I've had the bike for a couple of weeks now so before it gets too warm to faff around cleaning rather than riding, I thought i'd give the old girl a once over. This was mainly to clear up the paint rather than going through every nook and cranny but there's time for that later. Only a couple of befores, mainly concentrated on the afters.. During pre-wash The bike has protection film applied to the front panels and in places, it was a bit of a state: She was pre washed, 2 bucket washed, iron x'd, clayed and de-tarred before being washed again and dried with a pet dryer. Taping / sheeting was done as bikes are full of crevices and dust traps before I set to polishing. 50/50 on the tank searching for the right method of attack Tail 50/50 Right side before: Right side after: Once given a wipe down (all photos taken after wiping down), I applied Panigale R decals to the nose and rear: Along with a Ducati Performance Tank Pad Then I applied nanolex matte sealand to the plastic and carbon mudguard and Swissvax Crystal Rock everywhere else. Continued below:
I had planned on leaving the CR for several days but an opportunity to go for a run 24 hrs later came up so I buffed it off and rolled her out. The plan was a quick set of photos then a ride. Unfortunately, the battery was dead and a new one was required. She sat like this for a day or two before the new battery arrived. I managed to get out on her today and went straight to get some pics before tackling a few nice roads. There are a few pics but I liked quite a lot of them! I hope you enjoy: Cheers Matt
It's done 3k. Most bikes / cars that have been washed will be covered in swirls etc. It isn't that's bad unless under decent lights or close up or under forecourt lights. This was taken at the dealer.
good work!!! didn't understand half of what your saying but nice job! is the qr like a cutting compound or just a polish? when you buffed was it by hand or? I'm thinking it must have been an electric buffer hence the need to mask up? can you buff/polish that protective film? (guessing it must be venture shield or something?)
Cheers dude. It was polished using a machine and polish (cutting compound) after all the wash stages. The CR (I think you mean that rather than qr?) is the wax. It's called Crystal Rock by Swissvax which is just a posh wax (and happened to be pretty nice once on). The film can be polished just like paint, you just need to work up to the right 'cut' as you go so not to damage it. Hope that makes more sense!
If I had a bike that clean I'd never dare ride it. Weather is nice: bike gets covered in bugs. Weather is not nice : bike gets covered in crud. I only clean my bike to "reasonable": looks superficially clean to the casual observer. I just can't be bothered with anything else. Life is too short and I have either too many other things I should be doing, or too many other things I'd rather do. Still, why not?
I get ya and I can get lazy/run outta time in a day but I personally get nearly (well... almost nearly ish) as much pleasure in cleaning and polishing my bike as I do riding it!!! maybe I'm weird... ok that's a given.. but also cleaning a bike regularly and in detail gives me a lil piece of mind in that I know there is nothing lose or leaking or worn to the point of danger..
It is very true that a good clean really helps you spot if anything is wrong. But I'll be honest, I loathe cleaning my bike. The only reason I do it is that I hate it being dirty even more. Now, let's see... would I prefer to clean my bike, or play my guitar? Well, that didn't take long to decide.
Geez, I clean my bike once a year, whether it needs it or not, except I forgot to at the end of last season, so as well as this seasons "Busted Bugs" it still has last seasons ones as well, I'll get 'em all this year .
Looks fantastic!! Did you use a da or a rotary polisher? I've thought about using my da on mine but don't have a paint depth gauge and having not used it on bike paint or plastics before I'm a bit dubious. Saying that though I got most of the swirls out by hand so it's not too bad now.
In the end, I used a da. Tried with the rotary first but didn't like the way it was working. I couldn't measure the paint on the fairing as its plastic but you can go pretty hard with a da and it will normally be fine. The tank ranged from 250-310 microns in different places so plenty to work with. At least they're lacquered unlike the 899!
Looks good Matt, what pad polish combination did you use? When I had mine corrected apparently the paint was very soft. Have had a new tank since so may have a go on that myself though am considering a smaller DA than the one I currently have for the smaller areas. Great job
