well, got some paint on my car, and now I need to make it smoooth n shiny.

The paint has very minor peel, and not too many dust nibs. There's 3 heavy coats of clear on it, done friday. I'm sanding with 2000. Tried 1200 and 1500, faster but leaves too many scratches.

I picked up a Dewalt variable speed buffer, a 3m wool pad, perfect it 2 compound, yellow foam pad, and 3m glaze.

So, I'm playing with the trunk lid cause it's big and flat and not likely I'll hurt it.
I sanded with the 2000 until the peel was "almost gone" and then buffed a little at 1400 rpm.

The spots where I could no longer "see" the lil dots from the peel get smooth as glass real quick. The spots where I could still see a trace of the peel get shiny but not smooth. i buffed lightly on half the lid for about 4 minutes.

So, do I want to sand until all traces of peel are gone, or just take most of it off and work with the buffer to get the rest?

Any other tips on this process are very very welcome. What about curves and edges, around the wheelwells, the fender peaks, stuff like that?

Jim

To start with a great painter never needs to buff there job's. You know of any great painters..lol. Just razzing you I'm a painter by trade and been doing it for close to 20 yrs. So do I have a few short cuts for you yes. To start with sounds like your doing things in the right directions so far. 3M is the best cutting and polishing compounds to use. And a wool pad is unforgiving for starters, stick with foam pads they will do what a wool will do without burning your finish, may take more time, but re-clearing takes more than that.
Block sand a area at a time remember to use flowing water it keeps the cut film running off, nothing worse than having the cut film scratch your blocked area. Start with 1500 grit nothing harder than that to block with, then soft block with 2000 grit to remove the deep 1500 grit, use the soft block to wipe the area to check if often, always soft block in a circle motion. Once you have it smooth water check it, that is wet it and look at it. Water will lay like polished clear, it will show you what needs attention. Keep in mind buffing addes a haze to the finish. What I mean is over time the buffed area will always haze due to the scratches pulling apart due to the clear getting harder & tighter over time so once you buff the up keep is often. As what to say about how much to block off depends on the type of clear, high soild clear is the best to use in a situation that requires buffing, Med. Soild clears are prone to hazing quicker ect. Use 3m rubbing compound to remove the sanding marks it will shine but not like the end result, then use a polishing compound to get the wet look. After you have that done, move on to a top coat finess step most dark colors you would use black ebony, soft colors you would hand glaze it. A common way to do the last steps is to wet the foam pad it helps bring out the deep wet look lots quicker. Always do only a panel at a time and try to match the gloss pan to pan. Never use a wax on a buffed clear job it will not look as good as a teflon sealer type wax. the teflon will fill in the scratches you can't see and it helps slow the haze. If you need more help just E-mail your questions and I'll be glad to help as much as I can.

Darren (Mog miler@aol.com)
69 RS/SS Complete Resto SYC clone.

Jim, Don't want to argue with 69Rs, since he paints cars for a living, but according to MartinSr. (and he's right about this) is to throw the 3m polishing stuff in the garbage, especially the sandpaper. Switch to Meguires Unigrit wet sanding paper, this stuff is fantastic! Also switch over to Meguire compounds, starting with Diamond cut 2.0, then Dual action cleaner polish, then either speed glaze, or hand glaze. You can use lambs wool for your first cut, then switch to a blue foam pad, and finish with a black foam pad. IF you really want to do it easier and better is to purchase a Water Bug 3 D.A sander, it uses 1000,2000, and 4000 sandpaper with auto water feed. This thing really works great, none of those pesky long scratches. After using this, you will never hand sand again! Cost is about 200.00 plus paper @ 3.99 per disc, (only 3-6 discs needed) The sander and Unigrit hand sandpaper are available at autobodydepot.com or tptools.com.

according to MartinSr...

One thing I looked hard for and didn't find was a tutorial on this from martinsr. If anyone knows where such a thing can be found, PLEASE post a link.

btw, tx to Royce, who spent over an hour in chat with me the other day, and passed on a good bit of his experience and knowledge on this subject.

Every shop ive ever been in uses 3m. Nothing wrong with either products.They will both do a fine job. :)

Jim, the post that I was referring to by MartinSr. wasn't really a tutorial, but a discussion on another site about similar buffing tips. Don't know if you will be able to find it in the archives, but you can try it anyway. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php3?t=108381, hope it helps!

I agree with shoddy F-body ... I used 3m sandpaper and 3m perfect II rubbing compound and polishing compound and then 3m hand glaze and you can see the results in my pictures!!!!!

John

Thanks for the tips, guys. It's progressing well. First cut is done, car looks great. only place I have not been able to reach with the machine is right up by the moulding around the base of the ragtop. Thanks to your tips, this process is no where near as scary in reality as it was in imagination.