Wetsanding Scratch Marks

Hi everyone,

New to the forum, kind of new to detailing with that said my question is posted below and some extra detail is provided below that!

Question: There is a set of light scratches on the front fairing of my motorcycle I was hoping to be able to wetsand in order to "level out" then follow with a compound/polish, and finally fill in the scratches with some touchup paint from Dr. Colorchip that I had made to match. If I were to do this what would be the best (read: least aggressive) grit to start out with? I know pictures would be a huge help in visualizing the scratches so I will try to get some!

Extra detail that has nothing to do with the question:

I preformed a "single stage" paint correction on my motorcycle in 2015 but it needs to be "maintained" and redone at this point. I will admit there were some careless washes in there but most of the scratches that have occurred are on the fuel tank and were caused by my leather race suit making contact with the tank and thus scratching and swirling it.

The initial paint correction was done using a PC 7424XP with 3" Meguiars MF Cutting Pad and CG V36, the results were acceptable to me. This time around I will be using a GG 3" DA with Lake Country MF Cutting Pad + M105 followed by a Rupes Yellow finishing pad + M205. There are certain fairings of the motorcycle where I believe I can get away with Rupes Yellow FP + M205 as a less aggressive option from the start but I will have to test and find out for sure.

I understand that this is a motorcycle and not a car and as such will be more prone to scratches/swirls but I still would like to be able to keep it in pristine condition while riding and eventually tracking it. The reason for this "two stage" paint correction is that I will be having the fuel tank wrapped in PPF to protect against rock chips but also to have something "sacrificial" to scratch that can ultimately be replaced without the need for a correction, not that I don't enjoy doing them.

Here are some photos of the scratch taken from my iPhone 5S, I'm thinking it may even be possible to skip wetsanding and go straight to touch up paint. Though, I don't want to have anything that would indicate by touch/sight that there was damage that was just filled in.

Least aggressive grit? Like 3000 would be a good place to start. Then 2500.

maybe go lightly with 3000 grit. Even a Rupes yellow pad with M205 can remove that.

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Originally Posted by idriveblackcars

Least aggressive grit? Like 3000 would be a good place to start. Then 2500.

maybe go lightly with 3000 grit. Even a Rupes yellow pad with M205 can remove that.

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Thanks, I'll grab some tomorrow from Advanced Auto Parts. I might end up testing one of the scratches with touch-up paint by itself and see what it looks like, hopefully I can get away without wet-sanding at all. But if I have to then I will.

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Originally Posted by K5GSXR750

Thanks, I'll grab some tomorrow from Advanced Auto Parts. I might end up testing one of the scratches with touch-up paint by itself and see what it looks like, hopefully I can get away without wet-sanding at all. But if I have to then I will.

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I would touch it up first. Then wet sand if results are not what you want. The touch up will be slightly higher than the paint anyways. Then after wet sanding and polishing it back I would touch up again.

Those (In my non professional opinion but I have been working on/around cars my whole life and dont a few touchups/polishes) look too shallow for touchup paint. Seems like you will be wet sanding most of the touchup paint you put in there right back off. Start with a compound and MF pad. You can always clean the scratches after and apply some touchup if you have to.

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Originally Posted by dcjredline

Those (In my non professional opinion but I have been working on/around cars my whole life and dont a few touchups/polishes) look too shallow for touchup paint. Seems like you will be wet sanding most of the touchup paint you put in there right back off. Start with a compound and MF pad. You can always clean the scratches after and apply some touchup if you have to.

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The touch up is to fill the gap. You are only wetsanding the top layer which rises higher than the rest of the paint. I have fixed a few deep scratches right down to primer this way. Almost 90% fixed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by idriveblackcars

The touch up is to fill the gap. You are only wetsanding the top layer which rises higher than the rest of the paint. I have fixed a few deep scratches right down to primer this way. Almost 90% fixed.

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With deep scratches I can see it. THOSE are not deep enough. The majority of the touchup he puts on it no matter how light he tries to be will be sticking out of the scratch. Im saying I think those scratches arent deep enough to warrant touchup paint and wet sanding all that flat. I bet those can be mostly taken out with a good compound and if not sand with some 2500 and then a compound.