Blue Job Polish Ruined my Exhaust Shield
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6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
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Blue Job Polish Ruined my Exhaust Shield
So I take my bike into the stealership for its 1k mile serivce. As Im going over it after its finished, I began asking about this small gouge in my Forward Heat Sheild by the footboard. The HD mechanic gives me a can of Blue Job Polish and swore that would take it right out. I do my research online and everyone had nothing but nice things to say about this Polish.
I apply this Polish to my heat shield and for a few minutes its taking the gouge out! Im getting pretty excited and decide to take a break. I come back to it and the Polish has turned part of my Shield to an orangy tinge. The scratch is gone and now I have this orangish discoloration on my heat shield. WTF? I was rubbing it in a paste form as the directions state for only about 5 minutes or so. Did I go through the chrome? WTF? Now im looking at about 150 bucks to replace the stock heat shield
I apply this Polish to my heat shield and for a few minutes its taking the gouge out! Im getting pretty excited and decide to take a break. I come back to it and the Polish has turned part of my Shield to an orangy tinge. The scratch is gone and now I have this orangish discoloration on my heat shield. WTF? I was rubbing it in a paste form as the directions state for only about 5 minutes or so. Did I go through the chrome? WTF? Now im looking at about 150 bucks to replace the stock heat shield
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 96
Likes: 1
From: Delaware, OH
Yea that's pretty crappy. Did the dealer put that scratch in the chrome? If so, they should be held liable to replace it. With all the people removing exhausts off their bikes, they should have some take off exhausts gettin thrown out almost daily. Talk to the manager and have him save one for you.
If the scratch was something you did, offer to buy one of the used take offs if they get one in the future. I had a friend buy some sportster mid control take offs from the dealer for like 20 bones. If the customer doesn't want them, they usually just chuck em (depending on the dealer).
Good luck!
If the scratch was something you did, offer to buy one of the used take offs if they get one in the future. I had a friend buy some sportster mid control take offs from the dealer for like 20 bones. If the customer doesn't want them, they usually just chuck em (depending on the dealer).
Good luck!
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6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
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If the scratch was something you did, offer to buy one of the used take offs if they get one in the future. I had a friend buy some sportster mid control take offs from the dealer for like 20 bones. If the customer doesn't want them, they usually just chuck em (depending on the dealer).
I said well Harley wants to charge me the better part of $200 Canadian for something you just throw in the garbage? Unreal, they are currently trying to help me out.
Also, I was the one who put the gouge in my Shield. I figure it was when I was doing a Uturn on a gravel road one time, got a rock stuck in my boot tread and hit the pipe with it trying to find the footboard.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 11,068
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From: Texas! Ya mean there's someplace else?
You're through the chrome, through the nickel, and into the copper. Stuff is not for removing "gouges" outta chrome. It is for "sorta" removing the discoloration on heat-blued pipes, and for "polishing" chrome. If the scratch, gouge, whatever is deep enough that it took 5 minutes of rubbing, it's probably through the chrome already. Don't know what is on the can now-a-days, but the instructions I've seen say it's to polish out bluing and rust.
From their site, concerning a set of pipes that were thoroughly blued and trashed:
#5 These pipes did have a couple of heavy scratches and a dent or two, that could not be fixed, oh well...
"Heavy scratches" aren't gonna get removed.
FWIW, chrome, or good chrome, is often seen as "triple chrome plating", but isn't 3 layers of chrome. After the metal is polished and cleaned, it is dipped into a vat where a copper coating is laid on, then cleaned, then into a vat where nickel is laid on, then cleaned, and then into a vat where the thin layer of chrome is laid on. The quality of the polishing is the most important part of the process, in my opinion. Of course, cleanliness is of great importance in the process, too. The copper provides a surface that allows the nickel to stick. The nickel provides the depth and luster of the final product. The chrome provides the "flash"!
Here's a pic of my timing cover where I purposely polished through the chrome and nickel to expose the copper. I painted the entire cover in Rustoleum Hammered Black, then sanded the cross with 240, 320, 400, 600, 1000 grit. Next I used a 3M Scotch Brite pad to provide a directional satin finish to the cross, and finally shot a clear coat to prevent any further oxidation. The clear coat product was purposely incompatible with the Hammered Black so it would "wrinkle" it.
From their site, concerning a set of pipes that were thoroughly blued and trashed:
#5 These pipes did have a couple of heavy scratches and a dent or two, that could not be fixed, oh well...
"Heavy scratches" aren't gonna get removed.
FWIW, chrome, or good chrome, is often seen as "triple chrome plating", but isn't 3 layers of chrome. After the metal is polished and cleaned, it is dipped into a vat where a copper coating is laid on, then cleaned, then into a vat where nickel is laid on, then cleaned, and then into a vat where the thin layer of chrome is laid on. The quality of the polishing is the most important part of the process, in my opinion. Of course, cleanliness is of great importance in the process, too. The copper provides a surface that allows the nickel to stick. The nickel provides the depth and luster of the final product. The chrome provides the "flash"!
Here's a pic of my timing cover where I purposely polished through the chrome and nickel to expose the copper. I painted the entire cover in Rustoleum Hammered Black, then sanded the cross with 240, 320, 400, 600, 1000 grit. Next I used a 3M Scotch Brite pad to provide a directional satin finish to the cross, and finally shot a clear coat to prevent any further oxidation. The clear coat product was purposely incompatible with the Hammered Black so it would "wrinkle" it.
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6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2010
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Website claims that its the "worlds best chrome polish" and "Chrome so bright you gotta wear shades". It also claims it will not scratch chrome so therefore must not be a very aggressive polish. 5 minutes of hand buffing as per the directions should not have gotten out my gouge much less caused me to wear through to the copper.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 6,790
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From: Hawaii
Website claims that its the "worlds best chrome polish" and "Chrome so bright you gotta wear shades". It also claims it will not scratch chrome so therefore must not be a very aggressive polish. 5 minutes of hand buffing as per the directions should not have gotten out my gouge much less caused me to wear through to the copper.
The stock pipes? throw 'em out and get a set of pipes you like with some growl to them. Tell them to give you a good discount on a aftermarket set of pipes... then you both win...
