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Besides getting a touch up paint kit from Harley, which I don't fell comfortable doing, any suggestions on touching up my fairing? I live in C. Texas. Anyone around here who can do a great job on my paint?
I was in the same boat. Exact.
Except I bought the paint and tried doing it and now it looks like crap.
If I were to do it again, go get the touch up paint because HD paint is impossible to match in most cases, then bring it to a body shop locally and slip him $50 to do it properly. I don't know why it's difficult, but it is.
Can you post a pic of the damage - is it small, large?
I'll post pics after I wash it. It's several small ships (8 or so), about the size of a match head and smaller. And one on the lip of lid of the bag on the right side.
I have the metallic quartz black and did a touch-up on the faring that turned out barely noticeable. I put a couple thin coats on the scratch. I then sanded carefully with 2000 grit paper and buffed lightly to make sure I didn't go through the clear coat. You do have to sand and buff with compound to make it look acceptable. No one but me notices the scratch unless they look really close. You just have to go slow.
I had a bad scratch on the rear of my left saddlebag that was through the clear coat and paint. In fact the white primer was showing through. Now I can't even see where it was. Go slowly, it's a multi-step process and patience is the keyword. Clean the area well. I applied a little rubbing alcohol and then let it evaporate to make sure the area was absolutely clean. Apply a very small amount of touch up paint to the area with a thin artist's paint brush and let it dry completely. Don't use the brush attached to the top of the touch up paint container. Buff lightly by hand with a light abrasive. I use Scratch-X because it's more forgiving than sanding. Repeat as many times as needed until it's filled in and ensure that it's level with the original surrounding paint. Polish to get out any fine scratches and wax. It took me several repeats of filling, drying, and buffing to finally fill in the scratch and polish it to where it's not noticeable. You must think Zen-like. Results are proportional to the amount of patience applied.
I had a fairly bad scratch on the rear of my left saddlebag that was through the clear coat and paint. Now I can't even see where it was. Go slowly, it's a multi-step process and patience is the key word. Clean the area well. I applied a little rubbing alcohol and then let it evaporate to make sure the area was absolutely clean. Apply a very small amount of touch up paint to the area with a thin artist's paint brush and let it dry completely. Don't use the brush attached to the top of the touch up paint container. Buff carefully by hand with a light abrasive. I use Scratch-X because it's more forgiving than sanding. Repeat as many times as needed until it's filled in. Polish and wax. It took several repeats to finally fill in the scratch and polish it to where it's not noticeable.
Tooth pick with thinned touch up paint works too ... and it can be easier to use.
I have the Daytona Blue on my 14 TK. Had a rock or hailstone take a large chip of paint off my front fender. No match available. Had to replace the fender with a factory painted one.
Once you get it touched up to your satisfaction,think about having a 3M clear film applied by a professional installer.I also got tired of the chips on my fairings,so I went with a Black SGS this time and I put a HD black bra on it for trips.Works out great for me.
I have the Daytona Blue on my 14 TK. Had a rock or hailstone take a large chip of paint off my front fender. No match available. Had to replace the fender with a factory painted one.
Harley sells a touch up kit for all their colors. The kit for Daytona Blue is 2 parts. It comes with the blue and pearl clear coat for $40.
Last edited by penmaker; Aug 11, 2016 at 09:28 AM.
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