Any Suggestions For Detailing Motorcycles ?????

[kballowe]

First of all, I admit that I don't have a clue when it comes to detailing.

What I'm looking for is something that'll sorta fill in very light scratches on motorcycle painted surfaces. Especially for black bikes. Right now I use that "zip wax" auto soap wash stuff then dry by hand and wax with Mequires Gold something. In the mean time it's a little Honda-Brite in the handy aerosol can. Have a large stash of 100% cotton t-shirts that get passed down when they're good -n- worn. These get used for washing/drying/waxing and are washed separately.

Mother's aluminum polish (paste) on all the aluminum stuff that needs "polishing" and sections of terri-cloth towels. A little Bleech-White on the sidewalls.

Once used a product called S100 (I think) It sorta 'melted' the dirt off. Like a spray -n- rinse product. Worked well for cleaning but was very hard to rinse enough to preclude residue - and it was expensive.

Hydrogen peroxide 50/50 with water in a handy spray bottle emulsifies the bugs very, very well. Disgustingly gross if you spray onto freshly-splattered bugs. Even the day-old bugs foam up and slide off like, well [censored].

So help me out here with some suggestions.

 

[Bulli]

my bro has a black yamaha R1. He just has Meguiars tech wax 2.0, some micro fiber towels, and a detailing spray.

first he sprays the bike down with the spray to get the dirt, dust off

then he waxes. Bike turns out very clean and shiny afterwards, and i recommend that wax because it really does make a difference.

 

[sunfire]

Originally Posted By: Bulli
my bro has a black yamaha R1. He just has Meguiars tech wax 2.0, some micro fiber towels, and a detailing spray.

first he sprays the bike down with the spray to get the dirt, dust off

then he waxes. Bike turns out very clean and shiny afterwards, and i recommend that wax because it really does make a difference.


If you have scratches and swirls, I'd use some ScratchX with a foam pad on painted surfaces before applying NXT tech wax.

This guy didn't use ScratchX but should give you the same effect.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17060&highlight=bike

Work in a small area and apply some pressure because ScratchX is a compound cleaner.

NXT is a very durable wax. ColorX is a good less expensive cleaner/wax.

 

[Turk]

Yea, the Nxt Tech wax is pretty good on black. I have a black truck, black/silver boat, black motor & black Harley.

The best I ever found on black, did a 7-8 wax test next to each other & a 75 Watt trouble light bulb to see the results. The absolute best tested and it showed a definitive WET blackness was "Dupont Teflon Ultra Wax". I even ran the test twice more to make sure! It was the best of all the otc premium waxes.

There ya go.

 

[sunfire]

Originally Posted By: kballowe

What I'm looking for is something that'll sorta fill in very light scratches on motorcycle painted surfaces. Especially for black bikes.


http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7228

IMO, waxes won't really help with the scratches you really need ScratchX or a compound cleaner to remove the scratches first. Waxes just hold the shine and protect the paint. Megs have a bunch of other products that accomplish the same thing but not available everywhere.

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: sunfire
Originally Posted By: kballowe

What I'm looking for is something that'll sorta fill in very light scratches on motorcycle painted surfaces. Especially for black bikes.


http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7228

IMO, waxes won't really help with the scratches you really need ScratchX or a compound cleaner to remove the scratches first. Waxes just hold the shine and protect the paint. Megs have a bunch of other products that accomplish the same thing but not available everywhere.


Right, but Black is another animal. I tried stuff like that on black and it put in such microscopic scratched, it gave the Black a "dulled" look............

Careful...

 

[sunfire]

Originally Posted By: tpitcher

Right, but Black is another animal.


You are removing scratches from the clearcoat so the color of the paint should not matter.

Originally Posted By: tpitcher

I tried stuff like that on black and it put in such microscopic scratched, it gave the Black a "dulled" look............


Yes, Meguiars calls this micromarring and it can happen with their products if you don't use the correct technique.

Originally Posted By: tpitcher

Careful...


Yes, you should be careful. Make sure understand the correct technique and do a test spot first.

 

[MidnightG35X]

If you are looking for over the counter products, scratchX is your best bet for getting anywhere on the scratches. After that NXT 2.0 is a good choice. If you can get more of the S100, that is a great wax. It can be found at Harley dealerships, and it is actually P21S which is a very good wax.

 

[qwertydude]

Zymol cleaner wax also helps reduce swirls and I think makes dark colors look better than meguiar's. If you want a glass smooth mirror finish my unbeatable combination is clean with detailer, clay the painted surface, meguiar's swirl remover, and zymol cleaner wax. I'm also now adding another step, collinite 845 insulator wax to top it all off.

 

[wantin150]

3M makes a nice scratch remover now. May want to give it a shot. For my YZF600R, I use Meguiars Ultimate Detailer and NXT 2.0. I haven't washed it yet. I just wipe it down every few days.

 

[MKZman]

If you have a pep boys, you can try Mothers Scratch Remover. I have used it on black and not observed any marring. I use it to remove water spots too (of course, it does not work on deep etched ones).

 

[qwertydude]

I've also recently tried Turtle Wax premium polishing compound in the squeeze bottle and like it as it's much finer and when properly used doesn't leave swirls yet is aggressive enough to reduce scratches and polish out swirls.