WAX or POLISH after painting

[stirlinggaz]

Hi,
just finished painting/cleaning & touching up (oh yes!) some fairings on yet another bike.
its looking good & im quite pleased with the job I've done, & its been a good learning experience.
I want it to stay looking good & I will be finishing them off with finishing compound (probably G10) & likely use some hand glaze (farecla) but would like to...seal it/polish it.
maybe some sort of hard wax? not your usual high st. rubbish but I don't want to get into the sort of prices some detailers pay.
anyone any recommendations?
This will be the final product used & therefore it has to be quite hard wearing & last a reasonable time.

cheers,
GAZ

[Just_James]

Generally a wax is used to seal and a polish has more abrasive qualities so can help to remove dulling or fine scratches.

If you get the paintwork to a standard you're happy with using whatever grades of abrasives / polishes and you purely want to seal it, I'd recommend using a hard wax sealant.

This is generally applied to brand new paintwork, if you go to buy a new car (or probably bike I guess too) the salesman will likely try to sell you a 'protection kit' for the paintwork for a silly amount of money. It's just a hard wax that they buy in for cheap and you'll be lucky if the valeter can be arsed applying it anyway

It is good stuff though, it won't do anything for reviving old scratched / dull paintwork but does give a really good protective barrier to paintwork that's in sound condition!

I have used the BMW liquid hard wax and Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection, both seem to be identical products (likely made in the same factory then their own packaging / branding applied) but are very good.

Amazon currently has the Autoglym one on offer for a tenner which is good value, a little bit goes a long way
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Current Bikes / Projects: 1999 Rieju RS1 50
Previous bikes - 1986 DT125R (field bike), 1989 KX250, 1980 KX420 (with 500cc big bore), 1992 YZ250, 1988 KX500, 1989 XR250R, 1988 VFR400R NC24, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 2008 Rieju RS2 50 , 1993 Honda NSR 125

[stirlinggaz]

Hi,
yes, I think im looking for some sort of hard wax, according to interweb.
im quite happy with the new paint & the old paint has been "revived".
Its as shiney as I'd like, with no swirls or small scratches after using compound & hand glaze.
I dont want to lose any of the shine but at same time I want to protect the paint.
Some products I have seen on ebay claim to resist normal washing for some time, although im not sure how much truth there is in these claims.
it looks like wax with a high carnauba content is whats needed...
think I'll ask my local paint shop whats popular.

cheers,
GAZ

[Clanger]

When my mate sprayed my tank, I spent hours waxing it between paint layers. We sprayed it black and metallic green. It looked fabulous afterwards.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[Acerman]

[talkToTheHat]

Muc Off miracle shine. Recommended by my painter for use afterwards as it's fairly gentle to apply, more so than the autoglym he had in.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[ZRX61]

[stirlinggaz]