How do I clean my matt-black bike?
 

Hi all,

I have a matt-black 750ie Sport which has a few light scratches across the tank area.

How do I clean it, and more importantly, how do I tidy up around these light scratches? The thought of seeing shiny spots all over the tank after an enthusiastic T-Cut session fills me with dread - what's the best way of me doing this without affecting the satin finish?

Many thanks in advance,

- Bambam

How light are the scratches? Just in the satin black surface or down to the white primer?....hmmm...thinking about it, if the scratches are the type that most of us lardy gits get from beer guts rubbing the back or top of the tank, you may be better off buying a tank pad and covering them up

Generally they're just light scratches in the satin black surface. Unfortunately, with that amazing finish, they're quite noticeable even if they're not deep. On any 'normal' paintjob I'd have been tempted to be gentle with a bit of T-cut.


Yeah, I know what you mean, and there's definitely signs at the business end of the tank that my jacket (and beer gut!) is rubbing away just above the standard tank protector.

Try polishing with WD40 - if not too deep it may work. Makes the matt black sparkle too.

Cheers for that! I'll try that on a hidden spot.

I'll give it a go tonight. :)

Try normal household polish after a wash down. Doesn’t do a bad job on my matt black 750 sport.

Clint.

Do you mean something like Mr Sheen or Pledge, Clint? I would honestly never have thought of using something like those, expecting them to affect the finish. Damn, what an excellent idea!

Ta mate.

just stay away from the wax polishes - normal, original pledge does the job and it doesnt go all runny!