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can't speak for this fairing, but my brother did their lowers
before Installing, he dropped them off and I polished and coated them...I had a chance to look at every detail....they were very nice quality
as well, i'd be curious as to what the finish looks like on the old....you mentioned Mother's...have you tried a product that does more than dress the plastic....there are some that really do a great job of making plastic look black and brand new
i've used this specific brand on a number of different weathered and gray pieces of trim on both cages and bikes, it works great....it basically changes the surfaces of the plastic....i highly recommend two coats, 1 will look so good, you may be tempted to stop after one coat, but a second coat will deepen the black and give you a little more protection
can't speak for this fairing, but my brother did their lowers
before Installing, he dropped them off and I polished and coated them...I had a chance to look at every detail....they were very nice quality
as well, i'd be curious as to what the finish looks like on the old....you mentioned Mother's...have you tried a product that does more than dress the plastic....there are some that really do a great job of making plastic look black and brand new
i've used this specific brand on a number of different weathered and gray pieces of trim on both cages and bikes, it works great....it basically changes the surfaces of the plastic....i highly recommend two coats, 1 will look so good, you may be tempted to stop after one coat, but a second coat will deepen the black and give you a little more protection
The inner fairing on my 06 was deteriorating and showing it's age so I tried to clean it up by using various types of the "fix your black automotive parts" stuff, only to be completely dissatisfied by all results.
In a final act of desperation, I ended up trying this liquid shoe polish stuff:
Surprisingly, this came out better than any of the other products I tried.
In regards to replacement; after the hit & run on my 07, I had to replace the outer fairing and wanted a painted inner anyway, so I purchased aftermarket units for both, fitted them and had it painted to match with the rest of the new plastic.
I know you aren't looking to color match, but my recommendation would be to purchase a new inner (painted or not) rather than messing with painting the one you have due to the needed prep to get a good finish, and the down time too, of course.
Swapping the inner isn't difficult or complicated, just time-consuming - I'm sure you have the skillset to achieve it.
Just think ahead and take take of any other maintenance and/or upgrades while you have it all apart, such as handlebar bushings, clutch cable, etc.
You only want to do this project once.
Well, after 5 or 6 coats of the Solution Finish black restore stuff on the black part of the lowers, it finally turned black. maybe I didn't clean the surface well enough.
I also aded the Mother Black as well, that seemed to add some shine to them.
I'll clean the inner fairing later on today and add the black restore.
I used the solution finish Black trim on the Mid Frame Deflectors and the Inner Fairing. It did well for these.
The Lowers must be made out of denser plastic because it took quite a few applications plus some mothers, but they are now black.
Thanks Caffinebuzz!
The inner fairing on my 06 was deteriorating and showing it's age so I tried to clean it up by using various types of the "fix your black automotive parts" stuff, only to be completely dissatisfied by all results.
In a final act of desperation, I ended up trying this liquid shoe polish stuff:
Surprisingly, this came out better than any of the other products I tried.
In regards to replacement; after the hit & run on my 07, I had to replace the outer fairing and wanted a painted inner anyway, so I purchased aftermarket units for both, fitted them and had it painted to match with the rest of the new plastic.
I know you aren't looking to color match, but my recommendation would be to purchase a new inner (painted or not) rather than messing with painting the one you have due to the needed prep to get a good finish, and the down time too, of course.
Swapping the inner isn't difficult or complicated, just time-consuming - I'm sure you have the skillset to achieve it.
Just think ahead and take take of any other maintenance and/or upgrades while you have it all apart, such as handlebar bushings, clutch cable, etc.
You only want to do this project once.
Dang, what a great idea.
Copper Head hooked me up with a source for an Inner faring. If I get this thing I'll get it painted gloss black. Black goes with anything.
Dang, what a great idea.
Copper Head hooked me up with a source for an Inner faring. If I get this thing I'll get it painted gloss black. Black goes with anything.
Honestly, my expectations for the KIWI product were pretty low, especially given that other products had already been tried unsuccessfully.
I suspect the biggest issue with these coatings is that the solvents get bleached out of the unpainted plastic over time from UV exposure, and the surface that is left behind doesn't play well with anything but more sunshine.
The swap will take a lot of your time because it isn't just the shell like the outer fairing, all of the stuff in there connects to the inner.
Since you'll have it all apart, I recommend that you look into the Alloy Art plastic radio bracket to replace the cheap, stamped metal OEM bracket that is a known failure point.
Honestly, my expectations for the KIWI product were pretty low, especially given that other products had already been tried unsuccessfully.
I suspect the biggest issue with these coatings is that the solvents get bleached out of the unpainted plastic over time from UV exposure, and the surface that is left behind doesn't play well with anything but more sunshine.
The swap will take a lot of your time because it isn't just the shell like the outer fairing, all of the stuff in there connects to the inner.
Since you'll have it all apart, I recommend that you look into the Alloy Art plastic radio bracket to replace the cheap, stamped metal OEM bracket that is a known failure point.
@cprhed @07UltraGuy
So you both have the inner fairing bracket.
I'm about to install a power amp. that will mount on top of the OEM radio.
I assume this will add stress to the OEM bracket.
Is there room for my amp with the bulky plastic brackets?
Here is a video of the installation of the amp that is on the way.
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