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82 250r
07-28-2013, 08:39 PM
I have a new found respect for Mr. Clean and others who have polished tanks and fenders for their trikes. This is very time consuming but definitely worth it.
I've been putting it off for about a year, and finally started last week...glad it's over.

Need someone to splash mud on it quickly or it may never leave the garage!



http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk261/bmwic155/250R/P1010088.jpg (http://s282.photobucket.com/user/bmwic155/media/250R/P1010088.jpg.html)


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk261/bmwic155/250R/P1010089.jpg (http://s282.photobucket.com/user/bmwic155/media/250R/P1010089.jpg.html)


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk261/bmwic155/250R/P1010092.jpg (http://s282.photobucket.com/user/bmwic155/media/250R/P1010092.jpg.html)


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk261/bmwic155/250R/P1010103.jpg (http://s282.photobucket.com/user/bmwic155/media/250R/P1010103.jpg.html)


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk261/bmwic155/250R/P1010100.jpg (http://s282.photobucket.com/user/bmwic155/media/250R/P1010100.jpg.html)


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk261/bmwic155/250R/P1010101.jpg (http://s282.photobucket.com/user/bmwic155/media/250R/P1010101.jpg.html)


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk261/bmwic155/250R/P1010111.jpg (http://s282.photobucket.com/user/bmwic155/media/250R/P1010111.jpg.html)

jays375
07-28-2013, 08:54 PM
Very nice and time consuming!

Worden18
07-28-2013, 09:05 PM
Wow that is sharp! Nice work :)

aldochina
07-28-2013, 09:37 PM
awsome machine dude! Be nice to see a before shot for comparrison.

JasonB
07-28-2013, 10:04 PM
Looks fantastic! Did you put new decals on there or just sand/polish around them?

christph
07-28-2013, 10:06 PM
Very nice. This is on my to-do list. Just curious, do the fenders polish up the same as the gas tank? I'm asking because the tank may be made of a different plastic than the fenders.

82 250r
07-28-2013, 10:31 PM
The fenders do not polish as easily as the tank. Tank was, by far, the easiest and for some reason shines the best...fenders take more work and time.

New decals from Harlen.

ceaserthethird
07-28-2013, 11:44 PM
Is this a rider? If so I would at least remove front & rear fenders. Look really clean!

Canyon Man
07-29-2013, 05:50 AM
What did you use to polish? I just saw some dude on youtube use boiled linseed oil and paint thinner and it worked great.

82 250r
07-29-2013, 02:52 PM
I used sandpaper. ALOT of sanding. 600 to 1500 grit - then polished with a buffing wheel.

honda atc guy
07-29-2013, 03:14 PM
I used sandpaper. ALOT of sanding. 600 to 1500 grit - then polished with a buffing wheel.

Just curious what you used with the buffing wheel and was it a wool wheel?

Canyon Man
07-29-2013, 04:45 PM
WOW. That had to take a while

honda atc guy
07-30-2013, 04:20 PM
I'll ask again, what compound did you use and what kind of wheel, wool?

loshe191
07-30-2013, 08:20 PM
Looks awesome great job:cool:

ceaserthethird
07-30-2013, 08:47 PM
How many hours of work did the rear fenders take to do?

82 250r
07-30-2013, 09:16 PM
Here is some of what i used.
Not pictured is wet/dry sandpaper and a soft sanding block.
The buffing/polishing takes literally 30-45 minutes. The sanding took me 5 days.
To make it look right, you have to take the time to wetsand 600-1500 grit with 400 in the rough spots. If i had to do it again, i would go to 2000 grit. I did that on the front fender and it made a difference.

3M Rubbing Compound 05973 (ordered from O'rileys auto parts)
3M Machine Polish 39061 (ordered from O'rileys auto parts)
Meguiars Mirror Glaze Cutting pad W7006 (Use with the 3M Rubbing Compound 05973)
Meguiars Mirror Glaze Polishing pad W8006 (Use with the 3M Machine Polish 39061)
Harbor Freight 2 speed sander/buffer (be careful not to use high speeds and burn your plastic!)

The 3M compound and polish idea was from Mr. Clean. They work, but i suppose other products may work as well.
Mr. Clean uses "Eagle One Nanowax" as a final step. I couldn't find it anywhere (Discontinued product?) so i used "Eagle One Nanowax" spray, and it doesn't do much of anything as far as i can tell.


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk261/bmwic155/250R/P1010117.jpg (http://s282.photobucket.com/user/bmwic155/media/250R/P1010117.jpg.html)

honda atc guy
07-31-2013, 09:23 AM
Thank you Marc. This helps me and I'm sure a few others out there that want to tackle this in the future. You did a fantastic job! :beer