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My polishing tips

  • tussuck
    tussuck
    6 years ago
    And Auto Glym is crap....
  • rodrocket
    rodrocket
    6 years ago
    If you want to shine the chrome work I have found that Purple Polish works best for me 

    Anybody else have any reviews on the VuPlex, I have some Lexan windows on my car that are a little marked, last time I had our detailer give them a lite cut & polish with the Novus Plastic Polish & buff
  • tussuck
    tussuck
    6 years ago
    Sorry i commented earlier and intended to reply the same day but work has been frantic this week.  
    Its all in the preparation and protection.  For my bikes (2009 and 1986) its a:

    -  A full 2 step paint correction with a DA using top products (Scholl Concepts)
    -  After correction ALWAYS comes a good ceramic coating over the raw clearcoat (in my case I use CQQuartz UK as its available over the counter - there are better products BUT you need to be certified by the product manufacture so they are left to the professionals)
    -  Over the Ceramic I use a Hydrophobic coating like Carpro Reload (bloody top notch chit).  I'm also trialing Meguiars Ultimate Quik Wax which a mate uses and and his bike is mint - he is OCD on the paint finish.  It too is Hydrophobic.
    - That's it....no fancy Carrnuba wax or million dollar products.  Once the paint is corrected then its pops! then ceramic to protect it and finally a hydrophobic coating to make sure water rolls off the paint.
    You could easily spend a 1/2 day doing the end to end process on a single set of bike tins - if not more time; but its a good investment.
    - Once the baseline is set then its a maintenance correction every 1-2 years depending upon riding/washing frequency.  This uses basically the same process but different products within the Scholl Concepts range as 2 step should not be needed, rather its basically swirl and hologram removal so its an super fine/mild cut.

    Of course you can easy fuck up all this hard work with poor washing techniques, but thats another thread...lol

    I do not normally plug companies BUT in this case Melbourne has a bloody good source of products AND training (I think its about $90 for a 1/2 day course and you get $20-50 back afterwards on product discounts - I did a Saturday morning course and can recommend it).  Try them out at waxit.com.au


  • tussuck
    tussuck
    6 years ago
    Its not black magic...What I describe above is standard car paint correction. if the paint on the bike has not been corrected before then it often has swirls and marks throughout so the FULL process I went through on the tins was:
    • Rinse
    • Foam cannon the bike down (only foam touches the paint) - optional step though.
    • Let sit for 5 mins to loosen the dirt and then rinse off
    • Standard shampoo wash then but useing two buckets - 1 x for the soapy water and the other to wash the cloth
    • rinse bike again
    • Claybar all the paint and rinse (used to use Mothers yellow bar but now use their Speed Clay foam bar)
    Paint is now pretty much a 100% clean surface to work with....

    • Step 1 is a mild cut using Scholl Concepts S3XXL Gold which is a diminishing grade mild cut
    o Tool used is a good quality DA Polisher….none of that crap chit that attaches to a drill!
    • Do a section at a time – ie ½ a tank at a time
    • Wipe down with new microfiber towels
    • Step 2 is a swirl remover using Scholl Concepts S30+
    • Again wipe down with new microfiber cloths
    • Wipe paint down with an Isopropyl alcohol solution to remove ANY polishing residue
    Paint is now pretty much a mirror finish…so lets protect it.

    • I use CQ Quartz UK Ceramic coating and apply per manufacture directions
    • I do this process twice as the ceramic does layer up.
    Paint is now protected from scratch and is sealed

    • Then within an hour of the ceramic I spray with Carpro Reload to provide a silky smooth feel, to add a sacrificial layer on top of the ceramic and to provide a water resistance that has to be seen to be believed.
    Your DONE…
    Wash when too dirty (2 bucket method EVERY time)
    Or spray with a good detailer/polish if just dusty (I’m using both carpro Reload and a trial of Meguiars Ultimate Quik Wax – not sure whhats going to win as both seem good products and are priced on par)
    Use CLEAN or NEW microfiber cloths – the number of times I see a good finish buggered through cheap dirty cloths is … too often.
    AND never forget to ride the chit out of the bike….its not there to be looked at!

  • Krash Kinkade
    Krash Kinkade
    6 years ago
    kiwi parade wax black boot polish for tyre wall's.
    ss100 on alloy & chrome.
  • Baloffski
    Baloffski
    6 years ago
    tussuck and boys, that is so useful info.
    Of course I think we all have our own methods, but mine is now revised. Thank you gentlemen.
    Baloff
  • shadowarrior
    shadowarrior
    6 years ago
    Posted this sometime back in another thread, well, here's the post again :)  This is the exercise I follow every two weeks. 
    https://www.hdforums.com.au/Thread/108446/113/

    Turtle Wax Rinse Free wash and wax and Meguiar's Quick Wax.
    Added around 4 caps of the turtle wax wash to half bucket of water and soaked some micro fibre cloths in it over night. Next morning cleaned each section off with that solution using microfibre cloths. For the paint surface, as soon as I cleaned it with the wash, I used another microfibre cloth with the Quick Wax sprayed on it to wipe the surface dry. Wring the second microfibre cloth thoroughly every time so when I use it to dry another portion, the cloth has no dripping water, just little bit moist. For all the chrome parts, same method to wash and another microfibre cloth to wipe it dry but didn't add Meguiar's wax to it. Wasn't sure what a hot exhaust would do to wax coating, so didn't take my chance there. I went over every nook and corner, so I'd say a 3-4 beer stubbies job.  




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    hd clean 2.jpg
    hd_clean1_1.jpg
  • Neale
    Neale
    6 years ago
    The best finish I have yet to get is to blow my bikes down with my leaf blower. I've put a few people onto it and had nothing but praise so far .
    Just be careful not to connect your bike with the end of the blower.
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