Paint Correction

[ehess18]

Anyone polish out the paint on your bike? If so, how did it go? The paint seems very soft and I can leave scratches in the clear coat with my finger. The tank has some swirling from the dealership showroom and want to correct the paint before ceramic coating.

 

[Vyk]

I had my bike professionally paint corrected along with PPF and ceramic coating.

I was annoyed after the first service when I saw swirls on the tank from the dealer cleaning it after the service. To be clear, I wasn't annoyed at the dealer but at BMW for putting such soft paint on the bike.
The bike looks absolutely gorgeous now. Of course they couldn't do the frame and that still scratches easily...

 

[Deleted member 939]

Just to give some background,I worked for general motors building vehicles from 1968 to 1988.I took a buyout/retirement in 1988 then graduated college in 1989.
Paint changed over the years.No more lacquer or enamel paint due to EPA.Yes,when I left GM we were using water based paint.I was amazed how the paint spray literally fell to the ground when applying the color coat.There is also the dust like powder that appears when grinding a vehicle that needed a rework/paint repair.
I will say the paint on my BMW is better than the softer paint on my Indian.

 

[ehess18]

Thanks for the responses. I have a Triumph and the paint seems very hard and has very little to no swirls. The R18 is still a beautiful bike and I will just add a little maintenance to keep it looking great!

 

[Gr8adv]

Y

Thanks for the responses. I have a Triumph and the paint seems very hard and has very little to no swirls. The R18 is still a beautiful bike and I will just add a little maintenance to keep it looking great!

triumph has some of the best Moto paint work. If you have pinstripes they are usually hand done as well. Typically somewhere you can find the stripers initials.

 

[ehess18]

Update - paint correction is complete thanks to a friend and the bike looks great and freshly ceramic coated.

 

[Ktayman]

Can we use car light scratch polish on this the same way we use it on a car? Or is that too harsh? I guess I am wondering if there is there a way to get out light surface scratches ?

 

[TodkaVonic]

Can we use car light scratch polish on this the same way we use it on a car? Or is that too harsh? I guess I am wondering if there is there a way to get out light surface scratches ?

You ask a dozen people this question and you'll probably get two dozen answers.

I've used Menzerna products on my cars and have had consistently good results. Generally speaking, with a quality product, you'd have to really try to damage the finish if polishing/buffing by hand. Add something electrical to the mix and, yeah, you need to respect the surface.

Professional car polishes for all clear coat surfaces

Car polishes from Menzerna: remove car scratches, wear marks & spray mist ✚ create brilliant high gloss ►quick, economical, economical. Car polishing without silicones & fillers!

www.menzerna.com

 

[TodkaVonic]

One of the gas station attendants took it upon himself to squeegee the rear window on my Defender; leaving scratches on the piano black rear pillar fascia. Not pleased, but still fixable.

I used menzerna medium cut polish then the super finish. Both with my Porter-Cable random orbital polisher. Then, by hand, I applied a layer of a product called Power Lock by Jescar followed by their Color Lock.

Before


After




There are still a few very fine marks but you need to really look for them. And try as I might, I can’t get them to show up on a photo. Keeps focusing on the reflection.....hold on.


There! Just below the tape


Enhance!


Well now you can't unsee them! I'm having a beer.