Bimbim18 Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 (edited) I will be skinning my lids soon (to cover a nasty gouge/scrape I did when I first got the bike in November). But recently I have noticed the main body of my GT Paniers are fading pretty bad (The main body, not the lids) . I am guessing it is the UV rays from the sun possibly? The bike isn't even a year old but its starting to look less matte black and very matte grey. Is there something I should be doing to prevent this fading? It's starting to look pretty bad. Not something I expected from a bike less than a year old. Edited August 18, 2019 by Bimbim18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 (edited) Isn't there a spray-on/leave/wipe-off proprietary product that claims to do this (repel UV degradation) - designed mainly for cars, I believe, but why not panniers? I cannot recall the name - but more than likely an Armor-All product, which might be the answer. LATER EDIT: yep - here 'tis, supposedly for UV protection, etc. Edited August 18, 2019 by wordsmith Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmie Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 Maguires make a similar product - Gold Class Trim Detailer. Kimmie......the lady who likes to take little detours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Explorer Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 Strange we don't have that sun problem in the U.K. 😂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 (edited) Try 303. It is a UV protection product I believe was developed for the military and works great. Not cheep though. Come to think on it, this product will keep things from sun damage but I don't know if it will restore the color. Edited August 19, 2019 by mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthAu Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 24 minutes ago, mike said: Try 303. It is a UV protection product I believe was developed for the military and works great. Not cheep though. Come to think on it, this product will keep things from sun damage but I don't know if it will restore the color. Agreed. 303 is great stuff. Armoural and other brands I've tried tend to leave a greasy film, this stuff not so much. It will make sun damaged plastic look better than it did, but not like new. Will prevent further degrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suu Kyi Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 On 8/18/2019 at 11:07 AM, wordsmith said: Isn't there a spray-on/leave/wipe-off proprietary product that claims to do this (repel UV degradation) - designed mainly for cars, I believe, but why not panniers? I cannot recall the name - but more than likely an Armor-All product, which might be the answer. LATER EDIT: yep - here 'tis, supposedly for UV protection, etc. Armor-All is excellent for all the plastic/vinyl bits and pieces, stops them going that grey colour, have always used it on all my bikes and cars. Except on the pannier lids of the current GT (Australian model) where the lid is unpainted and has a rough surface. Tried spraying the Armor-All on it and when I went to spread/wipe it with a micro-fibre cloth, it stuck to it, guess because of the rough surface and the fibres on the cloth. Had to then wash it off to stop any smudging. May try with another type of cloth next time as the lid will probably go all grey if not protected. Alternative is to have the lids painted professionally and Armor-All the body of the pannier as I'm not confident to paint them myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 (edited) I imagine, tho' without any proof, that the greying/ discolouring may only occur if the panniers are in the sun a great deal. The panniers on all my previous Tracers were like new when parting with the bike, but then they would have been fitted on the bike only a couple of dozen times, and in daylight for probably <100 hours overall. Compared to other OE panniers I've had in the past (mainly BMW ones, made of Unaffordium) the plastic material of the Yamaha panniers is extremely soft, if that means anything. And - FWIW - don't be afraid to have a go at painting the lids yourself - it's not that difficult, and there are videos on-line that will guide you. Nobody is fussier than I, but I find myself quite satisfied with my own recent - tho' admittedly not the first - efforts. And again FWIW, a benefit of only painting the inner part of the lid is that when climbing on and off the bike, it's not likely that anyone with stiff knees, hips, ankles (like me!) will kick to death the RHS pannier lid paint as it's 'protected' by the unpainted matte upper border. If that clumsy wording makes sense! Edited August 20, 2019 by wordsmith Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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