Hey guys....hope everybodys weekend is going well. I have been working on wet sanding the door I cleared on Thursday.....I had some orange peel, but not real bad. I am currently working with 1000 grit.....on my way to 1500 then 2000. Question is, should I expect all or most of the orange peel to be leveling out with the 1000 grit, or will some of that be left to the buffer? I just dont want to blow through into the basecoat. I have 5 good coats of Omni 161 on the door, so I'd lke to think it is plenty thick. How do I tell when I am ready to move on to the finer papers?

Also, the jobber recommended Meguires Machine Glaze for buffing...is this a good choice? If not, what do you guys like to use?

Thanks.....

I like to get all the peel out with the 1000 grit. Then I move to the finer grits to just get out the 1000 scratches. With 5 good coats on there. I really wouldn't worry too much about breaking through. That's an awful lot of clear. I have just recently started using 3M's Perfect-It 3000, and it is by far the best product I have ever used. By far.

Thank you for another EXCELLENT example of why you should NEVER LISTEN TO THE IDIOT BEHIND THE COUNTER. THey're salesmen, not painters, don't even ask for their advice.

Your wetsanding sounds fine, but meg's #03 machine glaze is a pure polish, non-abrasive, and you'll sit there all day before you remove sanding scratches with it. Try #85 diamond cut and a wool pad, this is a cutting compound that'll remove the scratches. FOllow that with #83 with a maroon or yellow pad, which is much less abrasive and will remove the swirls left from the #85. After THAT you can put some machine glaze on it, but my preference is actually to use #80 by hand instead, for the last stage I use dual action or hand so I don't leave any buffer marks in the finish.

As for how to tell when to move on in sandpaper... dry the surface and you'll see the low spots as glossy. When they're mostly gone switch to 1500, and when theres just traces left here and there switch to 2000. Use a block, don't press hard, use lots of water and lots of paper, you can tell when the paper's done by the amount of material in the water as well as by feel. You won't learn by reading any of this, get out there and **** it up.

GOod luck, this is the fun stage, when you put the buffer on it for the first time and it starts to shine.

Oh, and 3m is great stuff for sure, but so is meguiars and it costs HALF as much, at least it does where I live.

Hey, thanks for the advice....much appreciated. I just PM'd you if you care to check....thanks again!!

Well, I guess I won't PM you...won't work. Just curious....what part of Penna are you in? Johnstown here........

Thanks Aberrant and Fumesniffer. BTW, the guy behind the counter was the owner of the store. Geez, you'd think SOMEBODY would be up on the products. I am sure expected to know what I do for a living. Anyway, thanks for the advice....I'll be taking the machine glaze back on Monday.

Just an update......I buffed my door out last weekend....came out awesome!!! I used Meguiars products, Diamond cut compound.....swirl remover....then machine glaze....wiped it down with a soft towel and it came out great! I promised Reckon photos over on the body and paint boards.....my camera is broken and can't find one to borrow....so sorry, I know some of you guys look forward to those success photos.......I'll get it together eventually. Need to get the rest of my car done asap....just can't wait. Gotta do the family haulers rocker panels first though....uuggghh. Wanna work on the classic.........thanks again for all your help.