replacing lower fork sliders on 06?
Road Master
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RE: replacing lower fork sliders on 06?
ORIGINAL: JamieWG
Polish the stock sliders and forget about replacing them. I was going to buy the chrome sliders and decided to take a shot at polishing the stock ones. Now people look at the bike and think I have chrome sliders. It takes about two hours of work, but the results are worth it.
Polish the stock sliders and forget about replacing them. I was going to buy the chrome sliders and decided to take a shot at polishing the stock ones. Now people look at the bike and think I have chrome sliders. It takes about two hours of work, but the results are worth it.
What do you polish them with?
Wally
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Joined: Apr 2006
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RE: replacing lower fork sliders on 06?
ORIGINAL: wild wally
Jamie,
What do you polish them with?
Wally
ORIGINAL: JamieWG
Polish the stock sliders and forget about replacing them. I was going to buy the chrome sliders and decided to take a shot at polishing the stock ones. Now people look at the bike and think I have chrome sliders. It takes about two hours of work, but the results are worth it.
Polish the stock sliders and forget about replacing them. I was going to buy the chrome sliders and decided to take a shot at polishing the stock ones. Now people look at the bike and think I have chrome sliders. It takes about two hours of work, but the results are worth it.
What do you polish them with?
Wally
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2005
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RE: replacing lower fork sliders on 06?
ORIGINAL: stbobber
yea what kind of polish?
yea what kind of polish?
You have to wet sand them first. Start off with 400 grit wet/dry paper. Run the hose on the fork leg, get it wet and start sanding. Once you get down to the metal, switch to 600 grit, then 800, then 1200. I think I finished them up with 2000 grit. After that, use a good metal polish and they'll shine like chrome. I used The Wax Shop Metal polish, then found out they quit making it, so I called them and now it's sold under VIP Metal Polish. They said they mostly sell to the military. Ordered some and it works great. But really, any metal polish will work. Mothers makes some good stuff too. I clean the bike up real good about once a week and I hit the sliders with a little polish to keep them looking good. They don't oxidize much if you stay after them once a week or so. Only takes a minute or two to clean them up and I'd do that even if they weren't polished.
If you want to try it, just do a small spot on the back, lower edge of the leg to make sure you like the results. Keep the sand paper wet and rinse it frequently. It took me less than two hours to do both sliders. I removed the fender and taped off the chrome dust covers before I started. I still need to pull the caliper off and polish around the mounting tab, but it's on the back of the leg and no one ever notices it anyway. Just about everyone who sees the bike asks how much the chrome sliders cost. It's very easy to get a mirror like shine on them.
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 534
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From: Illinois
RE: replacing lower fork sliders on 06?
They do look sweet. And I like the bare no reflector look much better as well.
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Road Master
Joined: Oct 2005
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RE: replacing lower fork sliders on 06?
Thanks guys. I was at my favorite biker hangout and I ran into a friend of mine. He's an old school biker who rides a tricked out Sportster. He asked me what I was gonna do to the bike next and I told him I was ordering chrome sliders. He told me he had polished his and I should try it. I figured, what the hell, I'm gonna buy new ones anyway, so if it don't work out I haven't lost anything but time. It was raining and I was bored, so I grabbed some sandpaper, polish and the hose. Went to work on it. About two hours later, I was done. Saved me a couple hundred bucks. It really is easy to do. Like I said, try a small spot on the back first. You have to get through the clear coat, but it's pretty thin. After that, just keep going to finer grit paper, then switch to polish. I used a small (2"x2") piece of sponge as a sanding block. Nothing to it. If you have chrome slider dust caps, tape them off first or you will mar them with the sandpaper. Remove the fender too. When I got finished, I bought some chrome bolts for the fender. It really adds to the look of the bike. It also works on the levers too.
Road Master
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RE: replacing lower fork sliders on 06?
ORIGINAL: jt1965
They do look sweet. And I like the bare no reflector look much better as well.
They do look sweet. And I like the bare no reflector look much better as well.
Great job Jamie. That looks excellent.
Wally
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