Polishing Motorcycle Plastic Tricks

Colored motorcycle plastic prep and polish

[@Brettyification]

Thank you, i just used your methods to restore the tank on my It 250k and it worked very well, shiny as new again.

[@ZRR98]

By far the best video on how to restore old dirt bike plastics!

[@JMKady76]

Good video, the razor blade is what I've been missing! I spent 2-3 beers sanding on my Tri-moto plastic last night fighting with that chalky layer.

[@ryanmoses420]

I sanded the fenders on a IT 175 and they came out smooth, but i cant get a shine on them. I think ill try with a dry buffer like you did. Thanks for the idea and I cant wait to see your yz fully restored!

[@marcus828171325]

Thank you very much for this how to! I was wondering how to make my year 2000 Suzuki DRZ 400 look better, the plastics had gone all porous from the uv damage and this worked a treat! looks great already and I still havnt buffed them up with the polishing wheel. cant wait to see the final product. thanks again !

[@anthonybaltera6556]

You can actually hear in the shaving when you start to hit healthy, polish-able plastic. Thanks for the tips. Liked and Subbed

[@junkyardhemi]

Very nice. New plastics for my LT500R are almost $800. $15 in sandpaper and a buffer sound much better.

[@caseydecocker1]

junkyardhemi rite!!!

[@gedionsamuel2256]

Extremely useful information on scratched plastics in general! Thanks

[@brandonquenneville7330]

Being the asshole that i am online. I have to like this dude videos. He is helpful to us all.

[@groutaone]

Brandon Quenneville Thanks for being a nice guy here, I appreciate you watching

[@danielcooper5767]

Very nice DIY, plastic can be a real difficult thing to work with and proper time and prep has amazing results!

[@OneBitStream]

Best demo video, on youtube, of this subject. I'm cleaning up my YZ125 fenders using this method. Nice work!

[@jean-francoisbrousseau2485]

Thanks, I have quit a few wear and tear on my KLR 2009 and now I know exactly how to fix it over the winter. Thanks man.

[@bobtaylor3281]

Great video. This is exactly what I have discovered as well. Just wish I had seen this video a couple months ago when I had tackled an ATV plastic project for my son.

[@DEEJAAY41]

Love youtube for stuff like this. All things considered, things like this help me to save a bunch on my rebuild.

[@mikejones-qk2ou]

Good Job! I tried the sanding and didn't get good results! So after sanding I tried 000 extra fine STEEL WOOL with Johnsons past wax and rubbed off, then added more wax and buffed with the buffing wheel and got FANTASTIC results on my Honda XR200R!

[@liamobrien4487]

I have a xr80r

[@henrik7966]

If you have a look at my dirtbike on my channel you will see I have pretty bad plastics... I have some steel wool. I've heard this works pretty good. Any suggestions?

[@jeremyx3272]

By far the best channel I have subscribed to.

[@Sms68]

I did this to my 98 DS80. I had deep horizontal scratches across front fender. the razor blade leveled every scratch out to a level service. I polished it up after and the Fender looks brand new. Great Job....

[@groutaone]

Cool, love it when a plan comes together

[@Sms68]

I went to order Plastics and they were a fortune for this Bike. I'd end up spending about 500.00 for Plastics. Krazy... Great Job!

[@onewaywolf3530]

Thanks for sharing this technique! I also worked out, if you are moving along the plastic from left to right to have the drill spin in reverse or vice versa. You don't need to hold the buffing wheel at an angle either. Keep it 90 degree's. Just let the buffing cloth "kiss" the plastic whilst moving slowly down the piece giving it enough time to do it's job. Best to be in full sunlight to see better results! If you feel the buffing wheel grab slightly you're pushing too hard! Just lightly brush over it in one direction ONLY!! Not back and forth motion. If it grabs and leaves a mark hold the buffing wheel over the mark with very light pressure checking it until it's gone. To really make it shine, spray on Mequiars Ultimate Quik Wax - with hydrophobic polymer technology and let it soak in. Maybe a couple of coats. Then use a microfiber cloth ONLY to finish polishing! The end result will amaze you!! :)

[@franciscoluna9596]

awesome video. There are curved card scrapers available to there used by woodworkers, can be very helpful at curved areas.

