water damage or factory surface

[Steve Swan]

enclosed are pics of my frame's forged parts. is the surface on on these forgings the factory surface or does this look water exposure ? Thanks in advance.

20160122_201015.jpg20160122_201027.jpg20160122_201043.jpg ?

[MMasa]

Steve
That is rust pitting.
Mark

[Steve Swan]

Thanks Mark ! i thought so, but a local fellow was certain H-D made their frames "really rough" to me, so i thought i'd better ask. looked like the frame sat out in the grove for for a few decades. more patina than i can accept.

[Rubone]

Steve,
An easy way to see the difference is that original castings mostly have minor imperfections protruding OUT from the general surface due to coarseness of the sand used in the molding process. The pitting goes IN to the surface of the parent metal.
Robbie

[Steve Swan]

Thanks, Robbie !

[danf19]

the "damage " looks fairly minor ...is there a concern at this level of damage ??
dan

[MMasa]

Not by me. Looks very minor to me especially on the tubes. The tubes can however rust from within to and it's always a good idea to give a frame a thorough "tap test".
Mark

[Steve Swan]

The reason i asked about the pitting on the forgings was to know what to fill in with body filler or not fill in, when the time comes to do the paint work. the pits looked like rust to me, but at this point, i don't want to assume i know anything.

Marty MacCollom did the frame work. the tube the cylinders bolt to failed the punch test, otherwise all else was good.