The Harley Davidson emblem on my bike is a decal and there are thin accent stripes that separate the two colors of bike is a raised decal as well.

Do you avoid them? Maybe tape them off some how?

 

Is this from the factory? If so it should be cleared over the top.
If it doesn't have clear over it, you can tape over it. I try not to go over tape when polishing, just up to the edge

 

clear coat from the factory over the top of it, I was concerned because I had watched a vid where Mike at Autogeek mentions that basically when you polish, you are leveling the surface of the clear coat

my concern was that, even though it has a clear coat, both the HD logo and the pin stripe are slightly raised.....and I'm sure you can imagine what I was concerned with

I'll be using the G8, not a geared polisher, foam correcting and finishing pads, and Wolfgang's Swirl remover and Finishing Glaze.....the type polisher I got is better for newbs, foam pads are better for newbs, and per those who know more than me, Wolfgang has "excellent abrasive technology" and I chose wisely

still waiting for all the stuff to come, I'm super excited

In another life, I used to paint, when I set up jobs, I always told the folks I worked for something that needed to be said in order to make sure they didn't stress out during the project

the final result in a well painted room is directly related to the effort put into the prep work plus your ability to apply product properly....what this meant to the customer was that it was going to look like I'm doing nothing until it finally comes together

when I painted a wall, I washed the wall with water, then again with TSP, then again with water, then it got sanded, skim coated with topping compound, sanded again....then it got primed, sanded, and then primed again....only after the wall was ready for paint, did I apply the first coat, then I'd key the surface with a light sanding again, and then applied the second finish coat

the process for doing woodwork was even more painstaking, but the result was trim that looked like it was sprayed...no brush strokes

what I really enjoyed was standing back after it was all done and looking at it, I am looking forward to doing that with the bike when I'm done cleaning and detailing it

I'm going to take lots of before and after pics, I'll be sure to share

 

My 2009 has cleared over stripes on it. I’ve compounded, clay barred, polished and waxed it for 12 years. It’s never hurt the clear or the stripes.

 

Yes, blue painters tape over the decal will protect and work well, eliminating your concern.
Then hand polish the decal area if need be,

FWIW I too would assume the decal has a clear coat paint over it.

 

That blue tape is for the house. 3M makes a automotive tape that is designed for painting and polishing. Ive used blue tape before when I ran out of the 3M stuff. Used it around a sun roof gasket, it worked but not great

 

thanks for the tip, I used 3m on my truck, it was cool and in the shade no problem, good to know there is a detailing specific alternative

I have a clear coat over everything, I have some parts that are in great shape and will get a finishing glaze only, some parts need correcting and then glaze, the bike is segmented enough where I can be less aggressive on parts that don't require that much leveling

 

CB, test spot is your friend. Like we have talked about, some parts take more of a beating than others. If your going with a polish only, test spot, check and make sure that's what your looking for. The most important part, have fun! If your not doing for money it should be fun

 

I’m really enjoying this my friend.