Paint sealant yes or no ?

pfbmgd

pfbmgd

Well-known member
Picking up my new bike next week . Looking on opinion on paint sealant .

Yes or no ?

What do you use ?

Not paying 1K for someone to do it for me .
 
No. All modern bikes have UV resistant paint -- it's a dealer add ripoff, don't do it.
 
I'd be concerned that the sealant would start to delam and peel
it's not hard to keep the paint on a bike good
 
@GateKeeper did ceramic coating and he was really happy with it. Basically need pro installation though and price is full on bonkers (apparently >$2000). I would skip any form of sealant.

What's the new bike?
 
H-D spends large on their paint finishes, I wouldn't mess with it, stone chips are going to happen anyway.
 
Unless you're leaving the bike outside 365 without a cover it won't make a difference. Our 10 year old daily driver van had decent paint being stored outside 90% of the time.
 
nobbie48 said:
Unless you're leaving the bike outside 365 without a cover it won't make a difference. Our 10 year old daily driver van had decent paint being stored outside 90% of the time.
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I agree, the effect on longevity is inconsequential. It may make it easier to keep the bike clean and shiny for a year or more. Depending on your personality, that may he reason enough. If that was my goal, I would go aftermarket ceramic coating like gatekeeper not a dealer high markup item.
 
I don't currently own a bike, but when I buy another, I would self apply ceramic coating.
I did my car and truck myself in the spring. It's a hell of a lot of work.
I followed ALL instructions for my car. Not so much for the truck.
Both turned out better than expected.
I could have spent $2500 at a shop.
But, I found this on sale. 3 packs (enough to do both 6 times) for $75 (which goes on sale quite often):
Armor Shield IX DIY Kit
No regrets.
 
Gary said:
I don't currently own a bike, but when I buy another, I would self apply ceramic coating.
I did my car and truck myself in the spring. It's a hell of a lot of work.
I followed ALL instructions for my car. Not so much for the truck.
Both turned out better than expected.
I could have spent $2500 at a shop.
But, I found this on sale. 3 packs (enough to do both 6 times) for $75 (which goes on sale quite often):
Armor Shield IX DIY Kit
No regrets.
Click to expand...
I'm was thinking of doing it myself too . Looked at couple of videos and watched the dealer do it . Doesn't really look like that much work . Can't belive people are paying 1300 Hun at the dealer .
 
pfbmgd said:
I'm was thinking of doing it myself too . Looked at couple of videos and watched the dealer do it . Doesn't really look like that much work . Can't belive people are paying 1300 Hun at the dealer .
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It's a lot of work. I used 2 days from start to finish on my car, and that was without any paint prep.
Wash. Dry. Clay bar. Wash. Dry. 99% alcohol bath. Ceramic coat (very little diff than a coat of wax).
The truck got washed, then coated.
Both my cages are white, which is way more forgiving than darker colours and turned out fine.
Quotes I got were similar ($2500 for both)
 
Congrats on the new ride. I’m pretty jealous even though I would’ve gone with a special but the limited’s are a real nice ride.

The detail shop I go to all the time does a lot of ceramic coating. I would get it done but I would have it professionally done. Not all the products are the same.
 
The biggest cost is the labour involved in the prep work, unless the body work is as close to flawless it’s just a waste of time, once you seal the bike or car and the flaws are there, well they are there for a very long time.

This is the same for bike or car, cars are easier as parts are larger, hood, doors, quarter panels, bikes are more intricate, take more time.

Once the ceramic coating is on, the maintenance is minimal, crap just don’t stick, so cleaning is a breeze, almost no effort at all, brake dust on bike rims, or car rims comes off very easily, as does most any thing that is on the other surfaces.

I usually get a bucket of soap, wash mitt and then first hose down the bike, then use wash mitt to wash all areas, no harsh scrubbing or wiping, then rinse with water, and use leaf blower to remove water, and dry, then a mixture of 50/50 water and alcohol mix and micro fibre cloth to wipe up any potential water spots, and I am done, probably no more that 30 minutes total time from start to finish.

Bike always looks like it was just detailed each and every time.

If I am really lazy, just hose it down, and leaf blower dry, or use a soap cannon, rinse, dry and your good to go

It’s not cheap to get it professionally done, but the end result is great.

https://imgur.com/WkQkCQB

https://imgur.com/Dxafb63

https://imgur.com/hyBSjd1

.
 
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had to read up on what Twin Cooled was about
so HD has partial water cooling now but retains the same look
cool

and beautiful bike OP, congrats
 
J_F said:
had to read up on what Twin Cooled was about
so HD has partial water cooling now but retains the same look
cool

and beautiful bike OP, congrats
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Thanks I needed a long distance bike . Took out the Electra glide and I didn't like the handling . The road glide fit the bill .
 
I'm curious as to why there is a need for this ceramic coat? Based on the above, the amount of effort to wash the bike is same as if you didn't do anything to the paint. Plus I always thought HD had one of the best paint quality control out there. My personal opinion I wouldn't screw around with the factory paint by putting anything like this on it. Has this product been tested over years of use? I bet your factory paint from HD will still look great after 10 years with just basic regular washing. Do you really know how this ceramic coating will react over the same amount of time. I don't even waste my time waxing my bike or car anymore. Just wash every once in a while and the paint still looks new to me.
 
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