Is there a MAX time before Cut and Buff?

Discuss anything after that final masking comes off.



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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 3:17 pm
I am doing this as a hobby on my own, so the process is real slow. Is there a concern that you can wait too long before you wet sand and buff the clear coat?

I understand that the clear gets harder with time, which may be better for a newbie and prevent me from burning throught as easy. But does it get too hard to sand? if so what is the max time to wait?

Thansk on advance.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:45 pm
I almost hate to say this because it strikes up controversy. I don't think an automotive style urethane can ever get too hard to cut and buff. There I said it. Guys will come club me but hear me out. I am a furniture restorer and conservator. Cutting, buffing, rejuvenating just about every type of coating imaginable is a big part of my daily life. A problem with working on most older coatings is that with age they become soft and cannot be cut and buffed properly or they become brittle and delaminate from the surface if you try it. Newer automotive base/clear systems don't exhibit these problems. I had a guy bring a car to me the other day that I did 13 years ago and I was still able to cut and buff out some minor scuffs on that coating.
With time is it harder to do? Sure, cured urethane is some hard stuff. Will it take longer to do? Absolutely. How long should you wait? That's a tough question. There were some real curvy areas near the bottom of my truck that I've been showing for the last year. I'm just now getting to cutting and buffing those areas by hand. Is the urethane harder than when I did the original cut and buff? You bet, but all I did was drop down to a little coarser compound and it was business as usual.
You might want to consider doing some test panels and trying the cut and buff on them at different intervals. That way you might answer your own question as to "when" it's safe for you to do your work without blowing through you clear.
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:05 pm
DarrelK, do you have a preference for sandpaper when color sanding? I color sanded a door I had painted a while back with some cheap sandpaper....it seemed to take forever. Somebody on here recommended Meguiars paper, which is Nikkens with Megs name on it. I also read where Mirka is real good. Can you name any others that are better? I'll be doing my hood next week....don't want to sand for days if I don't have to.

Thanks!!

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:01 pm
Yep, that Nikkens stuff is good as gold and as you said is also under the Meguiars private label. If working with machine sanding I do prefer Mirka products. As for others I've never really been able to get past that Nikkens paper for quality of cut and time savings.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:51 pm
Really it depends on the clear... I have used some clear that buffs great forever like Darrel has stated, I have also used some clear that after a week is impossible to work with... Just depends..

For the most part when you are ready to sand, if it has been a week or a few days it does not matter... Sand the whole thing and put it in the sun for at least a few hours... What this does is pull the solvents out of the paint that are sorta "trapped" and slowly evaporating... As a matter of fact if you can let it set for a day or two that is even better!!!

this will make buffing much easier

Matthew
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