My 1st Bike Detail - Kawasaki Vulcan

Well I had told a few members here that I was going to be doing my first bike and hoped it would go well as Bike detailing is an untapped gold mine in my area. My area is full of bikers, from Harleys to Goldwings to Crotch Rockets you name it and no one does bike detailing. Well my co-worker had been after me since I had done his wife's Torrent with Supernatural to do his bike. I have never done a bike and don't even ride one so I was hesitant to say the least. Well I decided to give it a go so he was bringing me his Kawasaki Vulcan.

The guy that sits with me in the control room at work is a bike afficinado. He has built two custom bikes himself. So he was my source of info. He helped guide me in what I could do which to my surprise was pretty much anything. Well here's what I did, oh and as I'll explain later I am sooooo glad I bought a paint gauge!

Tires/Wheels: I used Surf City Beyond Steel wheel cleaner on the wheels. I am amazed at how much the wheels shined after using only SC Beyond Steel. I didn't need anything else to make it bling which was a relief. I used various brushes: Black Magic Tire brush, EZ detail brush, and Swissvax Wheel brush. Tires got Majestic Solutions Super Green Stuff and a Tire brush. Now after much research and debate on if I should dress the tires or not I decided to dress them. They didn't look very good with just a cleaning so I decided to use Majestic Solutions Super Dress All. It is very matte and has absolutely no slickness to it. I use it as a base coat on car tires because of this and its durability. I applied the MS Super Dress All with half a Cobra Tire Applicator which was the perfect size. I only dressed the sidewalls and talked to the guy after he drove it home and there were no issues whatsoever.

Wash: OK again some more debate here on what to do. After talking with my consultant, lol, I felt comfortable foaming the bike just like I do a car. He said everything is designed to get wet on a bike and just make sure you don't get water in the exhaust and you should be golden. I used Majestic Solutions Wash n Wax in my foam cannon. I used another bucket with a grit guard and some DP Xtreme Foam soap. All paint, chrome and plastic "chrome looking" parts were washed with a grout sponge. The engine and frame were pre-treated with Majestic Solutions SGS and washed with a boars hair brush. I rinsed with my CR spotless system and dried with a leaf blower because there are so many small areas. Getting water in the exhaust was my only concern so I washed and rinsed everything in the same direction as the exhaust pipes.

Chrome: I cleaned the chrome (except the wheels) with P21s Polishing soap. You know I was never really impressed with this stuff until I realized that I was in search of the holy grail of metal polishes and this one does a really good job but like most polishes isn't a miracle worker. Aftert the bike was washed I polished the chrome with SC Killer Chrome. There was spot on the exhaust pipes where his son's tennis shoe had touched it while they were riding and melted some of the rubber on it and he couldn't get it to come off. I used the SC KC polish and some #0000 Steel Wool after CG's Body Solvent couldn't get it all off. It came off as you can see in the pic:




Plastic "Chrome-like" parts: There was a lot of Chrome looking pieces on this bike that were actually plastic. I used DP Plex-All on it as well as the headlight and taillights. The Plex-All did a fantastic job.

Rubber, Vinyl, and Black Plastic: The rubber foot controls, foot rests, throttle grips, and back foot pegs got CGs VRP because it too isn't slick after application. The seat and black plastic pieces got 303 protectant.

Mirrors: CGs Glass Cleaner applied with a Dollar General Glass MF and wiped off with a Walmart WW.

Paint: As I said earlier I am sooooo glad I got my DFT combo paint gauge from Phil at DD! He wanted the scratches and swirls removed from the paint and I planned on doing it. I started out by taking paint thickness readings before I started. I never realized that the paint was so thin on a bike. I got readings of 70-75 microns consistently throughout the entire bike. I had just read Dave KG's rotary guide the previous day and remembered where he talked about getting low readings and having to adjust what you planned to do. He said this may call for a very moderate polishing approach and the use of a glaze. Well thats what I decided to do, just like Dave KG said and work with what I had. Thanks Dave KG so much for that guide as it has been very helpful to me!

Well with a new game plan I removed the seat and began polishing with the Metabo, a 5 1/4 black LC CCS finishing pad and 3M Ultrafina SE. This got rid of some very minor marring and swirling but I didn't think it was being very successful. That is until I shined the brinkman on it and the area I had polished on the tank was so much blacker and glossier than the other half of the tank. Man I was really pleased and continued polishing with this combo. After polishing I buffed it off with a CGs yellow and black MF. Next up was CGs EZ Creme by hand with a 4" black LC CCS pad and a Polishing Pal. This was buffed off with another CGs yellow and black MF.

Protection: I used CGs Jetseal on EVERYTHING! Painted parts, chrome, aluminum, plastic etc all got a coat of Jetseal. I applied it with a 4" blue LC CCS pad and Polishing Pal. It was buffed off with a CGs edgeless MF.

