Vanilla
10-16-2009, 10:30 PM
I`ve owned this bike since new & had never properly polished it. I kinda wish I`d left it that way... 4+ years and 20k+ miles of fun - I can`t believe the first damage to my bike comes from an attempt to spruce it up. :doh
I washed with Meg`s GC & my AutoGeek foam gun.
I clayed with Meg`s detailing clay & spray.
I polished with 3M Perfect It on a 4" Hex-Logic pad & my PCXP.
I applied Meguires #26 when I was done.
I ordered 3 pads (no cut, light cut, medium cut) and the backing plate to go with them all at the same time (one pad wasn`t as expected). This is the first time I`ve used my PCXP.
I started out with the least aggressive (black) pad. The least aggressive pad was enough to remove the marring on my test spot, so I continued - until it failed & damaged my paint :down . I later realized that the pad I received wasn`t the one I ordered & wasn`t designed for the backing plate - it was the first one I opened & I didn`t really know any better (I will next time). I`ve emailed the vendor to see if they can do anything for me - I know I did this, but they did send me the wrong pad (the one I received isn`t pictured on their site & they don`t sell the backing plate that works with what they sent me)...
After the black pad failed, I moved on to the white one.
Gas tank before (this was the worst of it - your legs grip the tank when riding, moving around on the bike for corners grinds any dirt into the finish here):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2596/4017833655_b6e194255f_b.jpg
Gas tank after:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2438/4017835389_f96d3935b9_b.jpg
Rear plastic before:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2455/4017833283_e3f3fcfd2a_b.jpg
Rear plastic after:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2634/4017834325_f7769dcc1c_b.jpg
And the carnage:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/4017834695_45444478e3_b.jpg
I applied clearcoat & polished - it`s less noticeable but still REALLY bad:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2531/4018595962_b9e9ec45e4_b.jpg
And the big picture - no damage from this angle ;):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/4018596710_d26b321a39_b.jpg
I washed with Meg`s GC & my AutoGeek foam gun.
I clayed with Meg`s detailing clay & spray.
I polished with 3M Perfect It on a 4" Hex-Logic pad & my PCXP.
I applied Meguires #26 when I was done.
I ordered 3 pads (no cut, light cut, medium cut) and the backing plate to go with them all at the same time (one pad wasn`t as expected). This is the first time I`ve used my PCXP.
I started out with the least aggressive (black) pad. The least aggressive pad was enough to remove the marring on my test spot, so I continued - until it failed & damaged my paint :down . I later realized that the pad I received wasn`t the one I ordered & wasn`t designed for the backing plate - it was the first one I opened & I didn`t really know any better (I will next time). I`ve emailed the vendor to see if they can do anything for me - I know I did this, but they did send me the wrong pad (the one I received isn`t pictured on their site & they don`t sell the backing plate that works with what they sent me)...
After the black pad failed, I moved on to the white one.
Gas tank before (this was the worst of it - your legs grip the tank when riding, moving around on the bike for corners grinds any dirt into the finish here):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2596/4017833655_b6e194255f_b.jpg
Gas tank after:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2438/4017835389_f96d3935b9_b.jpg
Rear plastic before:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2455/4017833283_e3f3fcfd2a_b.jpg
Rear plastic after:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2634/4017834325_f7769dcc1c_b.jpg
And the carnage:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/4017834695_45444478e3_b.jpg
I applied clearcoat & polished - it`s less noticeable but still REALLY bad:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2531/4018595962_b9e9ec45e4_b.jpg
And the big picture - no damage from this angle ;):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/4018596710_d26b321a39_b.jpg