Blaming the EPA for everything is just a tad simplistic. And I don't think the soft paint is caused by the elimination of lead, or the reduction or elimination of some of the most volatile solvents, both of which might be "blamed" on the EPA I suppose.
Modern clearcoats tend to be urethane based, since that chemistry is more resistant to attack by things like air pollution, bird droppings, etc. Unfortunately, while the urethanes tend to be more resistant to impact and chemical attack, they are somewhat softer than some of the earlier paints. Add in problems caused by the application process, such as excessive film build (too much isn't good) and insufficient cure, and urethanes can develop severe swirl marks in short order. Be thankful you can't run your bike through a car wash; the swirls after one such wash would make you cry.
As to why the CVO models seem to be worse than the standard models, they are painted in different facilities by different people using different processes. That might have a great deal to do with the issue. And btw, this isn't new, many CVO owners have been noticing the softer paint for years.
Get a good random orbit polishing tool, foam pads, and some 3M Finess-It polish. You'll get a much better result with much less work versus trying to do it by hand.
Jerry
Author
Topic: Paint scratches/blemishes (Read 3691 times)