Modern Vespa

Unfortunately, this heartbreaking mishap happened about 30 minutes ago to my 2018 GTS with 350 miles. I dropped it on my driveway, so that black stuff is driveway asphalt. I'm still really pissed off. Do I need to get on this tonight and buff it out? Or can I have some beers, chill out, relax and deal with this horrible situation tomorrow? Will the asphalt "stains" get harder to remove the longer they stay on the scoot? [/img]

Have some beers and chill hombre. Tackle it tomorrow with a clear head and better game plan.

-g

Beer. Rubbing compound. Beer. Sticker. Beer. Done.

Ah Man, gutted for you. I'd be pissed too. I think all the ^ makes sense. Have a couple of beers and chill. Do some research in the morning regarding best approach and settle on your solution then.

Tomorrow. Clear head. Zen attitude.

Wash gently first to remove any stuck on grit.
WD-40 and a rag will dissolve the tar. Maybe an old toothbrush if it's in a crack/scratch.
Then assess what might be buffed out.

Bummer! I feel for you and we all know what it's like. Good luck with the clean up and things like this are absolutely best dealt with after a cool down.

After an event like this, ritual seppuku is sometimes contemplated. That is another reason why having a beer or two and thinking about this until tomorrow is a good idea.

Ugh. Sorry that happened and glad it's not dented. Hoping careful clean-up and polishing makes it almost disappear.

Ouch. Let's say I literally feel your pain, having just had a local fender-bender myself: luckily, it was at relatively low-speed, so I came out unscathed, while Melody likely suffered a tweaked front-end, meaning a trip to the shop for the second time in three months. Good thing the mechanics there like me.

In your case: crack open a bottle or two, deal with it tomorrow. Nothing looks dented or dinged, which means it can be made to look lovely again with relatively little effort.

I see some possibilities with that perfect head of hair you made!

That's perfect!

I love the creativity and humor in KevinT's solution!
With another beer, theschuman may as well.

Sorry about the drop, friend. Sucks. We've all been there.

Take it to Kevin in Honolulu!!!! He'll fix you up.

prime space for a pretty rad sticker now

Thanks, everyone, for your sympathy. The beer helped. I like Kevin T's idea of adding a a spiky-haired Professor X... But, I prefer Charles Xavier bald.

It already looks 10 times better, you just need something to fill those deep scratches. I'd make the sticker your last option. If it was mine, I'd spend a bit of money and get it professionally done.

That's not so bad but it looks like that will not buff out. Honestly that is not a bad spot for a sticker if you want to go that route.

I know a lot of Vespa riders prefer a clean look to their scoot and I respect that. I'm fortunate that I like the look of crash bars and racks which probably is a throw back to my Mod days. I have over the years had I'd guess about 5 scoots tip over between Lammies and Vespas and never had any damage to the cowling thanks to the bars.

Bummer about modern Vespas is the cowls are part of the frame. Back in the day you could have popped that cowl off and taken it to a body shop.

Yes, the Photoshop of the hairdo was brilliant.

I read a recent poster’s question about buying a scoot with scratches. IMO, if something is/was done about the scratches, it’s fine, but the scratches should lower the price. Here’s the update on the 2018 GTS’s scratches from my heartbreaking drop in May. First, I used Rustoleum bare metal primer, followed by Scooter West touch-up paint, then a clear coat product, and finally rubbed it with Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound. It’s definitely not a great job (obviously unprofessional and “bumpy”), but much less noticeable than before and now it’s better protected from rust. Let me know if anyone has suggestions for making it less “bumpy”.

Personally, if it looks OK from five feet away, I'd call it good.

I made a very similar repair on my GTS.
After painting, I used 2000 grit sandpaper on a wood block to smooth out the high spots.
I might have started with 1000 grit; I don't recall.
Then a bit of chrome polish lightly to shine it up, wax, and done.

One thing I have noticed when trying to take close-up pictures of the scooter is that the shiny surface reflects everything. I don't see any problem with your repair job. I can't see what is repair and what is reflection. Good job.👍

Good tip. Those wet/dry sandpaper kits with very fine grits are really useful for paint touchups and for addressing deep scratches in acrylic windscreens. I use automotive rubbing and polishing compounds after ultra fine grit (or plastic polish when doing a windscreen).