Repairing Clearcoat Damage?

[sirwin]

I recently bought a motorcycle that was equipped with "throw over" saddlebags (two saddlebags joined together with a leather strap that are "thrown over" the rear fender and under the seat). The previous owner didn't protect the paint, and the rubbing of leather saddlebags against the sides of the fender has damaged the paint. Actually, it looks like the clear coat is either badly scraped or worn through. The black color is still there, it's just "smudged over" and deeply hazy wherever the saddlebags rubbed against the fender. The remainder of the fender is fine, so I'd like to avoid the cost of a repaint. I was thinking of wet sanding the damaged areas and/or using cutting and/or buffing compounds with a variable speed buffer to see if I could repair the damage.

Anyone have any advice for such a project?

Scott
Memphis, TN

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Repairing Clearcoat Damage?

Hi Scott,

First you need to check and see if the clear has been wore all the way through. An easy way to do this is to take a light paint cleaner like ScratchX or Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner and rub the affected area with a white polishing cloth and then turn your cloth over and look to see if there's any black pigment showing on the cloth.

If there is then the clear is worn through, if the cloth remains white then the clear layer is still present.

If the clear layer is still present then continue to apply this product to the worn/dull areas till you've restored clarity. Next apply a coat of your favorite wax or paint sealant.

Sanding and compounding is kind of extreme at this point especially if you think the paint is thin to start with. Both ScratchX and DCPC can be found at just about any auto parts stores and also Wal-Mart and Target.

Either one will work for what you want to do.