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Just because I'm OCD, plastic seam removal.

Buellxb Forum

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Cooter

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2012
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Crawling up your skirt
So I always hated the little mold seam on the top rear of the plastics that all the Fireboats and 1125's have. It just seamed (see what I did there!?!?) unfinished.

So I took about 15 minutes to remove it. It worked perfectly. Step by step pic's to come!
 
There seams to be some jokers on here!:black_eyed:

IMG_1741.jpg
Ya, I hated that super hard to see little line. Can you imagine being married to me?! Haha. So I used the palm of my hand and some wet 400 grit to get rid of it. I took about 2 minutes of sanding and it worked ok.
IMG_1750.jpg
But I could still see it a little when I let it dry. See the foggy part? There's a little line in the middle:(
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So, out with the big guns. I put dry 220 on a little Orbital DA sander (NOT a grinder!) and took less than 30 seconds to sand it with the natural curve of the piece.
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That stupid line goes all the way around (of course) so I had to take off the taillight lens and sand under it's bottom too.
Then back to wet sanding with 400. I did a great job and took about 3-4 minutes, until it sounded nice and smooth. The wet sanded with 1000 for only a minute or so until it sounded even smoother.
IMG_1753.jpg
 
Now the messy part. This stuff goes everywhere, I put an old sheet over the bike, stuffed a rag into the battery compartment, and taped paper over the license plate bracket. It's way easier that trying to clean compound out of every nook and cranny later.

Time to buff with rubbing compound...
ALWAYS use good "3M super-duty compound", its the best! Never, ever use anything else! And ALWAYS use only a clean cotton buffing pad! Dirt will scratch the part and if you're an idiot and get some aluminum polish on the pad, the black stuff will get into the sanding scratches and be a bear to remove.
But I didn't do either of those.:black_eyed:
The pad had a little aluminum polish on it and I'm out of 3M so...
IMG_1744.jpg
I worked it a bit to get all the black out of it. Maybe 3 minutes? Should be faster with such a small area, and you do NOT want to heat up the plastic by working one place for too long!!
Looks pretty good, feels smooth, but check the reflection. It's a bit foggy.
IMG_1746.jpg
Next it's time for polish. That will get the shine back out of the plastic. Use a good from pad on the buffer now. I only use 3M Finesse-It for polish.
IMG_1754.jpg
Schmear
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I only used the buffer for 2 minutes of time, got a great shine, with no sign of the line, of mine, that made me whine.
And it's time to wax. By hand.
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I used a clean terry cloth, to put wax on the whole part in circles, let it dry for a minute, then wiped off in straight lines with a clean chamois.
Blam! Check that sweet reflection baby!:cool:
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IMG_1760.jpg

It seamed really easy:) It all took about 30 minutes total and really gives the part a smooth molded look. I know no one will ever notice, no one will even care. :sorrow:



But I did. I'm worth it and frankly, people like me:eagerness: Ha!
 
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No you can go and clean up all the lines on the front fairing edge and the passenger seat cover
 
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