LSP: I decided to use CGs 5050 wax. This was the first time I had used it and man did I like it. I used my hair dryer method like I do with all wax application now. I heated up a Griots 3" red wax pad and rubbed it around on the wax. The Griots pad is great as it fits in a pot of wax perfectly. The 5050 went on and off with no effort. It also gave it a really wet look!

Well I learned a lot and had a great time doing the bike. I look forward to my next one. Well here are the pics:

Before and Afters:















Random pics:

 

WOLF that is some great work mate, probably the most BLINDING end results I've ever seen!

 

Great job JL, I was wondering when you were going to post this.

 

Damn fine job there wolf!!! When you showed me the pics the one below is the one I was going on about yesterday... it os a great pic!

Great work and write up as always!!! Hope fully you become the "bike guy" $$$

 

Congrats Wolfpacker. Extremely Impressive!!!!!Very nice write up too! How long did it take you?

 

Man that looks really good...... I mean really good....

 

JL that's a pretty sweet detail there bro!! glad you finally jumped ship and did a bike. they're a PIA, but can be rewarding. I charge a flat rate of $150 starting off and won't do old bikes in bad shape. Only newer bikes

 

Very good work JL! The bike came out great, shiny!

 

:applause: Awesome work....I agree with Dust about doing bikes.....

 

Another great job bud, yes I have a guy nagging me to detail his bike but I am hesitant myself. After seeing your results I am thinking I might give the guy a call soon. Again great work JL, you shined that bike up amazingly. :applause2:

-Corey

 

Nice work. Im hoping to do one of my buddies crotch rockets here soon. I think hes actually picking it up today.

 

Wow that bike lookes really good, job well done Wolf :cheerl: :cheerl:

 

Thanks mate I'm really proud of my first bike!

Man I've been working so much with details and my day job that I just hadn't had time. Thanks for the compliments, you've taught me a lot.

Thanks bro that's my favorite pic as well. I think this is going to become a very nice gig to get into around here.

Thanks Tonya really appreciate it! Believe it or not it only took me about 3.5 - 4 hours to get that which really pleased me.

Thanks bro that means a lot coming from the master! :headbang: You see this was Chemical Guys'd right! Oh and as usual you were right I really liked 5050.

Thanks Dust I'm really glad I took the plunge and did one too. Wasn't as bad as I anticipated and was quite enjoyable. Even though I don't ride I've always thought they were beautiful machines. I hear ya on price and I'm going to see the bike before I agree to it or agree to a price.

Thanks pirex, shiny is what I was going for and CGs didn't let me down.

Go for it Corey I know you would do a great job on it as you do with all your work! Its funny how bikers practically have to beg someone to detail their bikes. Thats why I figure it's an untapped gold mine in my area.

Thanks Dan I want to do a crotch rocket soon too to see if its easier or harder than a street bike. Look forward to seeing the pics.

Thanks Nica, I just followed your mantra that you gotta try some unknowns sometimes just to see for yourself if you can do it. Man did that pay off .... Thanks bro!

 

Wolf..great job on the m/c! I have resisted doing them also; I had a guy ask me the other day and I told him no. I just find they're such a PITA to get into all the small nooks and crannies. I will add something to your knowledge base: if you have an engine with painted fins (see my pic below), I have had good luck spraying it with a tire cleaner and then going over it with Q-tips. I would strongly caution you however about dressing sidewalls..you mentioned you don't ride..it can be very dangerous as you were told and it just depends on how aggressive the rider is. I am very aggressive when I ride (riding for Windsor P.D. MIGHT have something to do with it, LOL) and I never, ever put anything on my sidewalls b/c when I am cornering, more often than not, I am scraping the floorboards against the ground, which is a very large lean angle. The hardest thing I have found is doing a good job on the spokes..I will have to try SC when I do mine next. I did not ride it last summer and probably won't this summer either. Here's a pic of mine when I had time to ride and clean it.

 

man richy you got some nice toys buddy, gorgeous bike :druling:

 

Wow, I actually missed this thread... great work as usual JL!

 

Oh man Denzil! I do hate you now, lol. I hoped for a new bike detail from JL, but it was OLD!

Sucks......

okey, still love you..

 

Awesome job. What you need is a motorcycle jack. Mine cost $200 CDN and will lift a full dress Harley 18" off the ground. Gives you a nice stable platform to work from and makes cleaning the underside of the motor and wheels a breeze.

 

Haha, it was a new detail to me! : I still love you too Ketil, LoL!

Hmm, I was actually thinking of getting one for my R6 but right now I'm just using the Vortex rear spool stand which I must say is pretty awesome. However, I'm sure something like the Craftsman bike lift is more versatile and applicable for all motorcycles.

 

You are so right I really need one of those.