Hard Bag Repair

[dmk]

I bought some pretty deeply scratched used BMW bags for my 1150r a year ago. I didn't think it was going to bother me, but it does. Looks like there are plenty of options for "smooth" bag repair - you just fill in the cracks and sand. Doesn't seem like this will work for the bmw "orange peel" type material. Has anyone tried to fix or sent them out to be fixed? I could buy two new lids, but I'm pretty cheap and would like to see if there is another way. If anyone has any thoughts or experience, I'd appreciate a point in the right direction. Thanks.

[sweatmark]

deeply scratched used BMW bags

You mean the outer case half?
Might be simpler to purchase new lids, in one of three different flavors.
Lid options side-by-side: http://bmwdean.com/biglid.htm

Looks like new case lids are going for $120/EA these days.

[Lion_Lady]

Try emery paper (black coated sand paper) in increasingly fine grit to "buff off" the worst damage. Then treat with Black Magic - for black plastic, etc (in the auto detailing dept of your local AutoZone, etc or Walmart).

Won't make the damage go away, but will make it less noticeable while you shop for replacement covers.

P

[sweatmark]

... And there's always the stickers approach: cover the offending scrapes with decals and bumper stickers and the like. I do this, and then peel it all off after a couple years only to start over again.

And my bags are dinged up after transfer from R850R to R1100R to Roadster to Rockster.

[duckdave]

I've had pretty good luck with Lion Lady's approach. I had a "bag" follow me down the street about a 100 yards or so, it had pretty deep scratches. Get some good sandpaper in coarse to fine range (30 to 220 grit, 3 steps, 30-100-220, not an exact science---could go from 30 to 440 if you want) and go at it. My scratches were EASY to sand out. I did not go for totally smooth, that would prolly stand out more, there are still marks, but after "Back to Black" I don't even see them.

[Ron John]

I had good luck last year using Rustoleum Textured flat black, found it at Walmart. A little sanding and sprayed the whole lid. It came out great, and was not very expensive.
Good luck.

[Johan_SA]

Hi
I had the situation where my topbox came off at high speed. Obviously it was scratched. I used emery cloth to flatten the whole box, then primed it with a plastic primer and then colour coded the box.

It looked so good that I also did the side cases. It's no big deal, fairly easy to do and the beauty is you don't have those unsightly "orange peel" boxes.

Good luck

Johan

[dmk]

It took me a while to implement the advice, but thanks to everyone, it worked out great. At the same time, I thought I'd fix my deeply scratched valve covers. Both projects were pretty easy to do, came out great and I think should last pretty long and any "upkeep" should be pretty easy. Here are a few pics of the job:







For the luggage I sanded down with 200 then 400 sand paper and used Rustoleum Plastic Textured Paint that bonds with the plastic. It was hard to find, but well worth it.

For the valve covers, I used same sand paper and Rustoleum Heat Resistant BBQ paint. So far, so good. Thanks for all the suggestions from all of you.

[Xdot]

When I bought my R1150R the bags had already been coated with Rhino Liner. They are very rugged now and highly scratch-resistant with a pebble-grain texture. Very pleased with the result. Can post pics if you like.

[Dr. Strangelove]

For the valve covers, I used same sand paper and Rustoleum Heat Resistant BBQ paint. So far, so good

Looks good, how deeply scratched were the covers? Need any filler?

John

[dmk]

John, no they were more scuffed than dented. Both sides a result of dropping the bike while standing still - a little embarassing, but true. So I just sanded down until it was smooth and used the bbq paint. I didn't even use primer - I had read somewhere you had to be careful with the paint because it could peel. This is especially true if you don't follow the instructions on when the subsequent coats are painted. It says either do within an hour of the first coat or wait 48 hours.