[@jtbassgambler2594]

thanks groutaone the best ideas I've ever seen.... you're the man!!! appreciated the tips...keep the good work buddy.

[@groutaone]

+I vote for truth democrats tab Thanks for watching, I have found not all plastic responds as well as this fender, also sanding is better than the blade to keep from damaging the plastic, thanks again

[@DirtRider500R]

Dood! I wish you would've posted this before I went and bought new plastics! Haha. Definitely going to be trying that on the 86er's tank tonight. Might post up a video if I find a tripod.

[@79gsonethousand]

Ive used just a medium grit emmory cloth and gradually going to a smaller grit untill the plastic turns into a clean smooth matte finish. then i took a propane torch and went across the sanded parts.It melts the face of the plastic very quickly and dries to a perfect gloss, a good wax after it cools makes it better even.Have to be very quick and even about it though, so you dont over do it, works well on black and coloured plastic. I found the heat gun takes too long. Your idea seams to work pretty nice.

[@evanwalkerdesign]

Best vid like this out there. Thanks for the demo!

[@richardquebec5850]

You my friend is really a nice man to show us this. Thank you very much.

[@tonymontana2.037]

Does this work well on fenders that have been exposed to the sun for a long time? I can't get mine to get the gloss back.

[@groutaone]

Its got to be real smooth, 120 is going to be too rough to start with I think, also it seems not all plastic will respond well to polish, my gas tank doesnt work as well as my fender

[@Mr549er]

WOW good job , takes me back to early 80s raced that 250 a few years great bike love the motor :-) , cheers-

[@liftedXmudXdigger]

Hey I have a couple of ATV"S I did that looked like that. What I did was 220 320 and 400. But after I did it in that step I took 1000 grit to it and it made it super smooth. you can find 1000 grit at any automotive place. ( all wet sand don't use to ruff of sand paper)

[@MultiUnanimous]

haha thanks ,My step brother blew it up , but once I get her running again it sure will be a blast haha ,Been thinking about putting the 500 engine on my 250 frame kinda like you did with your Cr haha :D

[@ryanblanco5866]

Thanks for the vid! Gonna do this to my ‘84 yamaha XT250

[@nikod3mr]

Thank You very much for tips, they will rly help me polishing my motorcycle plastics (also yellow) Good luck with rebuilding this bike ;)

[@DoosBarry]

Scraping the plastic looks like it'd feel real good

[@brittanydibattiste9094]

Great video. Have any tips starting a kick start 93 dr350 other that brute force? The carberautor fills up with gas and I believe it is flooding it if you kick like a mule it will start but im small....thanks

[@groutaone]

Thanks for watching, will it work to sand the marks out of the plastic?

[@madtater5948]

they make a plastic compound for polishing plastic it comes in a stick you apply it to the polishing wheel it helps to polish the plastic

[@fnaguitarplayer9]

Definitely will remember this! Great trick!

[@groutaone]

The sanding block you could find in the paint secton at Home Depot or any store like it

[@ParadoxdesignsOrg]

great tip. I'm trying to wonder what I could use this on now..

[@watchmanonthewallcouk6498]

Love those old strokers... like everyone we all wish we never sold any of them !

[@groutaone]

Where you see this discoloration is likely around the edge of the area that got heated, try heating from one end of your fender and work your way to the other end without stopping, it will be a lot of heat on the entire piece in a short time so it may distort, maybe test on a junk one first

[@nitrosport5]

Damn, wish i would have seen this when i was rebuilding my 89 FL400 Pilot. I used the plastic renew clear and it wasnt all that great. and like you said it easly wears off. Going to try this on an old plastic roof panel i have. it was white when i got it lol. supposed to be red. May post this video on a forum if you dont mind!

[@PadmaDorjee]

This was extremely helpful, THANK YOU.

[@jackjohnson65]

Thank you for the video, I have a Kawasaki kdx 200 that I am restoring which has good but faded plastic.

[@seanjohnston848]

What's in the bucket? Just dish soap and water? Detergent?

[@harperjmichael]

It's amazing how UV rays will mess up some plastic. And that first part with the blade was nearly like fingernails on a chalk board! lol

[@Daniel96sj]

Nice, turned out looking good.

[@mastersletten]

Does this work on any type of plastic? I got an 2003 YZ 125 and it has pretty scratched up plastic, I might try it out in a place where it doesn't show, just to be sure it works on my type of plastic. Awesome video btw :)

[@groutaone]

I like those KX500 AF's, I may do a KX500 aluminum frame conversion yet, what kind of engine damage did you have to fix?

[@ncimson5318]

this is why I dig youtube...learn so many stuff on here...some good some bad but mostly good :D

[@AntiPlatitude]

Great technique! BTW has that kickstarter snapped off yet? Looks like it was cracked...

[@Cumminsmaniac16]

intresting. i enjoyed watching this and seeing the yz465

[@groutaone]

I did some testing on my gas tank and it didn't respond nearly as well to polishing, on my tank I may resort to a combination of heat gun and polishing with more pressure, so not all plastics will respond the same

[@n.o.b.s.8458]

groutaone how powerful is this drill? Ive used a 12 and 18 volt and I'm having a hell of a time polishing with either of those.

[@groutaone]

I did in fact try some tooth paste on the polishing wheel, didnt work well on the fender but it smells nice ha ha

[@nachosplay-ground9017]

hey i did this trick to my old moto 4 and it was awsome what turned out i would love to send a pic to you its really cool

[@TheEZGZ]

she will be looking good for a while. Nice work

[@groutaone]

Cool, what year is your bike?

[@shiennaponce568]

thank you sir, I have a 2005 CRF. should I still do the scraping even it has minor scratches or just do sanding instead? thank you.

[@groutaone]

Do not use a blade, just sand it, thanks for watching

[@DYhondaman]

Do you have any pictures of it when you were done polishing?

[@KenyonPayne]

I can't get this to work, I tried 120 grit and it scratched it really bad, and I tried 300 and 400 grit wet sanding and it didn't seem to fix it up. I tried using the blade and it really messed it up. Then I tried using one of those 3m head light kits and it seemed to fix it up but now I can't get the shine into it

[@aleksas53]

when i heat gun it leaves some traces that i don't like like white stains, like from dirty water and they don't clean up, what should i do then? Am i heating them bad? I need to polish my plastics..

[@mrkennethporter]

I am trying your method on my very old TY80. Not crusty. Even after I go down the grades, I am left with swirl marks. The buffing brings up a shine, but those tiny scathes are very noticeable. Could it be a different type of plastic? starting with 800 finishing with 1200.

[@BobbyMulqueen]

Could always try going up to 2000. Not guaranteed but It's worth a try.

[@MultiUnanimous]

the piston melted from being over heated ,I took it apart and looked down the cylinder wall and there are some pretty deep gouges ,and the crank doesn't operate as smoothly as it should ,So I'm gonna split the case and see if there ain't something getting caught down in the bottem end ,I just hope I don't have to replace the crank aswell as the top end haha

[@Stevechap69]

I think ima try this on my elsionore125 ! thanks for the very helpful info! and great explanations too!

[@nicholashargraves7919]

Thanks im going to try it on my atc

[@IntoTheDirtshop]

can you do a video on dirtbike chain tensioning

[@90cueva]

Did you use any product to polish with the buffing wheel?

[@groutaone]

No, nothing applied to the wheel

[@groutaone]

Post away my friend, your idea to try on a spare piece is a good idea, not all plastic responds to this procedure it seems

[@groutaone]

Cool bike, did Kawasaki already have the Uni trak in 1980? Somehow I think it was 81 but not sure

[@crocop5247]

How would this turnout on black plastics?

[@groutaone]

crocop5247 I have found not all plastic responds the same to this polishing, may have to test a spot and see how it works

[@kamankuhl587]

Prolly end up with a gray bike(;

[@bobalou808]

Your right Uni trak did come in 81 on the KDX

[@MsFord300]

hey groutaone I just picked up a 1989 kx125.. the plastics are in good shape but could use a little shine . do you think a buffing wheel would work by its self... ill try to post a vid of it today,... I only paid $100 for it it sat for the last 13 years only needs a topend....... thanks for the vid

[@darcyklyne]

Thats brilliant! In more than one way sir!

