I'm interested in the opinions of anyone who currently has or has had Black Denim paint. Did you regret buying it? What is it like maintenance wise? Did you find that it hides more or shows more chips, scuffs, wear etc. I am considering this on my next bike, so any feedback on its pros and cons is appreciated. Thanks

 

I have nothing to add to this thread, but have wondered this myself as well.

 

Have a buddy that had a BD bike, no go for me, after seeing what a pain it was for him I decided not to get one. The color looks great but good luck maintaining it. You rub it on the bottom of the tank close to the seat, there's no clear to protect from surface scratches, nicks, etc. How many times on a car or non BD bike you get a small scratch or something and you "buff" it right out, no "buffing" with the BD. Again it was not my bike, but I saw the hassles first hand. It's unfortunate, because it is a nice color, I do like it, especially with red pin striping.

Just my

 

I love mine. I clean it with windex and about every 4th cleaning I use the HD denim cleaner. I had a vivid black and hated the scratches it got from cleaning and waxing.

I would definately buy Denim black again.

 

no offense, but you don't know what you're talking about. it is clear coated, there is an additive to the clear to make it matt. i've had my denim black for almost 2 years. no problems with it at all. you are correct in your assessment of 'buffing out' a small scratch, but i've not had to deal with that. the paint job is tougher than you give it credit for. and don't say that it's because i don't ride either, in 18 months i've put over 22,000 miles on this bike. rode it in all kinds of weather. still looks new.

if you do have something rubbing on it, it can/will cause that area to shine more so you want to avoid that. one of the 'features' of the paint is that it will wear in 'like your favorite pair of jeans', but again, i don't have that going on either.

windex to clean it up. takes all of 5 minutes. maybe a spray of harley gloss now and then to give it that fresh showroom look. and they do make a 'flat black' touch up paint if you do manage to get a chip that you want to mask.

i think the biggest downside is also biggest upside. you don't wax it. my wife bought a new 2012 rg in big blue pearl, and after not having waxed a bike in almost 2 years, that bike just screams 'wax me!'

yeah, i love my denim. but then i'd rather spend my time riding, and not detailing.

 

This is my second Black Denim bike. You can clean it with anything. Sure you get little scratches but they buff right out. I can clean my bike front to back in 10 minutes using a Detailing spray. I have used Meguiars Detailing spray Stoners Invisible glass. The cool thing about black denim is just that, it wears like blue jeans. No washing just some sprays and done.

 

No offense taken, so I was wrong on one thing, like I said I didn't own it a riding buddy did, and he said it wasn't clear coated and didn't look it to me.

Thanks for the correction.

 

Yeah what he said^

 

I had a Street Bob in the denim black. I washed it just like any other bike - except I didn't have to wax it when done. Dried up nice & clean. No worries on spots or anything. HOWEVER, I would urge you to use much more caution around it than with a gloss painted bike.
It "may" have a clear coat on it - but it doesn't protect it nearly as much as a gloss bike. If you bump a tool or keys on it - and it's enough to scratch it - it's scratched. I had 3 small spots on my bike: front fender & 2 on the gas tank. I had a tiny little bottle of the denim touch up paint (which I used liberally on various shiny parts such as screw tops and the like to make'em blend in), and while it worked well on those scratches, I still saw them every single day. Most people didn't - but I did.

On shiny gloss black bikes, I wouldn't have had the scratch from the same thing that gave me scratches on the denim. And I definitely would've been able to make'em completely invisible on my own with gloss black.

Maybe some folks can own'em and are careful enough to not cause permanent & obvious marks - but not me. I love the look - but I honestly don't care for the risk/worry about f'n it up.

I can't speak for the other denim colors; just black. And for those of you who hanven't marred your finish up yet...your time will come. And it'll suck. Unless you go with the "it's got character" belief...

 

I'm interest too, been considering changing for a while now, maybe Fat Bob maybe Street Glide either way I think I want the DB. The idea of the black engine in the Fat Bob appeals as I'd rather spend less time cleaning chrome, just a nice bike to ride