I was at O'Reilly's last night and remembered this thread when I saw the Mother's clay bar kit for $18. I spent about 5 minutes on the tank and it's smooth as glass. Amazing the amount of black crap the bar was taking off. And that's after washing it the day before. It's raining this week but I can't wait to get it into the Sun and see how it looks. I'm thinking about removing the tins from the bike to do a good workbench job on them.

Wow. A detailing topic.

I recommend Griot's Garage clay, not because it's any different than any clay you can get, but because it comes in a big honkin' chunk that works and rolls real easy. Claybaring is awesome, but it removes everything protecting your paint. Chrome... not so much. But if you claybared the paint, it's totally unprotected now.

I will recommend Tech Wax 2.0. Goes on easy, smells great, wipes off leaving a super deep shine, but more importantly, the paint is protected.

You can also use PlasticX on plastic parts (wind screen) to remove bugs, tar, overspray, etc. Don't claybar plastic.

Jonathan wrote:
Wow. A detailing topic.

I recommend Griot's Garage clay, not because it's any different than any clay you can get, but because it comes in a big honkin' chunk that works and rolls real easy. Claybaring is awesome, but it removes everything protecting your paint. Chrome... not so much. But if you claybared the paint, it's totally unprotected now.

I will recommend Tech Wax 2.0. Goes on easy, smells great, wipes off leaving a super deep shine, but more importantly, the paint is protected.

You can also use PlasticX on plastic parts (wind screen) to remove bugs, tar, overspray, etc. Don't claybar plastic.Picked up a bottle of Tech Wax 2.0 and finished off the tank. Wow! That thing is slippery now. I'm definitely going to pull some stuff off so I can get to all of the paint. Also got some chrome polish. Gonna shine her up purty since I'm not riding while this rain sticks around.

Jonathan wrote:
Wow. A detailing topic.

I recommend Griot's Garage clay, not because it's any different than any clay you can get, but because it comes in a big honkin' chunk that works and rolls real easy. Claybaring is awesome, but it removes everything protecting your paint. Chrome... not so much. But if you claybared the paint, it's totally unprotected now.

I will recommend Tech Wax 2.0. Goes on easy, smells great, wipes off leaving a super deep shine, but more importantly, the paint is protected.

You can also use PlasticX on plastic parts (wind screen) to remove bugs, tar, overspray, etc. Don't claybar plastic.

ok where do we get it
need info

Jonathan,
By unprotected, are you saying that the wax has all been removed or the clear coat?

If the clear coat is removed with the clay bar cleaning, what is the easiest/best way one restores the clear coat?

Thanks,
Ray

Naw, just the wax. Clearcoat is paint, clay bar won't remove that.

For those of you who haven't ever claybar'd, it's not really clay. It's more like those knead-able erasers you can get in arts and crafts stores.

Rayjay wrote:
Jonathan,
By unprotected, are you saying that the wax has all been removed or the clear coat? Ray, I'm saying that the clear is no longer protected, so it will get damaged more easily by common elements (rain, sun, etc). When you claybar paint, you're basically taking the sediment and road crap that's lodged in the paint and lodging it into the claybar (which is why it's so important to knead and fold the clay so often while you do it). The original poster also mentioned the fluid you get with the claybar seeming like a mild soapy solution, and he was right. It is. You can easily make it yourself. Take a spray bottle, fill it with water, and put a squirt of dish soap into it. Barely anything (I like original Dawn). DON'T USE THAT CONCENTRATED CRAP! LOL. Just plain old dish soap. .97 a bottle for Ajax at Target if you need something on the cheap. You're only using the soap to lube the clay on the paint, and it doesn't take much. If you think you haven't put enough in, you've probably got the right amount. The problem is, most dish soap removes grease (or wax, in this case). So that is where the unprotected paint problem comes into play.

If you're really serious about cleaning the paint and you know you're going to protect it after claying, use 75% isopropyl alcohol on a rag to wipe the area down before claying. It'll totally remove any wax, leaving only minor contaminates to pick up with the clay. It's how I do cars. It's also necessary before buffing, because any contaminates left in the paint turn into NEATO swirl marks when you buff.

tykesplace wrote:
Also got some chrome polish. Gonna shine her up purty since I'm not riding while this rain sticks around.I wouldn't use the polish on your pipes unless you test it out first. Any residual polish will burn (even trace amounts of any chemical it leaves behind), especially near the heads. I'd recommend taking a little bit, putting it on your finger and making a finger-sized dab on the pipe where you know it gets the hottest, then polishing it up as good as you can, then take a ride. If you don't see a dark finger shaped mark when you get back (a normal length ride that really heats things up), then I'd say you're good to use it on anything.

I'm partial to Noxon Metal Polish, btw. Good for all metal, not just chrome. I haven't used it on my pipes, though, so I can't tell about burning.

Tug wrote:
ok where do we get it
need info
Tug, I linked to both products in my original post. If you mean the PlastX, the same. Amazon. I do amazon for everything. Griot's stuff you can only buy from griotsgarage.com or Griot's through amazon (recommended as shipping is far cheaper (free in most cases) when you purchase through Amazon).

Random tip:
If you're all looking for a quick shine wax that doesn't streak at all, please, for the love of god, get Griot's Spray Wax and some good microfiber towels. You can do a whole car (or bike, chrome included!) and even in the brightest light never get any streaks. The OTC stuff you get at car places streaks, esp in bright sun. I love shining up a car with inferior stuff and then getting it into the sun and realizing that it looks like total crap. After I wax with tech wax, I finish up with this if I'm not going to Glaze. It just evens everything out.

clay bar's are amazing! just remember you drop it, throw it out or cut out the section that hit the ground...

thanks jonathan its nice to have a detailer on here

Tug wrote:
thanks jonathan its nice to have a detailer on hereThanks! Funny thing is, before I got my bike, I used to fawn over my car's paint. It was spotless. All the time. Totally spotless. Now.... I feel kinda bad. Like I've replaced an aging wife with an 18 year old. Car paint gets just minimal attention, then right in front of my car, I polish the hell outta the bike.