Scratches on heat shields - Buff Out or Buy New?
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 1,775
Likes: 14
From: Northern Colorado
the chrome on those is quite thin--- "buffing out" is not something you can really do with chrome plating as the chrome is a thin, thin layer ( often over copper and zinc).
live with, powder coat or replace
sidebar: in days of old, much of trim was stainless steel--- chrome was later used as a cost saving.
My 60's Cadillacs have gobs of stainless trim, the bumpers are chromed steel ( for the strength bumpers need) advantage of teh stainless is it always looks good, easy to repair dings and scratches do buff out
Most of the bright shiny stuff on the '53 FL is stainless, very little chrome at all.
mike
live with, powder coat or replace
sidebar: in days of old, much of trim was stainless steel--- chrome was later used as a cost saving.
My 60's Cadillacs have gobs of stainless trim, the bumpers are chromed steel ( for the strength bumpers need) advantage of teh stainless is it always looks good, easy to repair dings and scratches do buff out
Most of the bright shiny stuff on the '53 FL is stainless, very little chrome at all.
mike
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 2,023
Likes: 6
From: New Jersey
Ok, Gliden said it TWICE so it MUST be true. Buffing will not work.
And besides, they're heat shields. They were made to show the battle scars of turf wars gone by (I wax poetic).
Anyway, you get my drift. Polish it, then ride it!
And besides, they're heat shields. They were made to show the battle scars of turf wars gone by (I wax poetic).
Anyway, you get my drift. Polish it, then ride it!
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 3,846
Likes: 173
From: Simi Valley, CA
Just a comment. I'm 51 years old. I've heard the words/phrase "buff out" for 35 of my 51 years. I don't think I EVER successfully buffed out anything in my life. If bought compound, scratch remover, wax, polish, and more scratch remover. I have not EVER been able to make a scratch disappear.
I think only once I " thought " it disappeared only to see it reappear a few days later. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the term " buff out" is total bs. Ok I'm done.
I think only once I " thought " it disappeared only to see it reappear a few days later. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the term " buff out" is total bs. Ok I'm done.
It really depends on the type of material you are trying to polish, the severity of the defect, and the competence of the person making the repair.
I did spend many of my younger years doing custom painting on cars and motorcycles so I have some experience and knowledge in this matter. For the inexperienced lay person, trying to polish out surface defects can be a futile attempt. In many cases, the attempted repair will look worse than if you just left it alone.
Intermediate
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
I was in the same boat as you ,wanting to keep the shields looking new.
I had some fine scratches on my rear cylinder heat shield .New price for that one was $98.00 . So I started looking on craigs list and found a complete 2011 street glide take off set that was taken off at the dealer for $100.00. all heat shields and mufflers were like new. The deals are out there if you look, Especially with the cats in the 2010 and up there are a lot of people switching to different head pipes. My 09 Road King does not have the cat , so I'm good. Good luck!!
I had some fine scratches on my rear cylinder heat shield .New price for that one was $98.00 . So I started looking on craigs list and found a complete 2011 street glide take off set that was taken off at the dealer for $100.00. all heat shields and mufflers were like new. The deals are out there if you look, Especially with the cats in the 2010 and up there are a lot of people switching to different head pipes. My 09 Road King does not have the cat , so I'm good. Good luck!!
Thread Starter
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Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 744
Likes: 8
From: Pluto
oK, so it seems to be the majority says likely an attempt to "buff it out" will be a big fail - I believe it, I can see that the plating is very thin. I could try and live with it since I'm probably the only one that notices - but, I will keep my eyes peeled for an awesome deal on a nice set on craigslist or eBay.
Thanks all for the tips!
Thanks all for the tips!
Tourer
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 359
Likes: 0
From: Western North Carolina
There is some truth to your line of thought. But on the other hand there are times when a scratch can be polished out.
It really depends on the type of material you are trying to polish, the severity of the defect, and the competence of the person making the repair.
I did spend many of my younger years doing custom painting on cars and motorcycles so I have some experience and knowledge in this matter. For the inexperienced lay person, trying to polish out surface defects can be a futile attempt. In many cases, the attempted repair will look worse than if you just left it alone.
It really depends on the type of material you are trying to polish, the severity of the defect, and the competence of the person making the repair.
I did spend many of my younger years doing custom painting on cars and motorcycles so I have some experience and knowledge in this matter. For the inexperienced lay person, trying to polish out surface defects can be a futile attempt. In many cases, the attempted repair will look worse than if you just left it alone.
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 228
Likes: 1
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 2,144
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From: Mass
[QUOTE=Gliden;8933565]Just a comment. I'm 51 years old. I've heard the words/phrase "buff out" for 35 of my 51 years. I don't think I EVER successfully buffed out anything in my life. If bought compound, scratch remover, wax, polish, and more scratch remover. I have not EVER been able to make a scratch disappear.
I think only once I " thought " it disappeared only to see it reappear a few days later. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the term " buff out" is total bs. Ok I'm done.[/QUOTE
..While I agree that MOST times, a scratch will not totally disappear with buffing, I think the biggest reason is because 99% of the time, people try to buff with hand-power...scratches really only have a chance of coming out if an electric buffing-wheel is used...hands just cant go fast enough to flatten the clear coat..
I think only once I " thought " it disappeared only to see it reappear a few days later. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the term " buff out" is total bs. Ok I'm done.[/QUOTE
..While I agree that MOST times, a scratch will not totally disappear with buffing, I think the biggest reason is because 99% of the time, people try to buff with hand-power...scratches really only have a chance of coming out if an electric buffing-wheel is used...hands just cant go fast enough to flatten the clear coat..