Wax on wax.......

Depends.. on metal, maybe total removal of all paints and coatings. On ABS which is what we are dealing with mostly, probably best to use the eliminator.

Great prep is a winner with any paintwork if it's expected to look good. One of the big lies in the paint world is that old paint is not a good foundation (substrate) for new paint. Aboot 90% BS and maybe 10% fact.

Look up both silicon and silicones. Lots of difference.

Best deal for anyone who is considering painting or having a bike painted is to do some homework either on the WWW or spring for a current book on the subject. Case in point.. With the exception of one of the Rattlecan Ranger hack jobs, the minimum pesos just for an average bike in a standard color is gonna be as much as 200 pesos.

Ya don't even want to go to that wrap stuff. or rap either. Wrap is gonna eventually blow away and rappers blow each other away.. an unscientific analysis of inorganic and organic social Darwinism.

 

Mostly I just use Megs Ultimate Liquid wax topped off with the occasional Megs Ultimate Spray Wax or Ultimate Detailer. Leaves a brilliant shine that easy to wash the dirt and bugs off. In fact have found Megs Wax works pretty much as they advertise ie "hydrophobic" and reasonably good in stopping the bike get dirty in the rain with water sliding rapidly off.

 

I've been using Zaino on the cars and bike, and really like the results. "wet look", and very smooth. Once properly done, the bugs come off pretty easily.

http://www.zainostore.com/

The only downside is that it's slicker'n snot. Which means that it's not a good idea to use on the tank if you don't have grip pads for the inside of your knee when leaning into corners... But it's fantastic everywhere else.

I used the Z2 with the ZFX accelerator, it's for clear-coats, and the cars were all clear-coated, but I'm pretty sure the '87 isn't, but it worked nicely anyway.


by aaronwood77, on Flickr


by aaronwood77, on Flickr

It really makes highlights pop. I don't have any good pics of the bike with it on hand, though.

 

For scratches and light swirls, I use mcguires. I know a couple detailers that use their products and never have had an issue.

For wax...... after about 20 products I found rainx spray on wax is really good. Clean everything really well and follow the instructions. It goes on easy and buffs out to a nice shine without a tone of work. Best part is that the bugs have a hard time sticking to it. Down side is you will have to reapply after every wash as it comes off with just about any soap.

 

As the paint changes the products used follow. There are dudes working both sides of the fence somewhere right now. This includes the dudes who make nail polish.

 

Was searching and was going to start a new thread but what the hell I'll piggy back this one.

Two issues:

Most vehicles have that rough plastic moldings and panels all over the place. I learned long ago that polish and wax does not come off this plastic. Or I have not found away. So in the past, I took the time to mask the truck before polishing and waxing and that worked. The other day, I was detailing, a pneumatic polisher, and the polish flung everywhere. Should have seen that coming but anyways. As you can see, spots all over the place. Looking for what you have done and worked, and did not work. Both would be appreciated.



Second. My headlight lenses are really showing their wear over the years. Not yellowed, but pitted really bad from winter riding. On the left side I had a toll transponder placed there as per the toll company's instructions. I took it off, and now there is a blemish as well. Used a few different chemicals to try to remove the residuals and now have what you see.





It was suggested to me to wet sand the lenses first, then polish with a couple different grits of polish and it should come back to like new. New are something like $230 each here so would prefer not to go that route.

I have 1000 grit paper but worry that may be too coarse. Before I start and bugger these up for good, what have you tried and what was your results? Again, good and bad. This will be done my hand and not any machine except maybe a polishing ball for the final polish.

If you don'\t want to publish your follies, OK, send me a PM.

 

1000 grit is way, way, way too coarse. It's good for removal of material in a situation like this. You'll need to walk through some of the polishing compounds afterwards. There are headlight restoration kits, which have all the right steps (and a polisher for use in an electric drill). I've seen them work miracles, but I'm not sure how long it lasts. I've heard that the plastic factory lenses are clearcoated in something to protect them from UV, but I haven'd seen that confirmed anywhere (which means you may be repolishing every few years).

As for removing the polish blobs, I've had decent results with the plastic cleaners like Mother's "Back to Black", and the Zaino leather cleaner (which I use on interior plastic as well). Removes a lot of stuck-on grime.

 

You might be better off buying a dedicated headlight restoration kit. Mothers, Meguiars, 3M all make them & can be found just about anywhere. The kits typically yield excellent results & the abrasives do not cut to deeply into the headlight. If you go the sand paper route 1000g is fine to start. You'll need to follow with 1500g & then some dedicated plastic polish or similar compound. Keep a spray bottle handy to keep the surface wet. Add a couple of drops of dishwashing soap to the water in the spray bottle. This helps keep the paper from clogging with material. Cover the the bike below the headlights, the run off from wet sanding plastic looks like milk (seriously). I don't think you want that on your rotors. If you don't follow the sanding process with a polish your lights will have a cloudy appearance to them. Also it is possible to take to much off. I went through this will my SVT Focus. The headlight restoration kits tend to be a little more idiot proof. If your have a car available you might want to practice on a small portion of a headlight. Just to get a feel for what your doing.

