Are they deep? Bes thing you can do is take 1200 grit wet dry paper and in one direction using soapy water lightly sand the area that has scratches. They using a rubbing compound (usually a 3 from Meguires or Mothers0 you can rub them out. Then use a polishing compound (a 2) to bring the shine back up. It takes a polisher or a lot of arm strength to do this.

 

I bought a Porter Rockwell random orbital polisher for my car, and I am amazed at the job it does. My wife had some terrible scratches in her car (not through the paint though) that would not come out with rubbing compound or cleaner wax, but did come out with the polisher and polishing compound. Best $100 I've spent in a long time.

 

Don't want to hijack the topic, but I need to buff out scratches on my gas tank. If I use the methods and tools described, will it affect the paint/clear coat's ability to be OK if gasoline hits it?

 

Use a soft rag and Meguires Deep Crystal polish. Flawless shine with no damage to clear coat. The CC is very hard. Meguires will take care of many minor scratches but not any thing that goes down to the paint.

 

Recommend you start out with the less is more approach first. Rubbing compound is the last thing you want to start out with. Don't do it. If the scratches are light you can try some Meguires Car Cleaner Wax in the maroon bottle. Works very well for light scuffs. A bit more aggressive product is Meguires Scratch X. If you really want to work out those scuffs order some Zaino ZFX from Zaino Brothers. By far one of the best products I have ever used in my 30 years of detailing cars. A Porter Cable DA with an orange pad will also make easy work of most light scratches in paint. Go slow and be careful. Keep the rubbing compound on the shelf.

Wet sanding with 1500 or 2000 grit wet sandpaper can yield excellent results but do some research on technique before you try this. Check out videos on YouTube by the Junkman. You will think you have just screwed up your paint but once you follow the very light wet sanding with a product like Zaino ZFX the paint will look like new. Good luck with it.

 

I went to find deep crystal polish and there was none to be had. I did see scratch repair kits with tubes of clearcoat that you apply to the scratch and then flatten. Do those kits work?

 

The scratch repair kits from Duplicolor and others do work for small scratches or stone chips. If you have a large deep scratch that is down to primer or metal, you can touch these up but very difficult to make it look good. While you will protect the metal from rust, you will be able to see the repair. For deep scratches down to metal, you are always better off having a professional do a blown in or repainting the damaged item. The approach you take really depends on the condition of the scratch in relation to the paint and clear. Another option is to take your bike to a professional auto detail shop and have someone evaluate the paint. A professional with a rotary buffer and the right compounds can do wonders for paint with moderate to heavy scratches in the clear. Good luck with it.

 

Thank! Great info. I have all kinds of waxes. Does the protection coat have to be McGuire's for some reason, or would any good quality wax do? Once again, your response is much appreciated.

 

rmak,
The thrid and final step of any polish is a nice pure carnuba wax. That will help repel anything that may spill on the tank. Any good quality wax from Norton, 3M, Meguires, Mothers, Eagle 1 etc will do.

 

With deep scratches I've filled them in with a model paint brush and rattle can paint. Then wet sand, buff and the results is pretty damn good.

Another method: wet sand, filler primer, wet sand, shoot color paint, wet sand, shoot clear, wet sand and then buff it out. Works great.

 

Hi

A side note. I recently cut down the black front mudguard on my T100 and was a bit surprised to discover that the fibreglass body was actually white and not black. Thus, the black polished finish on the mudguard is very thin and don't go too deep otheriwse you'll encounter a white core!

Incidentally, I've tried several cutting and polishing creams and never found them to work very well. I do think it's one of those jobs like spraying that needs the touch of a pro, but I suppose it depends on how skilled you are and what kind of finish is required.

Cheers
Graham

 

Another cheap trick to hide scratches on the top of the front fender is to simply take it off and turn it around, it is symmetrical front to back. So, do the best you can with polish or touch up paint and put the offensive side back toward the frame.

 

Most of the polishes do the same thing, as do the waxes. For the love all things good and mighty, don't use any of those "Super Stone and Scratch Repair Wonder 2000" products.

I've always had really good luck with Meguiars products. Stick with the tan colored Professional bottles, I try to stay away from the maroon bottles. It's all the same stuff inside, but the maroon bottles aren't labeled very well with the abrasiveness of the compound. Also - and this is important - the Meguiars Professional series are designed for body shops and painters and won't cause problems like some weird polymers will if you need to re-paint.

Scratch/scuff repair should be done in three steps, First is a light polish (with a very light abrasive compound), next is a swirl remover and finally glaze. As with any finish, add a layer of wax on to protect it. The tan bottle products conveniently have a little bar on the front label indicating how abrasive they are. Work them from most abrasive to least abrasive. Polish with product "02- Fine Cut Cleaner", then "09 - Swirl Remover," then "07 - Show Car Glaze" and finally "26 - High Tech Yellow Wax."

For maintenance (and not error/scratch correction) skip the first step and just use the Swirl Reducer, Glaze and Yellow Wax. Between washings to take off dust I use any number of different touch up spray on-wipe off "Quick Detailer" products depending on what's on sale at the auto parts store, being sure not to pick those "Super Poly Protect 9000" products.

 

I like the 3M offerings as far as cutting paste.

 

Xpert Products make sensational polishes.

 

Any scratch removal tips for those of us with the matte finished bikes? Scramblers & SMQ Bonne's....

 

Wet sand the entire part and rattle can paint it.

If I had a flat paint job I would change the color every year. RATTLE CAN is all you need. I would not even bother with a top clear coat.

Flat paint jobs are a big money maker for these guys. CHEAP. If they wanted to they could just rattle can those tins and get away with it.

 

Use a good quality scratch remover with ease and caution. If that doesn't remove the scratch from the clear coat, it needs to be refinished by a pro.