I have a 2006 Super Glide which is Vivid Black. When I bought the bike used it had a lot of scratches in the tank. They are not down to metal and really don't look very deep at all but they make the tank look horrible and it's driving me nuts. What's the best way to remove those scratches? I have tried Scratch X and a few other products from Wal-Mart but of course none of those worked. I was using a rag and not an orbital polisher. I don't want to make a mess of it and ruin the tank but I would really like to get those scratches out.

 

Thats how vivid black works. Great color but shows everything. I use Turtle Wax Black Box on mine and it looks great. I use it because its cheap but there are tons more around for black if you do a search! Good luck, vivid black is a great color!

 

u will never get the scratches out by hand. u have to mask off and buff with a decent polish and buffer. u could also find a detailer to do it for pretty cheap im sure. if u do use a buffer make sure u dont go too high of a speed or u will burn through the clear. good luck

 

I used MaGuire's Scratch remover on the tank where knees tendto leave scuffs. It worked some. i can live with it.

 

Keep in mind that the scratches are places where the clear coat/paint has been removed. To totally get rid of the scratches you will need to polish the remaining paint down to where it is the same thickness as the scratches.

This may not always be the best thing to do as it will permanently remove some of the clear coat/paint. The next time you get a scratch you will need to remove more of the remaining paint. Do this too often and you'll remove so much that you'll be down to the primer and you'll have no choice but to repaint. Granted that will take a while but it is a possibility.

Your best option unless you want to repaint may be to find a mild polish to remove the majority of the scratches and try not to worry about what's left. If you are still bothered by the appearance the only real option is to repaint.

Griot's Garage sells a 3" random orbital buffer that is made for polishing small areas on cars and for motorcycles. Random orbital buffers are relatively safe to use because they do not remove the paint as rapidly as a professional buffer. I have one of their 6" buffers I have used for several years and am very satisfied. Griot's also sells various polishing pads for their buffers and various grades of polishes from very mild to heavy. Other companies may offer similar buffers and a number of companies offer polishes.

Once you polish most/all the scratches out, there are products available called glazes that help hide any remaining scratches. Finally use your favorite last step product (LSP) being a wax or polymer sealant to protect the surface.

Use appropriate cleaning techniques after all this work to help prevent introducing any new scratches to the paint.

Hope this helps.

 

I have the same problem and figured that its a losing battle.... I love black on bikes so i just keep it as clean and shiney as i can...

in other words-

im over it.