how to restore bike fairings??

[danno]

i have a bike that the fairings are quite beat up. no deep scratches just scuffs. i'm looking for a good polish and technique on how to get some shine back into them.

[Cos]

May be cheaper to buy replacements. I have seen full replacement sets painted for $500.

If not if it cant be waxed/polished out there isnt much to do.

[danno]

i found a set of fairings for 675 shipped but they are from china and the holes aren't perfect for mounting but they are close enough. i figure i'd try and see what i can do with what i got, i think it needs a good polish but i'm not sure which brand is good on plastic.

[Supa Dexta]

Are they raw plastic or coloured/painted? If anything I'd sand and paint... But again... Unless you're real good with a spray can... thats gonna be $$$

You can do a pretty good job though if you take your time and use krylon.

[danno]

They are Factory painted. They don't shine like they could that's all

[Zigo]

I've been told the Chinese ones will crack during winter.

[CUG]

Originally posted by Zigo
I've been told the Chinese ones will crack during winter. ...and I can confirm that. :banghead:

[danno]

Hmmm well that may change my plans then. How bad is he crack. It will always be in a attached garage non heated but I may look at getting a eater this year

[Zigo]

Originally posted by danno
Hmmm well that may change my plans then. How bad is he crack. It will always be in a attached garage non heated but I may look at getting a eater this year

The plastics are not made of the same material as OEM ones. I've heard horror stores of people leaning on the bike a little bit, and everything cracking.

I have also heard decent stories about them too.

I'd order up some OEM fairings.

[J.D.]

Ebay the Oem fairings if your patient you can get good gear at a good price.

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by Zigo
I've been told the Chinese ones will crack during winter.
Mine are fine, the dont get any harder (or anything) during the cold.

[danno]

Anyone do a full bike wrap, if so how do you like it? how much vinyl did you use?

[danno]

i was looking at 3m di-noc, it looks like a good product. i'd be a little nervous doing a bike with so many angles. anyone use this stuff??

[ddduke]

Originally posted by danno
Anyone do a full bike wrap, if so how do you like it? how much vinyl did you use?

I'm about to start a wrap on my bike. shouldn't be more then about $150 in materials (that's buying tons extra for fuck ups). It's really easy if you pull all the peices off.

Read up on vynil though, even on this forum. It's not the greatest product, I hate it on my truck. But I suspect that it's going to be a lot better on a bike because you get hit with way less rocks, ride/wash it less and there's a lot less area covered so less chance of failure.

I'll post pics and let you know how it went after i'm done.

[danno]

ya that would be awsome, how much did you buy??