I just took delivery of my first Harley last week and I am ready to dive right in polishing & waxing till all hours of the night. I've always heard that you shouldn't wax a new vehicle right away due to the paint being soft or something like that. Is this just a load of BS? Or can I wax it right away? With all the different products I don't even know where to start. What is the best wax/polish to use? Just like most other Harley owners I'm looking for nothing less than perfection.

 

The paint should be at least 30-45 days old before its waxed. If you bought it off the floor you should be ok, you can decode the build date if your concerned.

I use S-100 cleaner with an air-blaster to dry her, and Pledge......yes Pledge to wax my bikes. 1 microfiber to apply, and another to buff to a shine after dry. Your bike will look "showroom new".

 

All new age paints can be sanded and polished with in 24 hours, whether they were baked or not. Polished not waxed, there is a difference. Most manufacturers bake their finishes to speed up build process. Fairings and bags would see a lower temperature bake to lessen deforming the parts. All modern after market paints are catalyzed to speed drying times and to harden the paint.
It used to be that paint manufactures said not to wax for about six months, now most don't have any recommended time period, this is mainly because most people don't bother because of the shine that base coat clear paints have. All new bikes can have a coat of wax applied right after you buy them. All waxes are not the same, some will seal the surface- not good, some allow the paint to breath- good. Any high end carnauba wax works best, read the label look for a non- abrasive wax. Apply and remove with micro fiber towels is the best way to go. After about six months or so if you really want the paint to jump out use Mequiars #2 then #9 then a coat of Mequiars or Mothers carnauba wax. You will end up with a glass smooth finish. You can re-polish in the future, but only use the # 2 if you notice allot of hair line swirls. Try the wax only first if this doesn't hide them use #9 to see if it will remove or lessen the swirls. The #2 is mildly abrasive and excessive use can rub the clear coat right off.
Mequiars and Mothers make an assortment of products, use them correctly and you'll have no problems. Use chrome cleaner and polish for chrome, aluminum polish for aluminum. Do not use aluminum polish on chrome no matter want some company's say. In order to polish aluminum properly they contain an abrasive and will swirl up your chrome.
I've been doing this for years. Wash the windshield by wetting down first, wash with soapy water with a micro-fiber towel, dry with a micro-fiber towel, and then apply a coat of carnauba wax. It keeps them crystal clear and also makes them real easy to wash bugs and dirt away, because the crap is on the wax not the plastic.

 

I guess there is a lot more to it than just washing and waxing. I'm pretty **** about my vehicles so I know I'll probably be even worse with my new Ultra. I'll be looking for the best wax I can get right away.

Thanks so much for the info.