Hey guys, Im not sure what to do. Paint is almost done on my project car. hok black base, with the uc-35 clear. I dont have a buffer...or anything. I do interiors at a detail shop, and probly would be able to borrow the spare mikita over the weekend. Our buff guy does mostly quick buffs on dealership cars, has been doing it 28 years and uses wool pads. I asked him if he ever buffs out wetsanded clearcoats and says he never really does it. Anyways.

Should I buy my own foam pads & compounds for the makita & borrow it. Would I screw up buffing if its my first time with a rotary? Should I buy a porter cable 7434 DA buffer, orrr lol I dont know. The guy at the shop knows what he is doing, but is kinda...'slower' and hard to talk to. His buff bay is a mess of various brands so i dont really even know what he uses for compounds/polishes. HELP? I've done so much research and it all sounds like it would work.Im just feeling like I need somone to tell me what to do lol. So I need to decide:

Rotary Buffer(borrow mikita/buy HF buffer/buy ATD buffer OR:
orbital style (buy Porter Cable)

what compound/polish/glaze system to use
what pads to buy.
and where to get it. Im in a small town in north dakota and local choices are severily limited.

also where can i get meguires sandpaper, and for a black car what grits would you recommend.

THANK YOU! This stuff is stressful!

alright, I think I am making head-way.

Im kinda broke (college student + trying to complete bodywork/paint/colorsanding on a project car = broke) lol. So im going to borrow the makita unless somone suggests otherwise. Im good with my hands, and have watched our buffer alot so I think I will be able to get the hang of it fairly quickly.

My toolparadise order so far...
(this is all meguires stuff)
Unigrit Finishing Paper - 1000-Grit; 25 Sheets
Unigrit Finishing Paper - 1500-Grit; 25 Sheets
Unigrit Finishing Paper - 2000-Grit; 25 Sheets
All-Purpose Foam Buffing Pad with Built-In Backing Plate (use for compounding?)
8" SOFTBUFF™ Backing Plate (for the finishing pads)
2 - 8" SOFTBUFF™ Foam Finishing Pad (one for polish/one for glaze?)

Im still not sure what system to use.
Would this work?:

Dual Action Cleaner/Polish -with the yellow buff pad
#2 fine cut cleaner -with the black finish pad
Machine Glaze -with the 2nd black finish pad

PLEASE correct me, or suggest somthing elseif you think otherwise. I am just trying to figure this out on my own incase somone doesnt help lol.

You've got a lot of the right stuff but may be somewhat confused on direction. I'm going give you some simple advice I got from a real pro on this site, Tricky Fingers. Here is a very simple way to handle your color sanding and buffing especially if you haven't done much before. Tricky Fingers said...
Usually after letting the clear dry (3-4 coats) for 12-24hrs, I'll wet sand the clear with 1500 grit till satisfied, wipe down with 50% alcohol and water and walk away from it (go work on another vehicle in the shop). I'll wait 6-12hrs or overnight before coming back to buff with the buffer (we use finesse-it II to buff with). Notice- no 2000 grit paper or rubbing compound . I've noticed that if you let the solvents evaperate between 6-12hrs after wet sanding with 1500 grit that it will also eliminate alot of scratches (seal-up and flatten-out) that where left after wet sanding. All your left with is buffing with the buffer to a wet-look shine. Doing it this way will leave more clear on the vehicle for durability and UV-protection plus save you in labor and materials. Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Well, being my usual skeptical self I have tried this method and found it really did cut my labor down. This is just one of many ways you can cut and buff a ureathane but again I think for a newbie to the process this is a very simple way to get great results.

cool, thanks alot man. I have came along way with my knowledge about colorsanding/buffing in the past 4 hours lol. I found a great site, meguiar's online, and learned a fair amount. I think im going to try your method, as it seems ALOT more affordable. Where can I get alcohol, (what is it called/what do i ask for...im a newbie remember ) Thanks again!

Benny,
It's is just simple isopropyl alcohol. You can get it at any phamacy off the shelf or even most Home Depot style hardware stores. It might also be called ethanol. Wood restoration shops also use it to thin shellac as well so most house paint shops carry it as well.

alright, if nothing else i was going to get isopropyl. (wasnt sure if there was anything else you were thinking about. Wish me luck, i'll post if i need more help!