Polishing Paint What products give good results?

[dollman0]

I have been watching detailing videos for a while and invested into a Porter Cable orbital buffer 7424XP I think. Its really slow but for not having any buffing experience I did not want to burn the paint with a forced rotational polisher.

I started with a light compound recommended to remove 2000-2500 sand scratches. I had to wet sand with 2000 wet dry paper to get rid of some paint over spray. The polish was not cleaning it up very well. I switched to a swirl remover that was more aggressive, and it was a good combination.

A guy on youtube was giving me all sorts of crap about using two different brands of polish and some nonsense about not being a chemist. I find that to be very disturbing for a trial and error process to determine what works and what don’t.

I would like to see a little discussion about shining up your ride, where you get your supplies, which polishers & pads are working for you. I am looking for simple information to be used on a daily driver, not a high end customized car.

The stuff I am using:
I am getting my supplies from chemicalguys and I also have stuff from Adamspolishes, both work really well. I just ordered a rotary polisher from HarborFreight because it was marked down to $30 and I don’t plan to use it professionally.

Any suggestions will be appreciated, thanks guys.

Topic

[Lord Ihcalam]

when the clearcoat on my car was still in one piece i used to hand wax, the car. i would use gold class or ice on mine. gold class doesnt last long, a month or so in the summer, but it goes on well and comes off easily. I also used a clay block before i did my first, and last wax for the year.

[dollman0]

Thanks, I am trying to buff out minor scratches and oxidation to keep it looking good. I am also looking at using a paint sealant, just wanted to pass that along.

[Mike]

Depends on what type of finish you are using it on..

What car are you working on? Does it have a single stage paint job or a 2 stage (base and clear)?

While it’s almost the same, two different products would be used.

An orbital polisher is the ‘old mans’ way of shining up a ‘corvette’ that doesn’t really get dirty.

If you have some scratches and such – wet sanding – rubbing compound, polishing compound and finishing compound are all needed – and the rubbing/polishing you want done at high speeds.

Don’t be scared of a buffer. You will need to research on how to use it. You do not want to ‘burn’ the paint like you said by going from one panel to another with the buffing pad spinning in the wrong direction etc..

[Tim]

Cutting with 2000 I compound with 3M perfect it and a white pad. Followed with a black pad and either the dark or light polish depending on the color. If its dark whether SS or base/clear I have gone ultrafina and a blue pad for the best finish. JMO

Just to add…I like to follow 2000 with 3000 trizac wet…..makes it compound like butter on fresh finishes…

[Paul]

Sorry to be posting on an old thread but wanted to put in my two cents for anyone else interested in the topic.

As disturbing as it is, polishing paint to remove scratches is unfortunately a trial and error process because of the difference in the type of paint. Some paints are soft and others are harder. The harder paints will require more aggressive approach and there is really no way of knowing until you actually start working on them. In addition, factory clear coats are very very thin these days. They are literally paper thin and you do not want to remove more clear coat than necessary. For these reasons, it is recommended that you do a test spot in an inconspicuous area to see if your process works and when you do find that right combination, then you can apply that process to the rest of the car.

[Willo]

[quote=”dollman0″ post=64228]I have been watching detailing videos for a while and invested into a Porter Cable orbital buffer 7424XP I think. Its really slow but for not having any buffing experience I did not want to burn the paint with a forced rotational polisher.

I started with a light compound recommended to remove 2000-2500 sand scratches. I had to wet sand with 2000 wet dry paper to get rid of some paint over spray. The polish was not cleaning it up very well. I switched to a swirl remover that was more aggressive, and it was a good combination.

A guy on youtube was giving me all sorts of crap about using two different brands of polish and some nonsense about not being a chemist. I find that to be very disturbing for a trial and error process to determine what works and what don’t.

I would like to see a little discussion about shining up your ride, where you get your supplies, which polishers & pads are working for you. I am looking for simple information to be used on a daily driver, not a high end customized car.

The stuff I am using:
I am getting my supplies from chemicalguys and I also have stuff from Adamspolishes, both work really well. I just ordered a rotary polisher from HarborFreight because it was marked down to $30 and I don’t plan to use it professionally.

Any suggestions will be appreciated, thanks guys.[/quote]
Back in the old days we used a generic orange compound for lacquer and black ebony on clear.
The paint choice back then was lacquer or enamel.
I was told to rub out a black caddy the first time I used a wheel. Sure enough I burned the top ridge of the fender. I think that is when they gave me my nickname. I never got rid of that one either.

Overspray is a real pain, but now you have a better idea about what you have to mask next time.

Understanding the chemistry of the product[s] being used is probably the biggest hurtle involved when messing with finishes.

[Author]

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