Scratches

[Stefe9999]

I know this was recently discussed, but I couldn't find it in the archives. Is there any good technique to shine up plastic that has gotten minor scratches in it? My front fender has a patch of shallow scrapes on it, from brushing against a rock. It kind of matches the one I have on my ribcage, but doesn't hurt as much! ?

[bman]

Ride now and don't worry about scratches. Buy new stuff when you sell it.

Scratched,dented,bleeding and still having fun.

Bman

[Lil_Bill]

I kinda look at dents and scratches as war wounds, in a strange form of admiration for how much of a klutz I can be at times.

[John_H]

Hey,

Was looking at my front fender the other day (and the smashed pipe) and thinking how cool it looks. I don't ride it 'cause it's pretty!

[Blue_Boner]

That stuff called Plastic Renew works quite well, but takes a fair amount of time to get a good result. Eric

[Ynahg]

The image we get from dirtbikes are shiny, and newer than new (supercross, magazines etc...) That's what every dirtrider tries to do, keep the bike like if it was never ridden, but its impossible. We have to admit these to our selves these are like a tool, it just needs a good maintenance and, buy new plastics when you sell it.

PS : I clean my bike 2 hours after every ride......nobody is perfect ?

[ January 10, 2002: Message edited by: Ynahg ]

[Stefe9999]

I love this site! It has great entertainment value! ?

[ January 10, 2002: Message edited by: Stefe9999 ]

[armourbl]

The plastic renew stuff is alright if you are just touching it up to sell it. But it won't hold up in riding conditions. It will begin to flake and haze and end up looking worse than scratches.

Plastic is too cheap to not just buy new when things get too bad. $20 for a front fender, that is so cheap. A front fender for my TL1000R is like $200.

ben

[Dan_Lorenze]

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[Dan_Lorenze]

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[Lil_Bill]

One trick I have heard works is for the white spots formed by close encounters. Like when that tree jumps out into your current direction of travel. If you take a heat gun to the plastic I guess it takes the white out of those creases and dings.

[AZWR426]

I haven't perfected my technique, being somewhat anal, but I did find Johnson's Pastewax (the type for wood floors) will help to get the white back to looking blue. It seems to hold up - all I can guess is it puts oils etc. back in the plastic that get removed if you try to buff out the scratches.

[Pete_Z]

I've heard that Mop-n'Glo (for linoleum floors) works well, but I've never tried it.

[Guest Guest]

If I get the lawns mowed, the dogs fed, the trash taken out and the ball throwen to the kids, then I might have time to polish the plastic. But then I wont have time to change the oil, clean the filter or lube the chain, so I would'nt be doing much riding anyways!

[Stefe9999]

Thanks for these ideas, I'll try some of them and see what happens.

When you've changed the oil, cleaned the filter, tightened the spokes, upgraded the seat, put on new grips, cleaned the house, fed the dogs, changed the cars oils, done stuff with the family, gone skiing, and you still can't ride because it is snowy and frozen and all the trails are closed, you just NEED something to do to your bike, if you truly love it!

?

[eBayThumper]

I can vouch for the heat gun method...just be careful...don't go too far with the heat. I did some minor stuff last week and hit it with some very fine wet/dry sandpaper and then the heat gun. Sanding turns it white and then the heat melts it back to a nice shiny blue...It's not perfect but a lot cheaper than new plastic...

J