Query, seems hd has dropped chrome fork sliders for fx softails, my 08 anyway, dealers said now not available, Anyone know of alternative.

elbow grease...

before

then add

to get

SHINY....

Sensational results Russ!

Mine are in similar condition to what yours were.

Are you able to go through the stages/processes you went through with each product?

With the results you achieved I'd love to have a crack at mine.

Cheers,

Dodge

 I'll give you a hundred bucks to do mine please.

Na the spacer is there. Forks are so shiny you must have been blinded

I replaced the wheel bearings and tyre, Did the sliders at the same time while I was waiting for the tyre.

Sorry Mick44, Thread theft.

Dodge I'll see what I can do.

 looks great, did you coat them with anything to keep the shine or is it a matter of polishing them all the time??

i have metal buffing wheels for my bench grinder which i could use to do this would be easier.

Id go with russ4570 have done the same to my last 2 bikes few hours elbow grease beats paying HD hundreds and then spending hours putting it all together.

I did this with my jap cruiser.

ONLY - I didn't get messy with the ripper stripper. I used a bench polisher and polishing compound, and they came up the same!!

I used 2 types of compound. Brown to cut the crap of, and the white on the soft buffing cloth to bring out the shine. You could clear coat them if you want to keep them that way, but I didn't. Just keep them clean and polished.

PS - Nice job mate.

 Russ, im with Dodge, would love a little process how to, ect Same request to Mongrel, and brand names ect.

Sometimes polished metal can look better than chrome, 

I hate cleaning spokes and due to the chrome spoke wheel starting to bubble so getting a non spoke wheel, and need to do something about the sliders, wouldnt seem right otherwise. 

bloody good job though

Rodders. Now you have shamed me into doing the spacers. I thought about it, but really wanted to get the front back on so I could go for a ride.

Mick. and for everyone else.

1. Removed front end to replace bearings and tyre.

2. Researched strippers to ensure that I didn't get blackened alloy. Worked out that anything that is not caustic based should be ok. The Poly Stripper is "dichloromethane" based and proved effective. I tried on a small area first to ensure that it wouldn't attack the alloy

3. Applied it to one fork at a time and it took only two minutes to remove the clear.

4. Then came the fun bit. (I smell sarcasm). Sat on the lawn with a bucket of warm soapy water and the roll of 400 grit emery. I really wanted to get all the cast marks out of the surface to give them a better appearance. When you get into the radiused bits wrap the emery around a piece of wooden dowl, that really helps. Get two or three different diameter bits to suit your forks and away you go.

5. I tried all the abrasives in the photo to see what worked the best and I would recomend the emery for only $11.50 from Bunnings for a 5 M roll. All the rest worked well but the Emery was the winner hands down. Finised off with a quick rub with 800 grit. Time per fork was three Hrs approx. Warm sunny day some beers and really the time flies by.

6. Then I took them to work and used soft buff and white rouge to take the final sanding marks out and complete of the finish. Time per fork 30 Mins max as I did them both in my lunch break.

7. Buff wheels really take the time out of polishing and I would not have got anywhere as good a result without one.

8. Definately achievable in the back shed with generic shed stuff.

9. Yes they will require a polish to keep spotty dog but no worse the the solid wheel on the Train anyway.

 

 

 Thanks Russ,

Much appreciated - will have a crack as soon as I get some time.

 Russ, Appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge

cheers