Cut/ buff vs. wax timeframe?

Discuss anything after that final masking comes off.

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 3:10 pm
Hi. I shot my truck with three coats of metallic gray base and five coats of ********** Universal Clear a couple weeks ago. I've been doing my wet sanding with 1500/3000, and now I'm ready to do my cut buff polish. I have a good friend who used to work as a detailer, but generally only works on factory vehicles, not ones that have been freshly painted.

He recommended I get a heavy cutting compound, a lite abrasive buffing compound, a polish, and wax.

I know that I need to wait 90 days after having applied my clear before I wax, but what about the other compounds? Will they harm it? Why is wax different?

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 5:25 pm
i dont wait to wax paint, generally do it before deliver or pick up
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 6:41 pm
Clear coat takes a while to fully cure, unless you have a heated booth to speed things up.

I think 1500 to 3000 is too big of a jump myself. I generally stop at 2000 anyway since the Meguiar's 105 will clean that up no problem. The trick is to make sure you only have 2000 grit scratches left. You will know immediately if 90% of your panel looks great but you see a few scratches here or there that don't seem to want to come out.

As for wax, I believe it depends on what kind you are using. Some will let the clear continue to cure while others may seal the surface and cause hazing.

You probably saw the pics of the 55 Chevy truck hood that I buffed out. That was buffed when clear had cured overnight. I had covered it loosely with some Norton Sheet masking to keep dust off it. A few weeks later I uncovered it and it looked hazy in spots and I could see minuscule bubbles at the surface. Bummer. I was able to get it nice again but it took rebuffing and a lot more time because the clear was fully cured now.
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 7:23 pm
68, that's when you cut it and reclear it lol
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:13 am
Body shops usually sand and buff the next day. On custom paint, I wait a month to sand and buff...a lot harder to do it, but it stays where it's at. Wax, a month should be enough cure time, after paint.
The only issue I see is the heavy cut compound your friend recommends. Might be too aggressive. Depends on what he calls "heavy cut". Most will tell you what grit sand scratches they will remove, so read the instructions.



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:08 pm
I wouldn't use a heavy cut over 3000 grit. I wouldn't even 3 stage after sanding. In fact, with the newer compounds you almost never need to 3 stage.

I remember using the old 3m heavy cut. The stuff was like liquid sand. Used some other stuff that was pulled due to environmental regulations too. THOSE required 3 stage because they left scratches in the paint, like sanding. Now, meguiar's ultra cut for example, relies on heat to cut rather than abrasives. So it doesn't require the medium cut and then final polish (depending on your skill level with a buffer, at least)

If you hit it with 3000 already, meguiar's 82. Then polish.

As far as waxing goes, it depends what kind of clear you used. If a week passed and you've already sanded,

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