Triumphrat

gfspencer

It is not too soon to wax the bike. It is too soon to polish it. The words "wax" and "polish" are often used interchangeably. They shouldn't be. Waxes protect. Polishes clean and remove scratches. I doubt that your bike needs cleaning.

BrokenMachine

just spray everything down with WD-40. Don't spray the seat, grips, pegs, or brakes. Everything else...WD-40 the crap out of it.

DeanRider

I must admit that is advice I would NOT choose to follow

Calliway

Well hold on now....new paint jobs are polished. To get that ultimate shine after you paint, you polish and I do that 24 to 48 hours of the paint being laid down. You should not wax a new paint job because a wax seals the top coat of the paint and doesn't allow the solvents to properly evaprate through the top coat.

You are 100% right though that wax and polish get mixed up and that polish removes scratches.

__________________

gfspencer

We're talking about two different procedures. You're talking about a new (fresh) paint job. (I have no idea how to handle a fresh paint job but I have been detailing cars and bikes for 40+ years.) The paint on a new bike was laid down weeks or even months before it hit the showroom. If there are no scratches or swirl marks on a new bike there is little or no reason to polish it.

For a new car - that has been sitting on a dealer's lot - I generally clay the car first to remove surface blemishes. Then I check for scratches and swirls with a halogen shop light. If I find scratches I polish to remove the scratches. I finish off with a good carnauba wax. (Zymol Atlantique is what I use on my car. My bikes get P21S.)

Timinoz

Almost every paint job off the gun has flaws in it such as nibs or peel thus it's wet sanded after the clear is sprayed & then polished to make it perfect. Want to see poor paint check out new BMW cars. Orange peel city.
Also FWIW Megs stuff has silicone in it. They use it because it's a filler that conceals swirls & fools you into thinking you have flawless paint. Crash shops hate silicone. It messes with respray work.
Waxes attract dirt when they heat up which you then grind into your paint as you ride or wash the vehicle.. There are much better solutions on the market now.

freddyknuckles

Olhogrider

I have a matte finish Scrambler with 7000 miles. Is it too soon to wax? I keep hearing about some "Brazilian Wax". Is that any good? I also heard about a clay bar but all I found there were ceramics enthusiasts.


Go ride. Get it dirty.

__________________
Damned Dirty Biker!

golfingirl

Okay then, what's the best way to polish your bike? Product recommendations etc? I have some fine scratches on my tank I'd like to remove if possible.

Thanks.

DeanRider

Check out #4 above. My recommendation was: