Hey everyone! I have a question about cutting and buffing.
The last car i painted, (single stage) i sanded the body down with 1k-1500-2k to remove any orange peal, by hand. It took forever!

Just been doing a lot of research the last few weeks.

I came across a video where a guy uses 1500 grit sanding discs with a velcro backing! Cut his cut and polish time drastically and it came out good too.
I have a velcro back sander and the finest grit is 400 i think.
but the only paper i can find in grit of 1k-2k is in rectangular sheets.

My question, is it okay to use the rectangular sheets on a sander with clips to hold the paper in place?
If not, does anyone know where i could find grits that fine with the velcro backing?
I have yet to try napa. Rest of the auto stores didnt have it. Last resort will be going to a paint supplier in town i guess to see if they sell them

Has anyone ever used 1k-2k on a sander to cut and polish? Or used a rectangle shape sander with the sheets?

Thanks

Their is a couple different brands

3M Trizact in 1500 and 3000 & Mirka Abralon are the big players.

I tried the Trizact its Ok wheres out really fast if you ask me.
Never tried the Mirka stuff in the end it wasnt worth the added expense too me Trizct is or at least it was very expensive.

So in the end you just went back to hand cutting the clear due to the expense?
What did the paper cost you when you used it?
Just want an idea.


Just looked them up. Mirka pack of 50 of the "hook and loop" or what i was calling velcro is only $21.99+$5 for shipping!

That is not bad at all!
The finer grits 2k-4k are $70!

The 3m is 80$/25 discs. What!

This is the Mirka link, this is the correct sand paper i would use for a car right? And hook an dloop does mean the velcroish backing correct?
http://www.onlineindustrialsupply.com/m ... odi12.html
Im probably gonna order the 1500 to cut orange peel and hand sand with 2k or 3k after.

Even at that price, i might order my regular 240 grit sand paper too. At 50 pk for $25, beats a 5pk from HF for $4! I need a 40$ minimum order anyways to place an order....

Thank you for listing the names.

I only tried the 3M stuff
Heard bad things about the Mirka so never got excited to try it.
But ya expense had a part to play in my decision especially when disks didnt last that long and loaded up quickly causing pig tails. they say one sheet will do several panels I found at least one sheet per panel more like two more realistic.

Yes hook and loop is the Velcro stuff Not all hook and loop pads are the same some are designed proprietary to the company's system meaning you'll have to buy there stuff to make it work.

I prefer to do mine by hand, but if your in production and speed and time are a concern try it.
The Trizact is a system meant to be used all together for paint finishing it includes the sanding disks interface pads DA pads 3 diff polishes and a set of Foam pads for polishing.
Also you want to use a DA with a 3/16 stroke.

I didn't care for it myself, you may like it ?

Oh okay. I would try the 3m but the price out of budget. I may try the mirka ones. A local paint dealer here sells them but 35$/25pk. Yea i doubt one disc will go over an entire car. If i do get the 50pk. I will expect to use 2 on a panel for the cutting.
I am in between production speed and good quality. As im doing all this by myself and the more time i spend a car, less time moving on to another.

I guess ill find out if the mirka hook and loop works with my sander. Fingers crossed.

I was at HF earlier, and i have a plain RO buffer, i saw hook and loop foam pads at HF. In a compound, swirl remover and final finisher.

My sander is also a RO same as my buffer.

Do you have experience using foam pads on a RO? The hook and loop foam pads on a clean sander should work the same as my RO buffer right?
Will save some money now till i get a variable speed buffer. I may go with the cheap 40$ from HF if the hook n loop foam pads wont work?

i think the discs your talking about are called film discs, you can use them wet or dry and the guy in the clip uses them dry, i have tried many times and have had nothing but failure to date, get pig tails showing thru and they are hard to get out, and you dont generally see them till after you have buffed, unless your doing a light colored car, then a good trick is to use dry guide coat between sanding, it will show you wat scratches are left,
it usually dont take long to sand peel back with 1500 wet, but if it takes too long, take the top off with some 800 wet, then goto 1200 wet till the peel is nearly gone, then 1500, and 2000, i like to use the 2000 foam discs either by hand or by machine, leaves a nice finish, hek, i now skip to 4000 foam discs on the machine, takes bugger all time to buff up!!
krem

I have had the same experience with the Film Discs.
The other thing to note is you need a 1/2" thick soft pad attached to your DA for the film discs to follow contours and work properly.

Don't fool yourself into thinking 1500 on a DA is safe from burning through because it will - especially around edges and body lines.

The pig tails are a problem and I have heard (haven't tried it myself) that you need to keep the DA speed slow to help prevent them when sanding dry. I had some success using a steady flow of water on the surface thus washing away the dust that causes the pig tails but it was a very messy affair.

If you can learn to shoot your clear coat so it lays down the cutting part does go a little faster by hand. It still takes time to do it right, removing distortion and getting a scratch free surface.

Yes, i guess they are film discs. The guy does use it dry. Have you seen the video? Its on a blue bug and it comes out **** near perfect. Maybe because is an expert in doing this.
I might try wet sanding with 800 first and move up.

I did 1500 wet by hand and the paper kept sliding out of my hand! I bought a block and am gonna see if it makes it easier to use fine grits without it sliding out of my hand.

So Krem you go from 800-1200-1500-2000 then use a foam pad?
Do you use a wool pad at all and what polish compound are you using?

Yes coronet, i was looking into soft pad attachements. They are expensive. I think around 12-15 but online only.

I still need to practice and research how to get the lowest amount of orange peel. Some cars that come in have orange peel from factory. If my clear comes out well, i will have less to sand as you said.
You have used the finer film discs on a DA sander with success? How fine of a grit did you use and what compound and polish?

You should always sand with a block. Fingers will produce an uneven pressure and can cause you problems.
In areas where you are forced to sand without a block, be sure to fold the sand paper so it has some thickness to help distribute the finger pressure.

For a show quality finish, I start with 1000 grit wrapped around a piece of Oak about 1" wide and 4" long. Wet sanding a 12" x 12" area at a time until flat and all orange peel is gone. Be very careful around body lines and edges.
Once the car is flat, I move to 1500 on a firm block to remove the 1000 scratches, then to 2000 on a soft block to remove the 1500 scratches.
When done properly buffing is the easy part.

Thanks for the info coronet. I will use that grit of paper in that sequence and when sanding by hand. ill also use soft pressure, especially on the edges.
I found some good compound also that will hopefully speed up the process.