Saddlebag lid Paint Repair

[Francis]

I'm using some BMW touch up paint to fix a few small scratches on my 2009 blue metalic colored saddle bag lid. I recall reading somewhere that the clear coat could be smoothed down a bit by wet sanding with a very fine sand paper...yet not damage or scratch the clear coat.

 

Does anypone have the details on the grit of the paper and the technique to use so that the gloss of the paint is maintained in this process? I don't have a buffer so it would be done by hand application.

[wbrissette]

Go to your local auto parts store. They have 2000 grit and higher specifically designed for this. 3M also makes a paper used in jewelry polishing (and by classical guitarist for their fingernails) that could be used. The 3M paper can be found here: http://www.esslinger.com/3mplatinum405npapersheet-package10.aspx

 

The 3M stuff is interesting because it's more of a polishing part rather than an abrasive. Having not used it on my bike, I'm not sure how it would do though. (It does an amazing job on fingernails, so they don't hang on the nylon strings).