Shining up the NT
- Thread starter daler
- Start date
vc_slim
0
I use and highly recommend Aerospace 303 Protectant for all the plastic bits.
I use this.
jackgermain
Guest
Turtle ICE ==Great stuff and not that expensive. I use it on the entire bike. Goes on the plastic, seat, windshield, everything.
RedNigel
0
+1 on Turtlewax Ice...all over
Warren
2
For painted surrfaces and a bright shine I like Mequairs NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0. When I am in a hurry I just spray on some "Original" cleaner and polish.
Would you believe... Lemon Pledge??? I use it on everything... paint, plastic, and windshield!!! Really softens up those bugs! They come right off and my windshield is amazingly scratch free. Also use it on the rims and it is pretty good at removing road grime. I use the blue automotive paper towels and make sure I only use a nice clean one on the windshield. So far, so good.
One of the reasons I chose the NT was it's lack of chrome and shiny stuff. I decided early on that I didn't want to spend a lot of time polishing a motorcycle.
On a side note, at a recent NT get-together, I was happy to see I wasn't the only one with ugly pipes. Everybody's pipes were brown, stained and ugly! However, I recently found what works for me to clean them up.... Scotch-Brite pads. Not the green one, not the blue one, but the brown one has just the right amount of abrasion without scratching. Although I have to admit I was a bit freaked out when the pipes came out a shiny silver. I had never seen them like that. Usually they have that bronze(?) tint. However, after a 400 mile ride, they were shiny and bronze tinted once again!
One of the reasons I chose the NT was it's lack of chrome and shiny stuff. I decided early on that I didn't want to spend a lot of time polishing a motorcycle.
On a side note, at a recent NT get-together, I was happy to see I wasn't the only one with ugly pipes. Everybody's pipes were brown, stained and ugly! However, I recently found what works for me to clean them up.... Scotch-Brite pads. Not the green one, not the blue one, but the brown one has just the right amount of abrasion without scratching. Although I have to admit I was a bit freaked out when the pipes came out a shiny silver. I had never seen them like that. Usually they have that bronze(?) tint. However, after a 400 mile ride, they were shiny and bronze tinted once again!
I use some of all the stuff mentioned above. Plexus also works well for me.
coaster
0
It also leaves a lemony fresh scent, I use it to.
Rob
0
I use this on almost everything
I just wash mine with Turtle Wax car soap. I use Plexus on the Windscreen and also have used Back-to-Black on the black parts to freshen them up. I am one that would rather ride and polish. As for the pipes, the bronze/blue never bothered me, just shows the bike is ridden. (Seems with a bit of metalurgical science the engineers could have planned a nicer color)
And the Lemon Pledge also attracts Bees. DAMHIK.
Columbus
0
Aerospace 303 Protectant & Plexus are both quality products.
Meguiars also has a product made for the black plastic parts that fade. Works really well. Mine took several coats but finally got them looking pretty good. The rest of the bike got washed sometimes. It is a real PITA having a dirt driveway and living where dust is blowing most of the time.
Back in my early days in the Concours Owners Group, we had a legendary rider who swore that bug guts protected the plastic. He and his wife rode their Connies to a rally in Klamath Falls from somewhere near Richmond. Her bike was clean except for a few bugs, his looked like it had been artificially covered with dead bugs. He said, "They're meant to be ridden not polished." She agreed with the rest of us that his was disgusting. Other than the headlight and the windscreen he claimed he hadn't cleaned the bike in two years and about 50,000 miles. It looked like it.
He won the Rat Bike award at the Bike Show that year.
He won the Rat Bike award at the Bike Show that year.
Painted surfaces get a yearly treatment of Klasse. It is not a wax, but an acrylic based protectant. Happens to leave a very nice shine and doesn't melt/evaporate off in sun/heat. Starting using this on a car that had a deep blue metallic paint but previous owner left swirl marks all over the paint. First application of Klass fixed the swirl marks because the acrylic filled the surface imperfections in. It continued to look great two years later. It lasts much longer than a wax based polish. A spot of glass about the size of a dime is enough to a typical car hood. So the bottle lasts a very long time.
Use the all-in-one cleaner first. For many things this alone is enough. If you want it too look really shiny and have an extra layer of protection follow up with a coat of high coat glaze. Really amazing mirror finishes that protect as well as they look.
http://www.autogeek.net/klasse.html
Use the all-in-one cleaner first. For many things this alone is enough. If you want it too look really shiny and have an extra layer of protection follow up with a coat of high coat glaze. Really amazing mirror finishes that protect as well as they look.
http://www.autogeek.net/klasse.html
Just wanted to add, if you look at my avatar photo. The metal red tank on my old TU250X had a Klasse treatment, but I don't think I bothered with the glaze. So the reflectivity you can see in that red tank is probably just the Klasse all-in-one in the red bottle. Stuff is great. I use it more as a paint protector than a polisher. It is just icing on the cake that it happens to look great.
Comanche
0
Okay - time to resurrect an old thread.
Like many of you, I'd rather ride than polish. That really applies to the front wheel - I wash it, but don't obsess over the bit of grime that doesn't come off. I use Plexus on the windscreen and a little protectant on the vinyl seat. Haven't waxed the tank or other silver Tupperware parts yet,
However - as has happened with many of you, some of the black plastic is starting to fade and/or turn grey. The two front pocket doors in particular. My bike sits inside a roofed enclosure, but the late afternoon sun is doing a job on the rear fender.
I don't want to go to Plasti-dip route - - yet. Maybe someday, but I'd rather try something else to try to keep restore the black plastic.
Ideas?
Like many of you, I'd rather ride than polish. That really applies to the front wheel - I wash it, but don't obsess over the bit of grime that doesn't come off. I use Plexus on the windscreen and a little protectant on the vinyl seat. Haven't waxed the tank or other silver Tupperware parts yet,
However - as has happened with many of you, some of the black plastic is starting to fade and/or turn grey. The two front pocket doors in particular. My bike sits inside a roofed enclosure, but the late afternoon sun is doing a job on the rear fender.
I don't want to go to Plasti-dip route - - yet. Maybe someday, but I'd rather try something else to try to keep restore the black plastic.
Ideas?