@DucatiKev Ya I wont be spending a grand to have it detailed expecially from local vendors down here. Seems they only have people that are contracted with Xpel/Ceramic pro. No shops work on bikes here. A few of them are willing to try but I'm not taking the risk or being the first client.
As for prepolish. Which step would I repolish? Wash bike>Micro dry> Iso-distilled>Micro dry>PPF(on specific areas)/Ceramic(others)>Iso-distilled>Ceramic(over ppf)>Finish?
@thomasmryan Thanks Ill order this asap
Definitely wouldn’t let a car detailer “try” on my bike. Bike detailers know what they need to do
as for the process, it’s more art I think than science but thinking about it logically and laying out a plan to attack is the way to go.
Ok so here’s what I would do:
1st make sure u have a few days where u promise not to ride
Start by rinsing the bike off, get it wet. Then blast it with a stripper soap/detergent (NOT dish soap/dawn) this will get bugs and big debris off. I like the snow foam cannon on a pressure washer
Then do a decontamination like Iron Out by chemical guys or whoever else, get the bike perfectly clean. This step is very important.
Then blow it dry with a leaf blower, then wipe it dry with a big soft clean towl or shammy. But spend a good bit of time with the blower or itl drip drip drip.
park it in front of a fan for the night (ocd)
tape the black plastics and other areas that u don’t want to get polish/compound residue on
Now begin polishing. Good lighting and an extra flashlight is very important
at this point you’ll see why I’m up ur ... about polishing. The polishing makes the bike look perfect, NOT THE COATING! Although the coating does help hide some light scratches as it fills them in a bit
polish polish polish. Give it a brake either go eat dinner or wipe the residue off with a dry microfiber and sleep on it
at this point, inspect. It Will look better but does it look perfect? It probably won’t look 100% perfect cause we’re not sanding with 1,500 and then 3,000 but the Surface scratches will either be all gone, or u still need to polish. I’m not sanding. Not happening, but this vid is still Very revealing
Ok Is the bike perfect looking? IPA (diluted Isopropyl) wipe down followed by a dry towl don’t leave any marks behind
Take the flashlight and carefully inspect all painted surfaces
all good? Time for PPF. Lay it down, get it perfect then dry off the bike and just look at it
last step for this project is going to be the actual coating. All this excitement abt coating ur bike and it’s less than 1% of the job. I know it’s bs but if ur not going to polish, don’t bother coating
You gotta get that paint and ppf ready for coating so again with the ipa, dry it off maybe ipa again nice and thorough then dry real quick. Should be ready
U bought CeramicPro and I would recommend doing this project ASAP. The chemicals deteriorate in the bottle. I would say the chemicals should be used within a month of receiving your order
humidity does affect this project so if u can bring it literally into ur living room, do it and tell everyone not to touch it.
Completing this project in a climate controlled environment would be the determining factor if I am going to do this myself.
Last place u want to be is in a hot humid garage with a fan making It windy and bugs buzzing in ur ears and flying in ur eyes.
This project can be very enjoyable and rewarding but you have to go into it methodically.
u should have seen my wife’s face the first time I renewed my Triumph’s engine oil in the family room
At 3:12 they show how to really inspect the paint
