Cosmetic Current Results and Questions 87gs450l

[Markus]

First time doing this, I've so far used 400 - 600 - 1000 grit wet/dry sand paper and am very pleased with the outcome after a nice polishing with Never Dull Chrome polish. I can't find anything above 1000 grit anywhere locally though. I was curious what grit other people went up to? Many members on here have some beautiful looking bikes and I would like mine to be in similiar shape! Here is the before and after pictures of the Cover and my progress.

-Unfortunately I didn't take any before pictures so this picture isn't centered on the cover, its from the craigslist post!

 

[Markus]

This is my results using the 1000 grit and chrome polish. Also, notice during sanding some of the black around the suzuki logo was removed, is there an easy fix for that? That will look good. Any further advice would be appreciated!

Disregarding the covers, one of the plastic side panels, not show in the picture, has a crack in it...any ideas on how this could be fixed?

 

[Nessism]

1000 grit is enough. You got a lot of pieces to do.

I only go to 600 and then move to mothers. From Suzuki the covers were not polished, rather a "brushed" finish with the grain marks going in one direction.

 

[Jmanor]

I have been doing some sand/polish on my GS1100GL project and used 180,220,320 and 400. Haven't done 1000 so I am sure it will give more of a chrome look if I did but used Mothers Polish. Do you have a Wal-mart near by, they have higher grit a buck or 2 cheaper than Advance Auto.

I think you may need to order a new emblem or do what I am, paint the whole circle/emblem area black. Figure would match my black paint on lower part of engine.

 

[Gorminrider]

Disregarding the covers, one of the plastic side panels, not show in the picture, has a crack in it...any ideas on how this could be fixed?

Me I just use this to strengthen a crack: ABS pipe cement available at hardware store can be built up behind the crack.(prep surface a scuff deep with sandpaper then clean (a fast wipe with acetone or alcohol- even water to get to a CLEAN surface without contaminants ).. It's a yellow goo-can be built up in repeated applications. I've used it lots of places . If you like, cut a piece of ABS pipe lengthwise to make a short "strap" you can glue across the crack as a strengthener. Others actually make a slurry of ABS and acetone
two part epoxies might work for this too but if you want a good job cosmetically seen from the other side, I think it a bad idea to apply any "normal " polyester resin "Bondos" over the epoxy that will show through .
Cosmetically - is not my strong suit. But I'll blather on a bit anyways.. If the visible crack bugs you, there's a lot of bondos and stuff that'll smooth much better than the glue or epoxy I would use to strengthen and stiffen it. You won't get rid of a visible crack without actually sanding it away on either side and you want a proper fine filler for this. That is to say, you can't "fill" by building up lumps or scratching away at coarse material.. You must create a dent and fill it...Unless nail polish works well enough for you to disguise it. Otherwise, all I know is to use some kind of block under a fine sandpaper-flat blocks are best where the curve is convex. You can easily wear depressions into plastic that'll show when painted so use due care. Put some masking tape as a border around the work area so the sandpaper b-ggers it and not the good surface under. of course,take it off as soon as you are done and/or replace it often.

 

[JTGS850GL]

You can get an assortment of 1000 to 2500 grit wet sand sheets at Advance Auto Parts stores if you have any in your area or order on line. I go all the way to 2500 but the real shine comes in when you use a wet soapy Brillo pad and give it a good rub/cleaning before you use the Mother's aluminum polish.