How to polish without ruining water decals

[CRASH]

Do you guys remember I've had this on the back burner for a while?

http://imageshack.us/a/img833/2627/f61u.jpg

Well, this month is my daughter's 7th birthday, and she is tall enough to ride this thing (hopefully) with the seat way down. So... she's getting it for her birthday. So the restoration is full underway.

There are a number of little nicks that I'm going to put touch-up paint on. Right now I'm wrapping those nicks with strips of paper towels and soaking them with evaporust. Then I'm going to take the end of a matchstick and very gently put on some paint.

Before I do that, I want to polish the paint that is there. But I'm worried about an abrasive polisher on the black water decals. As you may know, they are very weak. So...

Should I attempt to polish and avoid the decals, or should I skip the polishing, just paint the nicks, then liberally apply multiple coats of wax to bring back a strong shine?

 

[rfeagleye]

You can polish the decals, just go very lightly over them, not with anything really abrasive. Maybe a cleaner wax or something like that? It will take some of the discoloration out of them, just be very careful.

If you want to be super safe, polish the frame but skip anywhere by decals.

Can't wait to see if finished!

(edited, man, I couldn't spell yesterday ha!)

 

[67ramshorn]

I use Scratch Out by Kit on decals. Works very well and I haven't ruined a decal yet. Just be very careful and start lightly at first and work from there.

 

[CRASH]

This?

 

[67ramshorn]

That's it, works very well on paint. But be careful, it will take some of the paint off if you rub to hard. Works great on decals, makes them brighter.