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Hello
I have a BMW K1200LT, deep metallic crimson (Canyon Red), nearly 6 years old, done just on 100,000 miles. Its been all over the US and Canada, hopefully Mexico this fall.
It has been "lightly" cared for over the years with a couple of professional details and periodic washing, but no heavy-duty polish/wax cycles.
One result of long trips is that the paint has been marked by bug smears that have dried on and haven't been completely removed at the next wash. Over time these have become noticable and you can't get them off with a wash/polish/wax. I used clay and that did absolutely nothing. I have now used SctachX and with 3-4 good solid applications, these bug smears have finally come out, leaving only a few really tough ones. This does take a long time though and I have had to really rub hard. Anyway, all that is good and I am happy that this path is the right one to bring the bike back from the "edge".
I have one real problem though. On a motorcycle, especially a big touring bike like the LT (the Honda equivalent is the Goldwing), the front sections facing forward are subject to a lot of **** hitting them. In undertaking the fine, detailed work of using the ScratchX, I can see quite a few (hundreds) of very small, but noticable pits/"chips", probably made by gravel and sand hitting the bike...nothing like coming up at 80mph on a truck losing a load out the back and having a stinging facefull of sand hit you and the bike!
When I use the ScratchX it all cleans off well of course, BUT and this is the big BUT, it remains behind in the tiny pits/dings that are spread across the front of the bike. No manner of rubbing will get it out. So, now I have a new problem, the bike is looking great except I have a swathe of tiny white dots on most front facing surfaces! I have never had these before because I haven't used a light-colored paste to clean with, only liquid cleaners/waxes. The pits/dings were probably filled with dirt/clear polish so weren't noticable.
Now, I suppose the proper answer is to clean even more off and get the pits/dings out but that worries me because I may have to go through the clear coat to the base color coat, a great unexplored area that is something I'd rather not initiate. I am trying to avoid having to get all the panels resprayed which would cost well over $1000. What I'd like someone to tell me is that there is a product that will dissolve the white ScratchX out of the tiny pits. So, is there such a product?
Ralph
Philadelphia
I have a BMW K1200LT, deep metallic crimson (Canyon Red), nearly 6 years old, done just on 100,000 miles. Its been all over the US and Canada, hopefully Mexico this fall.
It has been "lightly" cared for over the years with a couple of professional details and periodic washing, but no heavy-duty polish/wax cycles.
One result of long trips is that the paint has been marked by bug smears that have dried on and haven't been completely removed at the next wash. Over time these have become noticable and you can't get them off with a wash/polish/wax. I used clay and that did absolutely nothing. I have now used SctachX and with 3-4 good solid applications, these bug smears have finally come out, leaving only a few really tough ones. This does take a long time though and I have had to really rub hard. Anyway, all that is good and I am happy that this path is the right one to bring the bike back from the "edge".
I have one real problem though. On a motorcycle, especially a big touring bike like the LT (the Honda equivalent is the Goldwing), the front sections facing forward are subject to a lot of **** hitting them. In undertaking the fine, detailed work of using the ScratchX, I can see quite a few (hundreds) of very small, but noticable pits/"chips", probably made by gravel and sand hitting the bike...nothing like coming up at 80mph on a truck losing a load out the back and having a stinging facefull of sand hit you and the bike!
When I use the ScratchX it all cleans off well of course, BUT and this is the big BUT, it remains behind in the tiny pits/dings that are spread across the front of the bike. No manner of rubbing will get it out. So, now I have a new problem, the bike is looking great except I have a swathe of tiny white dots on most front facing surfaces! I have never had these before because I haven't used a light-colored paste to clean with, only liquid cleaners/waxes. The pits/dings were probably filled with dirt/clear polish so weren't noticable.
Now, I suppose the proper answer is to clean even more off and get the pits/dings out but that worries me because I may have to go through the clear coat to the base color coat, a great unexplored area that is something I'd rather not initiate. I am trying to avoid having to get all the panels resprayed which would cost well over $1000. What I'd like someone to tell me is that there is a product that will dissolve the white ScratchX out of the tiny pits. So, is there such a product?
Ralph
Philadelphia
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