Fairing Paint Touch-up

Cheers, all.
I recently sprayed the front fairing with paint I bought from ColorRite. The match is as advertised and I couldn't be happier. I also sprayed clear coat to seal the paint.

My question is how I should polish it out to get the high gloss of the original finish. I read that I could use 1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper or buffing compound or wax or...?

What results have you obtained using any particular method?

Thanks.

 

wish I could help. interested to see the results though.

 

Yes, the first thing is to get some 1500 wet/dry and then you LIGHTLY rub all surfaces using a lot of water. All you are doing is lightly knocking down the high spots. It should only take a minute or two of sandpaper work. If you are not careful you will go right through the clear and have to re-spray.

Then you need to use some polishing compound and a clean cotton shop towel. The green can turtle wax polishing compound will work fine. Again, you are not polishing with a ton of pressure, you are moving the cloth in smooth circles and periodically checking progress. The other way to polish is to get an orbital and use some detail shop polishing cream. When I did my fairing, I just used hand polish and a microfiber cloth. Came out great.

Jose

 

Do you have any experience with wet sanding or polishing?

I have had great success with the Farecla brand of polishing compounds. The Farecla brand (I use the G3 Cut Compound and G10 Finishing Compound) is basically clay and contains no silicones, and the product line is designed to use with water so it can be a bit messy to use. 3M also makes some really good products from what I have heard, but I personally don't have a great deal of experience with them.

If you don't have any experience with wet sanding, I personally would not recommend it as it can be really easy to remove too much paint. Since motorcycle panels have a great deal of contours, they can have many areas where the paint is thicker, and other areas, like contour lines and panel edges, where the paint is thinner.

Polishing will generally bring out the gloss in most areas really well, and is a little less dangerous if you will. When you are polishing, let the compound do the work, not the pressure on the pad, and use a different pad for each product you use. As an example, use one pad (maybe a yellow foam for cutting compound) and another pad (maybe black foam pad) for the finishing compound. Variable speed polishers work very well, and I generally use a slower speed (around 1000 RPM) to do most of my polishing. The greater the speed and greater the pressure on the pad, the higher the amount of heat that will be produced when polishing. You don't want the panel to get to hot as it can be really easy to burn through the paint. You also want to keep the polisher moving at a steady speed across the surface you are polishing and try not to let the pad stay in one place too long (creates too much heat). When you apply the product to the panel, work it around a bit with the pad before you turn the polisher on (this keeps the polishing compound from splattering everywhere), and then start polishing. Another suggestion would be to tape off the textured plastic (like the instrument panel bezel) as it can be a pain in the ass to get polish compound off that stuff, and maybe cover any other areas you don't want to get splattered in polishing compound. Polish small areas at a time and be careful around the edges and contour lines and don't try to rush the job, take your time. Remember that when you are using a polishing compound you are removing a bit of paint (granted it is very small) and the more times you do it the more paint you will remove. Once you are happy with the results, be sure to add a wax over top to help maintain the finish. Mother's and Maguires make some really good waxes and they are available just about everywhere. I personally like the Mother's clear coat protectant. Easy to apply and remove and leaves a really deep gloss. Micro fibre cloths work really well when removing the wax and are really soft so they don't scratch.

Good luck and don't forget to post some pictures.

 

I have to say that yours is the most elaborate reply I've ever received. Thanks so much.

I have a little experience polishing metals without a surface finish (other than chemical conversion coating) but paint is a new experience for me. I appreciate the parts about individual cloths for the various applications and the heat aspect. I have to undo work a few times due to contamination and over-heating.

I will post some pictures before and after, but the areas are somewhat difficult to exhibit due to the reflections and contrast. Another skill to develop, yeah?

Thanks again!

 

Thanks, Jose. Sounds like you know what you're doing here. I'll be taking 'baby steps' to see what results I get. Hopefully I won't go through the clear coat and into the paint. Masking everything is a real PITA.

 

Hopefully the information helps out. I've always found it easier to SHOW someone how to polish, as opposed to TELL them. Typing out instructions is one thing, but more aften than not it is all about hands on experience. I have burnt the paint off a few edges over the years (even on my own vehicles) by getting a bit too carried away. Take it slow, and as the guy who taught me once said, "The more time you take, the quicker you'll be finished." Never did understand that at first, but I figured it out quickly the first time I rushed a job to get it done.

The polishing compounds now-a-days are certainly far more forgiving than they used to be which makes it harder to really mess something up. If you have something to practice on first, then give that a try before moving on to the bikes panels. The worst thing about polishing plastics is that when they heat up too fast, two things will happen. One you can burn through the paint, and though this is definitely bad, there is one thing that is worse. Sometimes the panel, especially an edge, can heat up so much, the plastic can almost melt and ripple (like a wave on the surface of a pond) and then you have more than just paint that needs fixing. This is one reason I like the Farecla products, the water used does a bunch of things. The water provides lubrication for the polish compound, it helps cool the panel as you polish, keeps the polish dust down to a minimum (though it does splatter more), and when using the G3 polish, the more water you add (without adding more compound) the finer the grit. When used properly, the Farecla G3 can be reduced to a very high grade finishing compound without the necessary need to go a finer grit polish. Put the compound on the panel, work it around and start polishing. As the polish starts to dry, stop polishing, mist the panel with water, and then polish some more without adding extra compound. I polished a guys Harley on Friday at work after fixing a dent in his front fender and he was totally shocked with how shiny the fender was when I was finished. He wanted to come back closer to winter, so that he can get the rest of the bike done before he puts it away for the season. The paint job on this guys bike was unreal. Really deep, candied metallic blue with ghost skulls airbrushed in silver and white and then 5 layers of clear. I can't profess to say I'm a huge fan of Harley's but I have to give credit where it's due and the paint job on this guys bike was incredible.

Hope all goes well.