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Will panniers patina?

Kikallez

New member
When I am following my husband, there are times when the sun reflects off of his panniers and it is literally blinding. Will they patina any to decrease this? I am wondering if we can accelerate the patina process with vinegar of some other product. Any ideas?
 
To answer your question... assuming aluminum panniers then probably not. But they can get dusty and dirty which will help until he washes them. And there are always stickers that can be added.
 
What part of the panniers reflects? If it's the top, maybe some self adhesive stair tread anti-slip material could be applied. I have seen both thin sheets of rubber and abrasive material sold for this purpose.

You could also check Brownells for metal treatments that would be rugged enough for motorcycle use. Brownells is a gunsmithing supply outlet and they sell paints/coatings etc. that look good enough to stand the close scrutiny a fire arm gets and tough enough to cope with gun cleaning chemicals.
 
It is the back side that tends to blind in late evening sun. And I knew someone would say something about who leads. I do lead most of the time as he likes that, but I like to follow sometimes too. We do change positions when this happens. I guess we need to get stickers to decorate them with. I get my panniers on next weekend, and I am assuming he will have the same problem. I guess they are aluminum. He got his on when we bought the bikes the first of October at the dealership. Mine had to be ordered.
 
When I am following my husband, there are times when the sun reflects off of his panniers and it is literally blinding. Will they patina any to decrease this? I am wondering if we can accelerate the patina process with vinegar of some other product. Any ideas?

No, but your husband will.
 
What kind of / brand of panniers are we talking about - and on what model bike?

Certain panniers on certain bikes would be candidates for simply swirling with medium steel wool. Others could benefit from a good coat of Duplicolor spray on truck bed liner in your choice of black, gray, and some other colors. Or go the real route and visit your friendly Rhino Liner applicator.
 
I prefer Linex over Rhino Liner. From my experience, Rhino tends to fade.

Linescase.jpg
 
When I am following my husband, there are times when the sun reflects off of his panniers and it is literally blinding. Will they patina any to decrease this? I am wondering if we can accelerate the patina process with vinegar of some other product. Any ideas?

Countless studies have shown that visibility in traffic is key to preventing accidents so reflection is essentially something you want. You may be able to reduce the "mirror glare" of the polished aluminum that bothers you by putting 3M SOLAS reflecting tape on it. It reduces the mirror glare while greatly improving visibility at dawn, dusk and nighttime. Woks great. Sold over the web.
 
Wow! The blue looks good. My panniers will be like that, with the black 'band'. I have '10 F 650 GS, he rides the '10 R1200 GSA. I am not sure brand of panniers, we bought them when we bought the bike at the dealership. I guess they are BMW. His are all silver.

I agree on the reflection and visibility, that is certainly something that has made me pause to think why we would want to decrease the mirror effect. His bike is the yellow one. I have lava orange. I am thinking I won't need to do anything to my panniers due to the black band. I'll run it across him and see what he would like to try first. maybe just the swirling with steel wool will work. Of course, by the time he adds all his Marine corp stickers that might take care of it! Ooh rah! (we are proud Marine parents)

Sort of off topic, we are extremely pleased with these bikes. We had Harley touring bikes (Ultra Classic him and STreet Glide me) and hated them. I hated the noise, vibration, heat, and we are NOT Harley people, I hated the whole Harley stigma. I am more of a sport bike rider and also love off road. These bikes are fabulous. I just cannot emphasize how pleased we are with the BMWs. Perfect for us, who like to ride, ride, ride and not be limited to pavement.

My personal progression of motorcycles since 2006: Honda VLX Deluxe 600, Harley STreet Bob, Suzuki GSXR 600, Ninja 500, Honda CRF230L dirt bike, Street Glide. (some of the bikes I owned at the same time). Now all I need is my lovely BMW, feels like a sport bike on steroids! This bike fits me like a glove with no modifications done. :bikes
 
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