I've just bought a black 2010 blade and want to remove as many of the swirl marks in the paint as possible. I tested a small area on the bodywork with some 3M ultrafina SE (a very mild abrasive) at a slow speed with my rotary polisher and a soft 75mm pad and got a bit concerned when I noticed that the pad had gone black. Is the bodywork a non lacquered finish? IE - primed, base coated and clearcoated?
I've found on my black blade that it was best to polish in the direction of the airflow not round in circles as this makes the swirls really show.
I have a 2015 in black and swirl marks are a bitch they show up really quickly. Not sure if this is the best idea but I just polished with a bit of maguires scratch-x using sponge polish pads and then finished with super resin polish. On close inspection, in the right light you still see some but it did come up pretty nice
I've not tried it, but be keen to know how you get on. I'm assuming it's slightly less abrasive than scratchX
unfortunately swirl are a fact of life. as soon as anything touches the paintwork. I think most paint have a topcoat these days. I would personally learn to live with it because the paint on motorbikes is very thin. WOuld certainly no use anything remotely abrasive. you can find out about protection film which will mask the swirls to some extent
Mop it. Although if it has stickers/decals this will be a pain in the arse. But a mop with a small head would do. Wouldn't recommend if you've not used one before as bike paint is thin. But it's not a hard job.
I used scratch x, for some strange reason it was fine in tank but on the nose cone, it left the polishing pad dark. It does the job, and a good wax over it, has kept it ok for a month now, but I would be careful with a machine on the edges
Nothing wrong with machine polishing bike paint ... It being thin is a myth ... I've a £3k PTG that shows otherwise ... The paint on the blade is soft though so marks easily ... Correct it then apply venture shield as I have done. I'm a pro car detailer so if anyone needs any advice please ask
I've used scratch x and swirl x in the past, but not on black paint. Sorry to thread jump but I'm getting ventureshield fitted on Monday, should I try get rid of any swirls beforehand ? I'm guessing the fitter will panel wipe it all before application so I don't see the point in waxing it..? Thanks
Yes, definitely ... Waxing will also assist in removal of the ventureshield in future so worth doing ... The fitter will use IPA so will not remove the wax.
Great, thanks. Incidentally this is a newer product than 3m Ventureshield, which supposedly corrects some of the issues people have. Will find out more Monday..
Let us know how you get on ... Ventureshield installed on my bike last year is already going dirty / yellow ... I'm tempted to remove the lot! It's messing with my OCD!
I am thinking of venture shield what's the view from a detailer. I love to polish actually but was tempted to get a mop
It prevents stone chipping of the panels and also marring / scratching to tank sides, etc. It is very good stuff but I wouldn't use it on a white bike from my experience. No issues at all with detailing the bike with it fitted.
Had my Repsol done last week by Steve at Paintguard.co.uk. I think the product he used was called Sunguard. He said it is more invisible than the 3m product, easier to install and look after and you can use any product or solvent on it. I was very impressed with Steve and his work, I phoned last minute, quite close to him going on holiday so he was extremely busy. He made a real effort to fit me in, he arrived at mine at 7.30 am after an hours drive and cracked straight on. After me he was off to do the front end of a £10 million quid Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. Have a look at his site and FB for photos of his work. He did say he was waiting for the new 3m pro-series film which is available in America but not here yet and is getting rave reviews....
