Polish windshield, worth it?

[zalle]

Hi guys, Is it worth it to polish the windscreen on a K11LT? Have you done it?

Mine is ok, not too bad, just wondering...

Thanks

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I suppose it can be done.  The plastic of the windshield was clear coated at the factory to help prevent scratching.  That clear coat can be a bear to remove so you can polish the plastic under it.  Depending on the condition of the underlying plastic, there may be little you can do to improve the clarity. 

The windshield on my K75S is yellowed, and after many hours of wet sanding, polishing, buffing and clearcoating I've pretty much given up and decided that the only alternatives are to live with what I have or just paint the whole thing.

There are lots of videos on YouTube showing headlight restoration which is pretty close to what you are trying to do.  Check them out to see if it's something you want to try. 

[bizzaro]

They have windshield replacements on ebay that aren't aren't cheap, but probably worth saving all the work for nothing.  About a $180 I think if I remember right?

[bizzaro]

OH, Portugal........yea maybe not.

[gone_ape]

I've tried well beyond what is considered sane to try and polish my OEM screen.  It has fine scratches but the clarity is ok, not thrilling, but ok..but no....no no no, this was not good enough....it must be polished back to Vunder Clear der  vay zee faktory shipped as new.  I got NOWHERE fast.


 First the atomic grade titanium clear coat is a nightmare to polish down...All different kinds and brands of polish...I even LIGHTLY  tried 3000 wetdry paper "under water" and it scratched (really?) and would not recover no matter how much polishing I did after the fact...sooooo I talked to some airplane guys and they told me "their opinion" was that the  screen material was a coated type of  Lexan with the Lexan being soft and the factory clear coat shoring things up...and that because the Lexan was really soft, it wouldn't be cost effective to have a professional service take on the task....and that most would not attempt it in the first place (didn't want to take the chance I guess)...


Dejected, as nothing I did worked and no help seemed to be available professionally, I put it aside and purchased an OEM K100rt screen locally that had never been mounted....If I ever find a solution Ill return back to that screen as It protects much better than the 45 degree angled 100 screen..

[zalle]

Thanks for your input. I guess I'm leaving mine alone...

[552255]

I purchased a eurocut style windshield, and it was worth every penny...clear as a bell, and you can polish it.

[subforry]

On a Suzuki I did a quick wet sand with 400 and 600 then sprayed it with this
http://www.spraymax.com/index.php?id=361&L=1

Didn't fix the cracks but it was clearer and glossy.

[rtesta65]

I used the 3 step Novus system on my '94 K1100 and it took off the original coating and polished it up pretty well.


If I start having issues again I will just save my pennies and buy a new one.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Here's what my K75S windshield looks like after spending about 6 hours going from 400 through about 6 steps up to 2400, polishing with Perfect-it and Novus, and clear coating.

Sometimes the crazing goes all the way through the plastic, not just on the surface.  When that happens, there isn't much you can do to make it look new.  To be honest, compared to what it looked like before I worked on it, it really looks very good.  This windshield had been parked out in the Florida sun for something like 20 years.  My guess is that besides the UV damage, a previous owner used window cleaner with ammonia on it as well.  For $10 I couldn't complain, though.

[Chaos]

Gryphon, if that was mine I would just paint the whole windshield black.  Of course, if it was mine I would have painted the whole banana bike some other color too  :hehehe

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Gryphon, if that was mine I would just paint the whole windshield black.  Of course, if it was mine I would have painted the whole banana bike some other color too  :hehehe

I have been thinking of doing it black. 

I kinda like riding a bike that looks like a banana slug. 

[zalle]

Ouch... that windscreen looks pretty ugly...

[Filmcamera]

Please don't get rid of that yellow - it is an interesting colour on an interesting bike in a world full of boring cookie cut bikes in boring colours...


But the windscreen yes I'd paint that for sure, I was not if that was the before or after photo...

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Sad to say it is the after photo.  Although it does look a lot better than it did before. 


Tropical ultraviolet radiation is nasty stuff.

[Martin]

Gryph your screen looks lower than normal, has it been cut down or is it standard or aftermarket size?  :dunno
Regards Martin.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Martin, I cut it down by about 12cm.  The idea was to get the turbulence below my helmet and get a little more air on me in the hot weather.  So far, after a couple rides, the verdict is that the shorter shield works. 

It also looks a lot sportier than the original.

[Laitch]

It also looks a lot sportier than the original.

It's important to look sporty in the gallop toward decrepitude. :giggles

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Damn right!

[Martin]

Gryph  and Laitch if one is to go, one must go to decrepitude with style and panache. If I ever get another screen I will give it a go.
Regards Martin.

[Al]

I polished the Euro screen on my RT with one of those headlight polishing kits. I actually worked it over first with 2000 or finer wet sand paper. Then I went to the stuff supplied in the kit. It wasn't perfect by any means but a huge improvement over what it was. I've heard of people using tooth paste for the final polish as well.

[Chaos]

good stuff, helmet visors, windshields, headlights