Bad scratches... is there ANY hope?
 

I put a new console on my bike and once I removed the old one, found some pretty nasty scratches underneath where the rubber (and the leather before that) was rubbing on the paint.

Is there anything that I can do to clean this up and get rid of those nasty scratches?

Here are some pics:

Left side of the tank... Its hard to take a good pic of them.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psb3d75703.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...pse0aa86bc.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psfa80946f.jpg

And here is the right side of the tank/original console area. It kinda runs up the tank following where the console and console extension were.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ps8635e246.jpg

Here is the new console installed and you can kinda see them on the bottom left part of where the old console was.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psd23f3aa5.jpg

I tried some of Harley's scratch remover and it helped maybe some but didn't get rid of them. I do not have a buffer but would be willing to go buy one, I am just afraid of using the wrong thing and making them worse.

Thoughts?

Have a auto body shop buff them out. This way you'll be sure not to screw it up yourself. Hahaha. They should be able to take care of it cheap enough.

This, they will buff out.

I had a similar problem about 1.5 years ago when I switched to that very same console. The paint on either side was cloudy and uneven. I polished and buffed as best I could, and while it did help a lot...it never fully went away. Now that I have my bike torn apart and the tank off, I'm going to strip it down, fix the tank, and repaint it. Seems that's the only solution for mine. I hope yours comes out easier

If thry can get it out by buffing it, why couldnt I get it out? :)

Man, I sure hope not...although a new paint job would be nice. Lol Actually I could probably get the center part repainted pretty cheap.

Experience goes a long way. If you can afford to screw it up by all means try it yourself

2000+ grit wet sandpaper, good quality wax, high speed buffer, a couple beers and I bet you can get those out. I've done many over the years with bikes I've sold. Keep the sandpaper moist and just glide it over the clear coat, don't apply alot of force.

Well, I wont say I can afford to do it myswlf because I have no idea how much it would cost to fix if I screwed it up. Lol

Man, putting a buffer with 2000 grit wet sand paper on my bike scares the piss outta me! Hahaha

But, I dont know if it could look that much worse than what I could do...other than sanding off the actual paint. I do have some S100 wax and some harley scratch and swirl remover to help once I get the bad part fixed.

I just finished 3 days of refinishing my black boat and there were numerous areas that looked just like your scuffs and scratches. Here is a basic rundown of how I would handle your situation.

Start with a glazing compound using either a microfiber or nice cotton cloth. I use 3M Imperial hand glaze. Don't be afraid to rub real hard as the glaze does not cut but rather buffs aggressively. This will fix some areas but probably not all. Next up use a light or average rubbing compound on the remaining bad areas. Go easy at first to see how it effective it is. The compound WILL dull the affected area which means it is working. Those dulled areas can and will need to be eventually fixed using the glaze that you used previously. You will probably have to redo some areas so don't rush or get frustrated. Once all the problem areas are done then it's time to hit the whole area with a premium wax or polymer.

If you don't feel comfortable with all this then by all means pay an expert. Good luck.

Is this the correct product to start with?

http://m.azautobodysupply.com/3mimha...id=18283950120

Also, is the S100 a good final wax?