's 10 year warranty.

EASY APPLICATION :
P85 is extremely easy to install unlike other coatings that require a lot of rubbing and microfiber towel wastage, with P85 you will only need 2 micro fiber towels to finish the job. We recommend 2 sequential coats of P85 this ensures a 6 micron layer and extreme slick gloss finish. Spray gun applications are suited to hard to get areas like wheel spokes and inside wheel barrels, grills and plastic moldings. P85 has a quick flash point with means better adhesion to paint surface this also reduces product wastage. Professional use only. 
PERFORMANCE COATINGS. NO HYPE.

It's made in Japan.

[steve porter]

In a few months time we will all know if the ceramic coating on SA14's has Maintained the bond with the aluminum like it does with paint, mine could do with a refurb as well but I'm prepared to wait For the results as it's currently a commuter and I'm not prepared to repolish weekly or even monthly

I'm with you Steve, after what I went through to get these forks to look this shiny I couldn't be arsed doing it again any time soon at all. Once a year - fine but worrying about it all the time is not for me. However I fear I won't be exposing them to the elements enough so I'm going to conduct a super test by polishing my old crusty engine covers to as shiny as I can get them, applying a triple coat of 85% SiO2 Ceramic coating and just leaving them out in the rain or spraying them with the hose every now and then or even leaving them in the shower. A real torture test.

Just on this, the headlight mounts I polished a bit over 2 months ago only received a single coat of ceramic and they still fantastic. Been washed a few times and rained on twice. Every time just wiped down like regular paint and no signs of tarnish yet so it's looking good. Plus this ceramic is used on stainless surgical instruments, paint, plastic (I've been using it on headlights I polish for years) glass, anything hard that needs protection. It's pretty amazing stuff and I'm really hoping it passes my torture test because it'll be a game changer for all of us. I might even turn it into a little business because I'm sure heaps of other bikers are sick of polishing their raw alumunium all the time too. Here's a pic of how they looked yesterday.

How long do you think they would last before losing shine and starting to tarnish? I.E. when will we know for sure it's a solution?

From the Wurtzite website...

Wurtzite P85 High-grade 85% SiO2 proprietary composite blend with superior wax like finish unlike any other coating on the market, extremely durable NanoCeramic protectant for paint surface.

P85 85% ADVANTAGE:
P85 is the only 85% SiO2 Nano-ceramic coating on the market this means the active ingredient in P85 is 85% SiO2 solid content, unlike other brands on the market are 50% or less. The wax like gloss and above 9H hardens can only be achieved with Wurtzite P85's High solid content. Other brands tend to use toppers to enhance gloss the problem with this is they use non-permanent coatings that wash away. SiO2 coatings are not all created equal P85 uses a High Grade of SiO2 manufactured in Japan. P85 has a performance life of 10 years and has become the number one choice for professionals in the luxury car market internationally all backed by Wurtzite's 10 year warranty.

EASY APPLICATION :
P85 is extremely easy to install unlike other coatings that require a lot of rubbing and microfiber towel wastage, with P85 you will only need 2 micro fiber towels to finish the job. We recommend 2 sequential coats of P85 this ensures a 6 micron layer and extreme slick gloss finish. Spray gun applications are suited to hard to get areas like wheel spokes and inside wheel barrels, grills and plastic moldings. P85 has a quick flash point with means better adhesion to paint surface this also reduces product wastage. Professional use only. 
PERFORMANCE COATINGS. NO HYPE.

It's made in Japan.

Hopefully a game changer, and glad you've taken up the challenge,I've polished lots of things over the years including my Ducati rims  and it's always a little disappointing to see to see them slowly but surely lose their shine over time, I'll take a photo of a few things that I polished to mirror shine back in the 90's that haven't been touched since for a reference

[Batkwaka]

Slightly off the area of topic but if you're re-chroming the fork sliders apparently Westrac in WA specialise in refurbishing hydraulic rams and that pretty much sums up what a Fork Leg is.

[SA14]

Hopefully a game changer, and glad you've taken up the challenge,I've polished lots of things over the years including my Ducati rims  and it's always a little disappointing to see to see them slowly but surely lose their shine over time, I'll take a photo of a few things that I polished to mirror shine back in the 90's that haven't been touched since for a reference

I've been thinking about it all day actually. If I could prove this it'd be a great contribution to the biking community. I'll start a fresh thread in the polish section and we'll get all sciencey on it's arse.

[grog]

Wurtzite, $130/30ml. How long would that last SA? Probably a long time. In comparison, maybe 10 yrs ago, i bought a 30ml bottle of some super duper gun oil, use it on my golf shafts. Bought a spare bottle. First bottle not yet half way. Works perfectly, not bad value for that length of time. Not always about the size, more about how you use it.😂

[SA14]

Wurtzite, $130/30ml. How long would that last SA? Probably a long time. In comparison, maybe 10 yrs ago, i bought a 30ml bottle of some super duper gun oil, use it on my golf shafts. Bought a spare bottle. First bottle not yet half way. Works perfectly, not bad value for that length of time. Not always about the size, more about how you use it.😂

I use 5 or 6 drops onto a thin cloth (similar to that which people use to clean their reading glasses) per headlight for a single coating and get about 60-80 headlights per bottle. It goes a very long way. One bottle generally does a whole car (or at least it's sold that way) so I reckon one bottle would do a triple coat and many bikes worth of bright work. I pay AUD$230 per bottle. To triple coat the forks I used about 15-20 drops per fork. I was very liberal with my use though because I wanted nice thick coats. I did three coats (20 minutes between coats) but on headlights I only use a single coat.

I'll start a thread in a minute and we can discuss it at length because this is very interesting to me.

[grog]

Mate owns detailing shop, they use Ceramic Pro. Reckons the best thing i can ever do to helmet visor, inside stops fogging, outside just wipe bugs off. Its free for me, just havent got there yet. Will give me a spray bottle to do whole bike, must find the time. My bosses black Merc done couple of years ago, looks amazing. No fingerprints, always looks clean, like it has a water film look.

[SA14]

Yeah, ceramic is pretty amazing stuff but if you're going to do your bike get the proper liquid not the spray form. Keeping an eye on graphene too.