B
Badooka
Guest
Hello GS folks. I was sitting here today sweltering and needing to re-sycnh my carbs and the heat made it out the question. I decided to take a little time and talk about something that in one way shape or form needs to be taken care of. Be it on your GS tank, chrome, plastic or such or a car- windscreen, watch crystal or anything that is deemed dulled out and in needs of some gloss. Now buffing a paint job or an expensive instrument can in fact be an intimidating process for some- going at something worth thousands of dollars with little know how is not something for the weak of heart and heavy of hand. But maybe I can shed a little light on the process of what has taken me years of trial and error and in some cases catastrophic results.
First off most items that have a finish that are used out doors like bikes, cars, and boats are in todays arena covered with some type of clear coating on top of the paint.
I wont waste time going into all the specific types and brands just that they are indeed there. Now these coatings are put on in layers and the trick to getting them fixed or shined can be accomplished by cutting into these in the least amount of depth to give you the most amount of shine to the naked eye. There is a tool shown here that carries a set of grits that are bar none the best in the industry called Micro Mesh (see link here
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sanding_Tools_and_Supplies/Micro-Mesh_Finishing_Abrasives_Kit.html)
These are used by everyone from the US military to the finest Luthiers in the world for scratch removal and high gloss. The USAF uses them primarily to remove scratches from fighter jet canopies. They will last for years if taken care and not abused. The sand paper and polishing fields use a series of 'grits" or size of cutting material on sandpaper and even in polish to give one a depth of cut to perform the level of removal of the repair or polishing job.
The lower the number the bigger the cutting ability. The Micro Mesh start around 1500 and go to 12000 grit. The human eye will not be able see above a 4-5000 grit scratch and once you approach the 10K grit results, this is where the mirror finishes that have a wet look start to appear. This is what most people will chose to strive for in a car or motorcycle and even electric guitar finish. You can in fact do this yourself and once you learn the process you will only get better at it. You can, with very little experience with a MM kit turn your motorbike into a jewel with one of these kits, a little soapy water and some time. The trick is to move slowly and contstantly keep a cushion of (I prefer DAWN dish soap) under your pad. Just keep dipping into a container with a few drops of soap and water as you work the area. No need to worry about direction just light pressure and be sure to completely work out all of the scratches from one pad to the next higher number. You will be able to feel them stop grabbing as you gain experience. Soon you will be looking to MM everything you can think of when you see the results- even jewelry! No need to worry about hurting your finish- since you can always go back down a grit and then come back up. Finish up with a good polish and wax with a micro fiber and reap the rewards of your labor. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns before you delve into this arena, but fear not because you can do it. You can find these kits even on AMAZON and ebay- they come in different sizes and even have a small craft kit with small pads that work just as well as the larger ones for around 10$. If you look at my tank in my album pics, this is the original 30 year old finish. Just brought back out with a MM kit and TLC. I have zero affiliation with MM- I was introduced to these in the USAF and threatened under force by my pilot to get a scratch out his field of view that he always thought was a bogey! There really is nothing better on the market and the price is very reasonable given the quality and durability of the product.
First off most items that have a finish that are used out doors like bikes, cars, and boats are in todays arena covered with some type of clear coating on top of the paint.
I wont waste time going into all the specific types and brands just that they are indeed there. Now these coatings are put on in layers and the trick to getting them fixed or shined can be accomplished by cutting into these in the least amount of depth to give you the most amount of shine to the naked eye. There is a tool shown here that carries a set of grits that are bar none the best in the industry called Micro Mesh (see link here
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sanding_Tools_and_Supplies/Micro-Mesh_Finishing_Abrasives_Kit.html)
These are used by everyone from the US military to the finest Luthiers in the world for scratch removal and high gloss. The USAF uses them primarily to remove scratches from fighter jet canopies. They will last for years if taken care and not abused. The sand paper and polishing fields use a series of 'grits" or size of cutting material on sandpaper and even in polish to give one a depth of cut to perform the level of removal of the repair or polishing job.
The lower the number the bigger the cutting ability. The Micro Mesh start around 1500 and go to 12000 grit. The human eye will not be able see above a 4-5000 grit scratch and once you approach the 10K grit results, this is where the mirror finishes that have a wet look start to appear. This is what most people will chose to strive for in a car or motorcycle and even electric guitar finish. You can in fact do this yourself and once you learn the process you will only get better at it. You can, with very little experience with a MM kit turn your motorbike into a jewel with one of these kits, a little soapy water and some time. The trick is to move slowly and contstantly keep a cushion of (I prefer DAWN dish soap) under your pad. Just keep dipping into a container with a few drops of soap and water as you work the area. No need to worry about direction just light pressure and be sure to completely work out all of the scratches from one pad to the next higher number. You will be able to feel them stop grabbing as you gain experience. Soon you will be looking to MM everything you can think of when you see the results- even jewelry! No need to worry about hurting your finish- since you can always go back down a grit and then come back up. Finish up with a good polish and wax with a micro fiber and reap the rewards of your labor. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns before you delve into this arena, but fear not because you can do it. You can find these kits even on AMAZON and ebay- they come in different sizes and even have a small craft kit with small pads that work just as well as the larger ones for around 10$. If you look at my tank in my album pics, this is the original 30 year old finish. Just brought back out with a MM kit and TLC. I have zero affiliation with MM- I was introduced to these in the USAF and threatened under force by my pilot to get a scratch out his field of view that he always thought was a bogey! There really is nothing better on the market and the price is very reasonable given the quality and durability of the product.
