So either I suck at detailing, or Im doing something wrong

E

ENVYMYZ

New member
I messed up the finish on my bike about 2 weeks ago (pearl black sportbike) and I now have major swirl marks on the tank and bodywork.



The products I was using were Meguiars polishes and swirl removers (something along the lines of these: meguiars.com: E-Store /Professional (Mirror Glaze Brand)>Auto Paint Care>Car Polishes>Cleaner/Polishes



I was applying everything by hand, and in all honesty did use some cotton cloths from last year to take the product off (nothing clean was available).



Also Im not sure Im using the products in the right order. Common sense would dictate that I want to use a 5 cut (for example) and work my way down to a 1. Or is this incorrect?



Thoughts?
 
ENVYMYZ said:
I was applying everything by hand, and in all honesty did use some cotton cloths from last year to take the product off (nothing clean was available).
Click to expand...



That's where your swirls came from. As far as the agressiveness of the cut, you want to work from your most abrasive down to your least. Do you know exactly which products you were using when you caused the marring?
 
I was using microfiber pads (the small 4-6 inch kind) and was working my way down from the most aggressive to the least aggressive cut as far as the polishes went. Also, my products stayed in the garage all winter. Some may or may not have frozen over, but they were bought towards the end of last year so they were fairly new. Would this have had anything to do with that?



Ive heard that you're not supposed to let products like that freeze over.
 
Hi ENVYMYZ, [:welcome to Autopia!



I’m sure you just need to find the right combination. You’re in the right place to ask.



First off, as you well know, bikes can take a serious beating, the tanks especially. It’s not at all surprising that yours needs a bit of attention. There’s also the possibility that at least some of the marring is too deep to fix. That just comes with the territory. But hopefully, some or all of the defects your bike has can be addressed.



Can you post pix of the damage? Can you feel it with your finger tips? Can you catch a fingernail on its? These can help you get a handle on just how severe the damage is.



The Meguiar’s products on the page you linked can definitely remove many different levels of paint defects. Which ones you use and in what order depend on your paint, the defects, the tools you use and your level of skill in using them.



Typically, you’d start by doing a test spot. Test out a less aggressive (lower on the cut scale) product and application technique. If that doesn’t remove the defects step it up until you find a combination that does. Then you can use that product/technique on the whole thing. Some of the more aggressive products/techniques can leave light marring of their own. In that case you’d step down to a less aggressive combination to remove that.



Note that the picture on the Meguiar’s bottles shows a guy with a rotary buffer (his name is Mike by the way, he drives a very cool, green, big-block Nova). Most of the Mirror Glaze line products are meant for use with a rotary buffer, especially the cutting compounds, cleaners and cleaner/polishes. They won’t do much by hand. Some shouldn’t be used by hand at all.





PC.
 
Yep you suck!!! j/k, this is probably nothing that cannot be fixed.



Apply polishes with a foam polishing pad and remove with clean microfibers. When rubbed as vigrously as a polish should be, the fibers in the microfiber clothes can instill micromarring (the same as a buffing with a wool pad). When you removed with dirty rags, you drug dirt back across the surface, instilling more swirls. You have to be anal as hell when polishing.



So apply with with a foam pad, if that isn't giving you enough cut, you can increase the cut of the product by using a 100% cotton towel, but you will probably need to go over it again with a foam pad to take out any marring from the towel. Then wipe clean with a clean, micro fiber.
 
Thanks for the advice gentlemen :)



There are a few spots on the tail that are quite bad. Some to the point that I dont think anything will help fix. The tank isnt all that bad, I know I can get it back to its original shape, except for the center section bellow the filler cap (the crotchal region).



I rode around for about 6k miles before getting a tank pad and really dulled the paint up.



I do have a buffer but its the cheap $20 generic car parts store rotary buffer with a 10" pad. Im not sure how good that will be but it's all I've got for now.



Ill pull the bike out when I get home tonite and take some pics of the damage and showcase how bad it really is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top