fork corrision

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Mar 18, 2023 | 10:11 AM

briankm98

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From: Gulf Breeze,FL

fork corrision

2007 Fatboy-forks are turning dull. Looks like rust but wrong color. Any ideas on anything I can do?

Mar 18, 2023 | 10:17 AM

Andy from Sandy

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From: England

If it is the usual clear coat failure and then moisture getting underneath to create dark grey patches there is only one cure to strip all of the clear coat and reapply it.

On the other hand what I did was after removing the clear coat / lacquer I used various grades of paper and finally a metal polish to create a shiny finish and then applied a coat of wax for protection.

You can see the forks have a brushed finish so in the case of re lacquering it is important to not use anything abrasive that will affect it.

With the polished finish and open to the elements the oxidation that you are probably seeing doesn't seem to occur even after the wax is degraded.

Mar 18, 2023 | 10:18 AM

painterguy39

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From: mpls,minnesota

Yep they are terrible to maintain,clearcoat gets chipped and oxidizes underneath
Refinish every few years or just learn to live with it

Mar 18, 2023 | 10:19 AM

GalvTexGuy

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Do an Advanced Search for “polishing forks”. Multiple threads on the topic.

Mar 18, 2023 | 10:22 AM

Andy from Sandy

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From: England

I bought my first bike in 1974 and fork sliders have not changed in all that time with the brushed finish to the metal and then coated so they fail in the same way now as they did 50 years ago.

Mar 18, 2023 | 10:23 AM

briankm98

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From: Gulf Breeze,FL

thanks for the info

Mar 18, 2023 | 11:07 AM

CoolBreeze3646

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From: Pennsylvania

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy from Sandy

I bought my first bike in 1974 and fork sliders have not changed in all that time with the brushed finish to the metal and then coated so they fail in the same way now as they did 50 years ago.

The only way to stop it is when new put some paint protection film (PPF) on the front of the fork sliders to prevent the rock chips from chipping the clear coat.

I did this with my 2019 Trike and it has held up well. Of course if you get a big enough rock that cuts through the PPF, you should put new PPF on. Cheap enough and you can DIY and put on other places that may get chips also. Cut it to size and apply, it you don't get it right the first time, redo it. Plenty of YouTube videos on how it goes on.