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| Stunning paint and presentation. But how to keep it that way? |
What else do you do when you have a range of cleaning and detailing products to try out?
Naturally I took the bike out on a few errands in pretty heavy rain - mainly to get it dirty.
Dumb, to take all that chrome and gold paint out in the muck, particularly when there’s a KLR650 parked next to it, but I wanted to see what the Chieftain was like on a wet road too.
It’s been a dry winter in Brisbane, but when the rain did finally arrive, it pelted down.
The first thing I noticed was how well the screen and bodywork kept the worst of the rain off me. In moderate shower conditions I only really got wet from the knees down. Those big mudguards do a great job of keeping the worst of the spray-effect off the bike too. It came back grubby enough to be worth washing, but cleaner than I expected.
The bike’s manners in the wet are quite good. It’s pretty easy to light up the rear wheel with so much torque on tap, but it’s all quite predictable. It’s like all the mega bikes on a slippery road. There’s a lot of mass to mind. Mind it.
Back home and dry, it was time to survey the work bench again.
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| Surf City Professional Grade Detailing Products |
Preamble
For want of a more original term I’ve always referred to the juice that makes a person want to keep a show bike showy as the ‘Elbow Grease’.
I’m not as 'retentive' as some of my pals (are you reading this Brian?), but I like to keep my stuff tidy. Machines operate more efficiently and it’s easier to diagnose a malfunction if they are clean. That's my theory anyway.
Having the Running Bull in the shed (that phrase still makes me lol!) has made me think that the ‘Elbow Grease’ is a renewable resource.
I ran out for a while. True. I had a Triumph Thunderbird that I polished, chromed and customised along with a heap of handling performance mods.
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| The day it retired with 120k on the dial |
Then one day when the T’bird was getting on a bit, I fell in lust with a Buell that had no bright finish parts at all and was pretty much good to go after hosing it off.
The T’bird was partially retired with an honourable 120,000km on the clock and that Buell and its no-bling finish dried up all my Elbow Grease. There just wasn't any point.
But since I’ve been in charge of the project bike I’ve whiled, fussed, cleaned and polished away a ton of enjoyable garage time again.
In case you missed it, here is the story on how I came to be testing these products and some advice from the painter - Mark Walker.
So far I have used them on the Project bike, my 14 year old Jeep and the Co-pilot's Merc. All have come up brilliantly. Literally.
The Products
‘Super concentrated’ according to the instructions. If the paint it in good order you can probably get away with just using this product. Soft towel it dry and it certainly won’t detract from an existing shine job. Fourteen bucks will last a while – the packaging claims 30+ washes to the bottle and a ‘scratch free’ clean. It’s got the hard wax. It worked well.
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For me this is one of the stand-out products I have tested. It’s not only the brilliant, deep finish produced; it’s the ease of finishing it. On the bike it is easy to apply with the pad included in the kit. After giving it a few minutes to dry, it is remarkably easy to remove. Truly wipe on – wipe off. With the expenditure required with this product – the Elbow Grease will outlast my time with the bike.
I used the electric polisher to apply to the Jeep and was again impressed by the ease of bringing up a quality finish.
*****
Speed Demon Wax Detailer RRP: $19.00For in between washes this stuff is brilliant. ‘Advanced Particle Suspension’ protects paint from scratching and after buffing dry the bike looks like it’s just had the full-shizzle liquid wax treatment.
****
Beyond Steel Wheel Cleaner RRP: $15.00I used this on the Jeep and the Mercedes and it does what it claims to do on the packaging. Cleans the wheels. The Merc’s mag wheels were pretty dirty and needed a bit of help with a brush to get the worst of the caked on disc dust off. The bike’s wheels are well enough enclosed to not need attention just yet.
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Non-abrasive, yet will deal to surface rust and oxidisation. I found it very easy to apply to the acres of chrome on the Bull. It’s also very easy to finish and the mirror shine it puts on the chrome is as good as any product I’ve used.
Again, the beauty of the product is how easy it is to remove.
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Another new favourite. Apply this product to the Dash Board (naturally) and other non-metallic finishes. It cleaned and renovated the kick marks on the saddle and backrest WITHOUT making them at all slippery. Good for grips and footboard rubbers and plastic infill panels. It restores to ‘as new’ condition.
*****
Conclusion
After application, the bike and cars looks fabulous, the products were very easy to use/remove and the pricing is pretty keen. And they encourage Elbow Grease.
I've always had favourite products for these jobs. I now have some new ones.
There is more info at Rollies or the Surf City Garage site features videos, application tips and more detailed product information.
If your local auto-care outlet doesn’t have the Surf City Range, tell them to call Rollies & get it.
To find your nearest stockist visit: http://www.rolliesspeedshop.com/dealer-locator/
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