I have debadged a few vehicles and bikes in the past, but this is a first for me with denim paint.

I didn't get the adhesive as hot as I should have, so when I pulled the Harley badge off there was a good amount of goo behind. After a long time of using my nail, goo gone and etc. I got it all off. I was sure not to work it too much because I know with denim paint it can gloss, but....

There is a major "halo" from where the adhesive was, and some slight "streaks" from where I worked it off. Figured I would ask here for advice before I try and correct it... Or if I'm just plain F'd and have to consult a paint professional to have it fixed.

Thanks.

 

Ah the fun and games with flat finish paint. I was just talking with a customer today. His bike came with a denim finish from HD. He had the bike repainted a few years back as he got tired of dealing with it. Its an Ultra and whenever he tried to get the dried bug guts off the fairing, it was a total hassle as if he tried scrubbing them off, it created shiny spots.

Maybe someone here has some experience with refreshing flat finish topcoat paint, and if they do then I too am interested in how its done.
From what I have dealt with, flat finish or denim paint is fussy stuff. It is very hard to rework the finish to remove defects, if it can be done at all.
Bottom line, if you want that smooth, defect free finish over the surface of the tank, then reclearing it with matte finish clear may be the only way. Then of course you have the fun of matching the level of dullness of the finish.

 

That's discouraging. It's really not bad, so I hope it can be fixed. Hopefully someone on here will have a solution, not going to mess with it until then.

 

+1, from what I've found flat/denim/satin finishes are unfixable. I've tried a few things and it usually looks worse than what I started with.

 

Think Im just going to wash the tank really well with Dawn, water and a nonabrasive cloth to see if that helps. If not.... Im just going to take it to a prefessional. No sense in making things worse. Just wish I would have done things better the first time.

Oh well, live and learn. My bike still rocks. lol.

 

There is no fix for the problem short of reclearing it as one of the earlier guys said. They also hit the nail on the head about trying to achieve the same degree of matte finish. This fad has hit the automotive industry and OE manufacture take no responsibility for any issues...even put it in the manuals for Hyundia owners. I work for a major paint company and we have produced a let-down panel that will help with finding the degree of matte, but it still doesn't fix the issue you are dealing with. In short, anything you do to try and fix blemishes on a matte finish will result in other problems..I would try the Dawn dish soap and a microfiber towel and very light pressure. We recommend either that or ammonia free glass cleaner and a soft towel....light pressure..

The best results we have gotten doing a matte finish is base it as normal clear coat as normal with your favorite clear, flat sand it, then use the matte clear to obtain the finish you want.
The reason for the regular high gloss clear, if you get any junk in it or peel you can sand it without any issues. Less likely to get stripes in the matte clear....sorry I couldn't give you a more helpful answer.