I bought my Valk when it was one year old and the original owner had left the safety sticker on. I had it off about 5 minutes after I got home using methods I no longer remember. Then, I wiped the tank down with WD-40 and everything looked good.
But, I've come to realize that when the tank surface dries that I have tiny white scratches in the clear coat starting at where the outside of the sticker was and extending out about 3/16 inch.
It's no biggie, but I'd like to get rid of those really fine scratches. I have on hand some Flitz metal polish (and of course, toothpaste). I was wondering if any body has tried to polish clear coat with some mild abrasive like either one of those and did it successfully. Or am I flirting with danger even thinking about such a thing?
Go get a swirl remover for auto paint. You really don't want to cut through the clear coat. Work up from there with a stronger scratch remover if needed. Some are a combo and do both swirls and minor shallow scratches.
Always start with the least aggressive and work to the more aggressive.
Thank you popgun; it shall be done!
Good for you!!
I forgot to say, finish it up with polishing/waxing with your favorite stuff.
Then enjoy your ride.
(08-06-2017, 12:48 AM)postoak_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I bought my Valk when it was one year old and the original owner had left the safety sticker on. I had it off about 5 minutes after I got home using methods I no longer remember. Then, I wiped the tank down with WD-40 and everything looked good.
But, I've come to realize that when the tank surface dries that I have tiny white scratches in the clear coat starting at where the outside of the sticker was and extending out about 3/16 inch.
It's no biggie, but I'd like to get rid of those really fine scratches. I have on hand some Flitz metal polish (and of course, toothpaste). I was wondering if any body has tried to polish clear coat with some mild abrasive like either one of those and did it successfully. Or am I flirting with danger even thinking about such a thing?
I have had great success removing fine scratches and swirl marks in the clearcoat on other bikes using a product called Malm's Ultra Fine Polishing Cleaner. With a little patience you can get most scratches/swirl marks out. Then use their pure carnuba wax (contains no compound) to seal and protect the work you did!
http://malms.com/malms-ultra-fine-polishing-cleaner.php It isn't cheap, but rarely does anything that works well is. Also, a little goes a long way.
Well, that worked well. I got something called VSS from the ChemicalGuys just because that's what popped up on Amazon. Anyway, 15 seconds with that and that area looks like new.