Newbie with DA - Harley Vivid Black - what products?

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I have never to this point ventured into machine polishing as I was afraid I would do more harm than good. I always detailed my bikes by hand. I had a 2002 Harley Electra Glide in Vivid Black and sold it because I couldn't get the finish the way I wanted and swore I would never own another Vivid Black Harley again. The next one was Orange and the next was Red, then my wife got a Silver metallic one but we both ended up with Vivid Black touring bikes!

I have spend countless hours with various products with mediocre success. Swirls still remain. I tend to use Mequiars Scratch X 2.0 or Mequiars Ultimate Compound followed by Mequiars show Car Glaze #7 and then Canuba Wax. But the swirls are always there and no amount of hand correction is working ESPECIALLY on the horizontal surfaces like the tops of the bags and the tank when the sun hits it. Drives me crazy.


SO I sprung for a Harbor Freight DA - yeah I know, not the best but for a few times a year it will get the job done from what I hear. I repacked it with red high pressure grease and that quieted it down. I put a longer cord on it and I moved the switch to the top. I have ordered the 5" Lake Country backing plate and the 6 pack of 5.5" pads (2 orange, 2 blue, 1 white, 1 black) and some new microfiber towels. However they won't be here until next week. In the meantime, I got two of the 6" Harbor freight pads in Orange (cutting) and blue (polishing) so I can test this out on some spare parts I have (black rear fender and black saddlebag lid).

The products I have on hand are as follows:
  • Mequiars Ultimate Compound
  • Meguiars Scratch X 2.0
  • Mequiars Swirl Remover 2.0 (Mirror Glaze 9)
  • Mequiars Swirl Free Polish (Mirror Glaze 82)
  • Mequiars Show Car Glaze (Mirror Glaze 7)
  • Various Canuba waxes
  • I also have some old FillnGlaze that is pink and in a round cylindrical bottle
  • Also a bottle of Liquid Glass - no sure if that is even recommended. It is damn hard to remove/buff and I think I used it once.
  • I bought the Turtle Wax Black Box and all it did was leave my towels stained with black and no better than anything else I have used.

I am not here to debate the utilization of HF over other DA polishers - that's what I have and that's what I will be using. My questions are:


  1. What other products do I need? Harbor Freight has 25% off on Mothers day and they have Mequiars 105, 205 and Dual Action Cleaner Polish that I can get at 25% off. Would you recommend any of those and if so which one?
  2. Which pad and product should be combined?
  3. What do the numbers mean (#9, #7, #82) Which is more abrasive - Scratch X or Ultimate Compound?
  4. Any other suggestions? The Harley paint is known to be soft....


I am open to suggestions and advice.
 
Looks like I have some reading to do tonight!

I have a lid from a saddlebag that took a trip down the road by itself! Needless to say it had some gouges that even wet sanding won't take out BUT the top is good for practicing on and I am amazed at how well he orange pad and the ultimate compound took care of the swirls and surface scratches when used with a DA - and even more amazing is that it did it in very little time! That would have taken me hours and wouldn't have looked as good!

However when I used the blue pad and the swirl free polish, I reintroduced some swirls so maybe I need a softer pad. I went back over it with the Ultimate compound and that oil care of it! The blue pad might be too aggressive - it will be interesting to play some more when the lake country pads arrive next week.

I have a black rear fender that I removed from my wife's bike when we upgraded to a better fender - I hit it with UC and then Scratch X and it did a nice job. There are some areas where the seat abaded the fender and those won't come out but they are covered by the seat anyway!

So far I am pleased with the results in my tests. I am going to research some more and test some more before I attempt to do my bike.

I will pick up some 205 on Sunday with the 25% off coupon and test it out.
 
The Guz said:
In addition to ultimate compound, M205 or ultimate polish would make a fine addition to your arsenal.

This should answer the question of UC vs scratchx. I would use UC if you needed to use it.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...wanted-know-about-meguiars-smat-products.html

I corrected my brothers Harley. It has soft paint and I ended up using a coating on it.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/96704-2004-harley-davidson-vrod.html
Click to expand...

Ha! I just looked at the VROD pics - that is how my paint looks! And the Orange bike I mentioned in the first post was a VROD as well - the Orange Street Rod version! If they put that motor in a touring bike, I would trade tomorrow!

Nice results BTW. Hopefully I can get as good of results.
 
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