Vivid black was looking worse for wear

[rickr01]

My almost 12 year old Harley with vivid black paint was starting to show more swirls and holograms at every wash lately more so this year then in the past. I attribute this to many more rain rides this year and my six miles of dirt road. I Usually wait till winter to give it a good buffing but as I sat looking at her the other night under some halogen lamps, (they show every imperfection), I decided to jump on it now and give her a removal buff rather then just an after wash cover up. After a little research and my past good experiences with Meguires and Mothers products I picked up some Mequires #1 medium cut polishing compound, some Meguires #9, 2.0 ultra polishing swilrl remover and some Mothers 100% caranuba liquid wax. I applied the Medium cut first with my little 4" Wen orbital buffer on a green foam pad. That in itself could have been the final finish, as it was beautifully smooth and scratch and swirl free. I then applied the 2.0 with a blue pad. Man talk about bringing out a deep black. I then protected it all with the Mothers which gave the finish that final wet look. I took that halogen and went over the paint from every angle....Just perfection! Looks better then new...If you want to remove rather then just cover up those swirls and holograms, this is the ticket.

[TXCHOP]

Thanks Rick! As you know, i have been through the a whole mess of "miracle waxes" and none do as they say. This winter i am going to try just what you descried! Thanks!

I love to hate black. Gotta buy a new buffer though. How do youlike the 4 inch Wen?

[rickr01]

Originally Posted by TXCHOP

Thanks Rick! As you know, i have been through the a whole mess of "miracle waxes" and none do as they say. This winter i am going to try just what you descried! Thanks!

I love to hate black. Gotta buy a new buffer though. How do youlike the 4 inch Wen?

Its a great little buffer. It creates enough speed, 4000 Opm but because its an orbital its much less likely for a novice to burn the paint. It takes a little bit more back and forth time then a professional Porta Cable would but then again I'm a novice, so I have no problem spending an extra 5 minutes buffing. I've used the little Wen on my wifes car hood after a few cats had a fight with a dog on it and it worked equally as well. I highly recommend it.

[rickr01]

Heres a link to the Wen model I have. Mine is the corded electric model.


http://wenproducts.com/system4random...rpolisher.aspx

[huskerbob]

Originally Posted by rickr01

My almost 12 year old Harley with vivid black paint was starting to show more swirls and holograms at every wash lately more so this year then in the past. I attribute this to many more rain rides this year and my six miles of dirt road. I Usually wait till winter to give it a good buffing but as I sat looking at her the other night under some halogen lamps, (they show every imperfection), I decided to jump on it now and give her a removal buff rather then just an after wash cover up. After a little research and my past good experiences with Meguires and Mothers products I picked up some Mequires #1 medium cut polishing compound, some Meguires #9, 2.0 ultra polishing swilrl remover and some Mothers 100% caranuba liquid wax. I applied the Medium cut first with my little 4" Wen orbital buffer on a green foam pad. That in itself could have been the final finish, as it was beautifully smooth and scratch and swirl free. I then applied the 2.0 with a blue pad. Man talk about bringing out a deep black. I then protected it all with the Mothers which gave the finish that final wet look. I took that halogen and went over the paint from every angle....Just perfection! Looks better then new...If you want to remove rather then just cover up those swirls and holograms, this is the ticket.

how do you deal with the tank decals???

does the buffer and/or polishing compound damage them???

sounds like you've hit on a great swirl removal solution, just worried about the HD and pinstriping decals on my tank.

thanks for any info you can provide.

[kustom_flames]

Your best bet would be to stay away from the decals. Stripes are usually buried enough under the clear that there is not a big enough edge to catch. One thing you want to remember is that you are buffing - so do it lightly! You do not need to apply hard pressure to the surface, just enough to hold the buffer to it. You can go over decals if you are careful, but it may not be worth the risk...

HD does use a pretty thick powdercoat clear so it would take quite a bit to go through it, even with a raised edge of a decal...