Guys, you've been talking about pros/cons of painting with some interesting information provided and thought I'd tack on my question onto one which has already attracted some relevant contributions. I have just one faint scratch about 1" long on the tank of my CBR1000F which is otherwise pristine. The scratch is not deep, but the primer(?) underneath shows through as a white mark against the otherwise orange/red tank paint. Is there something I could use to mask or reduce the visibility of this mark without painting the whole tank. It might not sound like a very "professional" idea but I was thinking of simply trying a felt tip pen or rubbing it with a wax crayon!! I know, I know it does sound crap, but I might just try it to see what happens as it can't do any damage - just wondering whether anyone has done anything else with good results? I'll probably start another thread on this topic as it doesn't fit exactly in this one, so feel free to respond (or not) to that one. Thanx.

 

Touch up paint which is color matched would be best. Apply with an airbrush for the best results. You can use a paint brush and it will work, you may see touch up a bit more though.

 

Yep, I'm conscious that if I want the very best result then paint (spray can or airgun) is unavoidable. But I was wondering whether anyone had tried anything else that gave some improvement without the risk of a novice sprayer making it worse rather than better!

 

I have done some almost invisible scratch repairs with touch up paint and small brush. The trick for a good result is to fill the groove a little bit above the original paint. After a couple of hours drying, I have wiped over the new paint using very smooth cloth (piece of a bed sheet) which I've soaked with some paint thinner. Very, very gentle rubbing and the surface flattens flush with the original surface. Then i've let the paint to dry completely (2 weeks) and after that I've polished the fixed area and applied wax.

This trick wont work with metallic effect paints.

 

That's an interesting process that sounds like it could deliver good results without going the whole hog of spraying an enlarged area. Mine's not metallic. Any other suggestions everyone?

 

This would be the best way.

 

When you say "polish" the area and apply "wax". Are these 2 different products and if so what are they? Apologies for the dumb question.

 

Polishes helps to restore the paint surface by filling in imperfections inside the clear coat. A wax will then seal and protect it. Not dumb at all. A good trusted name is best - Meguiars, Mothers, Turtle Wax. CRC/Re-po is good if you don't want to spend big. I've used all these products on different vehicles at different times. Best to stick with one brand, that said on my Mazda I ran out of Meguiars wax and only had Turtle Wax left, shops were shut. I used it and had no problems.

 

Actually, polishing compound removes a very thin layer of the paint, making it shiny. It's like extremely fine grit sanding. Usually on cars it's done with rotary machine and foam pad, but with bike you don't need that. Just use cloth and rub manually.

 

<!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}-->I don't know how to call them, but there are some tools that seem like usual markers. Also, you can paint the scratch by yourself, but again, I wouldn't recommend you to do that in case you lack experience. Anyway, if you decide to paint the scratch by yourself, I would strongly recommend you to read a few articles about painting and how to paint it the right way. First, you have to know that before painting you will have to remove the old ain't. This is very important if you want to get the best result. I also did not know about the importance of removing the old paint before repainting an item, but one day I stumbled on this site https://www.palmgear.com/best-paint-stripper-reviews/, and understood that it is impossible to make a high-quality painting, without removing the old paint.