As far as removing polish / wax from black trim panels, try hot (steaming) water. Use a small bristle brush with some gentile elbow grease. Some other cleaners may also work (Simple Green). If you want to spend money Mothers has a trim restore kit on the market that removes wax stains.

Tip: Apply dressing to trim panels before waxing. The wax will typically wipe right off if you accidentally hit a trim piece.

 

Randee. Try blue magic headlight restorer. It's in a small blue bottle at auto shops. It should remove blemishes. It's fast and easy. Wipe on and scrub with dry towel, for a min or so making sure to get all over and even add more off needed. Wipe off dry. Then wipe off with wet. The polish with microfiber if you got one.

 

Thank you guys. I have some 1000g but it does seem very coarse for this purpose so I though I should ask. I do have a headlight kit sitting around here somewhere that I never opened. I do think it needs to be sanded though. The pits are from winter sand from the freeway so they are kinda deep Not sure that a compound would be enough but I will bow to experience. And I will try those suggestions for the trim.

 

So far, the Meguires headlight restore kit did not work. Really shined it up, but didn't come close to touching the pits from the road grit. Didn't work on my hazed over daytime driving lights on my truck either. I will try BP's product tomorrow when I can get to the Auto Parts store. Maybe these pits and blisters are just too much for a repair and replacement is the only way. If I am going to do that, I will try the sanding route first. That will have to wait until after R3 though.

 

Compounds prolly won't get to pits. But I will take care of yellowing and such, sanding products seem to leave the lenses scarred

 

I may just have to live with it cause I don't want to spend the money on new lenses. Fixed income and all you see.

 

I agree. Not unless you can find a used set cheap

 

BG, a company that makes professional car products has a headlight kit that starts with 300g sandpaper. Here's a link: BG restoration kit.

I really think 1000g is fine to start. Probably not coarse enough for severe pitting. Try wet sanding with 800g-1000g-1500g then finish with a plastic polish. Your headlights won't be as clear as when new. But you can remove a lot of that pitting.

 

Hard plastics can be buffed. The restorer kits for headlights ect are combos of chemicals and abrasives. Lexan does not buff well. ABS does not buff well. Acrylics do. A simple random orbit el cheapo car buffer kit works great. A sheepskin bonnet on a sanding disc platen works fine. Another rig is using a junk paint roller frame and a cut off roller cover on a drill motor.

Using compounds. they are graded just like sandpaper. A very inexpensive "compound" is "rottenstone" and powdered calcium carbonate. aka chalk or whiting..

Mask off area that ya don't want to touch. IMO for this purpose the 3M blue tape is best and widely available.

Lens' can also be covered with shields that are attached with Velcro. These are usually Lexan. 3M makes 2-3 clear products that are used to protect bodywork and paint. The pro shops use it in both rools and pfe-cut sections. Best place to soure is a 3M wholesaler. Many times these wholesaler will sell to the public. They are generally warehouses and a very plain storefront. Most of the guys are on phones or computers working out of a bullpen. Do your homework before going there. 3M=Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. not Marijuana-Mothaforquer and the Prophet Elija Muhammed. Get down!

 

why bother too much with waxing and stuff after all it will just fall over in the driveway any way, that's why I laugh at people who worry about putting a hole in the fairing to install sliders, only Harley dudes should worry about waxing everything, I like turtle spray wax-very fast on and off-doesn't last long, but just do over. Its a motorcycle, it like a bit of dirt and scratches and loose parts flying off.:kc10:

 

I have been known to spend hours cleaning, polishing and waxing my truck then drive it to the nearest mud hole and get it all dirty again. Its a thing I guess.

 

Thank you for the edd-chu-me-kation.

Who would have thunk. You can look at those rock chips and pits as a badge of honour too you know!

I used the Mothers head-light restoration kit a few times on the wifee's car with ok results. You have to re-due it every 8-12 months though, maybe less in your region. Re-spray jobs are common here as the FL sun will burn you another arse hole. Cheers

Hate frame sliders that require drilling, one of the most mindless things going, that and car bras.

 

All the head light lens have a coating on the surface of them. This is what hazes. So yes you can buff and polish all you want to make them look pretty. Now they don't have the protective coating on them and they will start to dull again from day one. You will have to do them over a few months down the road. If you can get the coating the mfg uses you're good to go.

There are places that do do that and sell them as reconditioned. Plus alot of times once you get the outside cleaned you'll find the inside has a slight haze too.