Scratches & Swirls

[Ollie]

Can anybody tell me what they use & how to get rid of the scratches and swirls from my black paintwork. Tried a few things and they are not doing what it said on the tin. Any help would be much appreciated

[Urrell]

Dunno about the scratches but the swirls sound like polishing with grit or dust on the cloth. Gloss black is the colour that shows that the most.

I use Autoglym Ultra Deep Shine, made especially for dark colours.

[Ollie]

Your right must have picked up some grit on my cloth. The scratches are not deep but they are noticeable in certain light.

[Fatbaldbob]

Simple solution, don't polish it! let it mature naturally into a rat and you will find you have much more time to ride it.

[Limey_Dave]

I suspect the marks have come from washing as much as polishing,do you use a sponge?A sponge will trap grit on the surface and mark the paint.
Rinse bike first,then use one of these to wash it.

Halfords | Meguiars Super Thick Microfibre Car Wash Mitt

Use two buckets,one with suds,and one with clean water.
Dip the mit in the suds,it will hold more than a sponge,wash part of bike,then rinse mit in clean water before dipping back in suds.
The grit will stay in the clean water bucket,and you'll use clean suds each time.
Dry off with one of these
Halfords | Meguiars Water Magnet Microfiber Drying Towel

If you've used a good wax wash,like canuba,you can polish the chrome with the towel as you dry.

[Baff]

Originally Posted by Fatbaldbob

Simple solution, don't polish it! let it mature naturally into a rat and you will find you have much more time to ride it.

It's working for me.

[Brigg]

I used Mothers Polish... come in various grades of abrasiveness good results but makre sure you read the tech info

[RobK]

I've had good results with Poor Boys swirl and scratch remover.

There is a limit to what you'll achieve with a manual process and if you really want to get rid you might want to think about an electric mop.

Having said that, these days I don't worry too much, just use the two bucket approach to cleaning and let it age gracefully.

[Steppenwulf]

Meguiars 'Scratch X' is good for light swirls- expensive but it works and it goes a long way.