[@groutaone]

Thanks, yep more buggy build vids in the works

[@israeljack4452]

pro tip: watch series on Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching a lot of movies these days.

[@Ch4llenger440]

What kind of buffing wheel is that? Made of muslin, cotton?

[@thomasisitalian]

HEY G . nice vid. __have u tried tooth paste n water works just like he 1500 grit paper

[@groutaone]

I would think its called a drywall sanding block, its got a soft foam centre

[@SHROOM246]

yamaha xt plastics have some kind of clear film coating, any idea how to remove this as any remover would risk damaging the plastic

[@RGZ223]

Trippy Servers the sanding should remove it

[@McCozzy]

Awesome work again always better to fix it than buy it keep it original

[@bobalou808]

Good stuff, going to use my knowledge gained restoring my 80 KDX400

[@taterwetzel]

nice work man! im trying to hide a huge crack in a tecate 4 front fender. there is one only one on ebay and its 899! i work at a custom paint/ motorcycle repair shop and sand ALL day it seems on harley tanks fenders but i couldnt figure out a way to clean up a shitty repair job an this tecate i have. your video was golden! now i need to figure out how to get the soldering iron marks off it where he kinda welded it together. nice work tho!!!

[@joshcroy5185]

Im trying to clean up a engine on a crf250 and was wondering if you have any tips or degreasers you prefer to get it to a almost bead blasted look on the cases

[@rot_v]

I use autohaus degreaser and it works great. Just spray it on and let it penetrate for a couple of minutes then agitate the surface with a brush and for some hard to reach places, use an old toothbrush.

[@elmerfox6872]

Thanks for taking the time!

[@groutaone]

Thank you for watching

[@KenyonPayne]

I figured out that I was doing this all wrong, I didn't wet sand with 120 grit, so it really messed things up. I wet sanded with 220 for a while today and it actually turned out not too bad, gotta get some 320 and 400 grit waterproof sand paper soon, also I found the plastic on gas tanks is much harder than the fenders

[@Stratos1988]

Have You tried removing faded plastic with steel wool ?

[@groutaone]

lenon1980 No but I think it would work well

[@Soldier1287]

plastic can also be welded. Want to combine the two. to do this after welding and sanding

[@MultiUnanimous]

Very nice video ,I scraped the plastics on my kx500 with a razorblade to get all the faded stuff off , then I used the heatgun to try and bring out the shine ,but like you said that method wasn't 100% affective ,but still makes it look a whole lot better!:D

[@jordanlittle5391]

Could u use a palm sander instead of the blade?

[@erlendse]

Not that I got some immediate need for fixing plastic, but this is clearly something to keep in mind for when needed :) b.t.w. I mostly like tricks and "how x works" videos.

[@robplotts9412]

Love the old yamahas. Quick technic nice

[@im-that-guy-pal]

I used to have a 79 rm400 that looked like that.. what year and cc is your bumble bee?

[@groutaone]

This is an 81 465, sold it some time ago.

[@matthewtrent2019]

Will this work on painted automotive style plastic

[@thijsdewilde487]

I sanded my front mudguard first 400 and then 600 now i’m using the cotton wheel but the shine really doesnt come trough? what can i do?

[@thijsdewilde487]

It’s an xr50

[@giulianoMX]

Very nice done!!!

[@trackrash]

Wow that was cool!!

[@wayofthesamurai90]

Thanks!! Im gonna do this on my ktm

[@hahahaXDfunny]

could you make an update on the yz pls ? :) its been a while since you showed us something of it :)

[@zoomin_josh7183]

Also, should I use polish or just the buffer?

[@groutaone]

JGAcreations No polish needed, just buff lightly

[@CurvedSlightly]

4:57 "Here's one I wasted my time with earlier..."

[@HorsepowerGarageVideos]

I used to steel wool to restore my yz's plastic, it worked better than sand paper.

[@saari9691]

does this work if the plastic is white?