Total Motorcycle Community Forums

i drove my bike 900 miles on a trailer covered by a flopping tarp, which was a big mistake.

all the places where the tarp was hitting my brand new bike (both fenders and side of tank) got these patches of what look like water spots on an old car window, only they wouldn't come off.

i finally got them off after 7 or 8 applications of polishing compound, but now those areas are all dull compared to the shiny black paint on the undamaged areas.

i tried waxing and scratch-off, but neither restore the shine. any ideas?

I'm no body wizzard, but I have used polishing compound before. And I believe 7-8 applications might have been a little excessive, it sounds like you ate through the clear coat. Again, I'm not a professional so hopefully someone else here can give you a better idea. However, I also know that if you use polishing compound on one area and not the entire piece it will look different. I think you might just have to polish the whole bike and see what it looks like. Just remember that polishing compound has abrasives in it so don't rub for too long.

agreed. way too much polishing compound. is there any way to reapply the clear coat?

Short of having the entire part re-sprayed I don't believe there is. Clear coat isn't like paint they can't blend it, they have to re-do the whole piece. So says the body shop we take our vehicles to.

wow, learn hard. maybe this summer i'll take off the tank and take it in.

That sucks - you were trying to protect it and casued more damage than if you left out the tarp.

I feel for ya dude.

yeah...if only i'd had the wisdom to consult this forum before i made that stupid decision

I would take the entire bike to a body shop first, I could wrong about you going through the clear coat. Like I said I am not a body professional, they might look at it and tell you different.

i ended up running into a guy at carquest who worked for mcquire's and did a lot of detail, and he was able to figure it out.

he said the microfiber cloths i was using were only microfiber on one side, which wasn't indicated on the packaging, so that caused some scratches. he also explained how polishing compound works, that it didn't eat through the clear coat, and that he had a product that could fix the damage done by it. he invited me to his house this weekend to do it. lucky break!

jfeaz wrote:i ended up running into a guy at carquest who worked for mcquire's and did a lot of detail, and he was able to figure it out.

he said the microfiber cloths i was using were only microfiber on one side, which wasn't indicated on the packaging, so that caused some scratches. he also explained how polishing compound works, that it didn't eat through the clear coat, and that he had a product that could fix the damage done by it. he invited me to his house this weekend to do it. lucky break!

Sweet!! Let us know how it goes!