Help with Materials/Equipment Selection

Discuss anything after that final masking comes off.

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 5:30 pm
Ok, since I will not be even starting construction until next year on my new shop to replace the current Pig Barn. My current Pig Barn shop was built more than half a century ago, sheds paint and wood like my German Shepherd sheds hair along with having enough drafts to keep a fresh coat of dirt/dust inside, I have realized that I will need to bite the bullet, man up and learn how to cut and buff my little projects (currently a black hood for my 89 C30)

I have been reading on a few different websites and am getting a bit confused/overloaded (old?)

I did try the 3M Perfect it line a few years ago on a bike tank with so-so success but figure that I need to get better. Wanted to sand/polish my Caddy’s trunk lid but didn’t have the balls (I was afraid of cutting into the artwork)

I do have sandpaper to 1000, 1500, 2000 when the time comes.

I dug out some of the tools that I have gathered over the years from different projects and need some input as to which one (or ones) that I should be concentrating on.

First, I eliminated any true grinders and pulled out the following three polishers and a couple more do-dads.

1) Makita PO5000c with a H&L 5" Plastic Backing Plate (foam pad size of 5-1/2" to 6")
2) Dewalt DWP849X that uses a standard (5/8-11) spindle
3) Makita P/N??? This is an older polisher that I have used on concrete table tops and also uses a standard (5/8-11) spindle
4) A small Hutchens DA that I used on some aluminum projects
5) A Dynabrade Rotary/Random Orbital Head still in the box, was given to me and I am not sure what it is for.

Polishers.jpg

Makita Older (2).jpg

Hutchins Small.jpg

Dynabrade (1).jpg

Backing Pads (4).jpg
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 5:34 pm
The Makita PO5000c has the 5” backing plate for the 6” pads but I think that I also have a larger 6" H&L Plastic Backing Plate for 6 1/2” to 7” pads.
The PO5000c has a switch to go from Random Orbit with Forced Rotation to Random Orbit mode

I have various backing plates that fit on the two 5/8-11 spindle polishers

My old 3M Perfect-It polishes are gone, but I do have a bottle of;
A) Meguiar’s M100
B) Menzerna Super Car Polish Finish Plus 3800

I need help with which polishing pads that I should purchase as 3M. Lake Country and Chemical Guys all seem to have a bunch of different sizes and colors along with “ours is the best” descriptions.

So, any input on;
1) Which machine that I should use?
2) Stick with the two polishes that I have or get…?
3) What size pads?
4) Brand of pads? Are they that different?


About the only thing that I know is to start with “Twisted” wool pads, not just wool.

Do the different manufacture’s pads coarseness go; (Most Aggressive) Twisted Wool, Orange Foam, White Foam, Black (Least Aggressive)
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 5:49 pm
There are different levels of finishing that are done. I will tell you what I do for a Show Car finish and you can go from there.

Make sure you have at least 4 good coats of clear on the car. You want to be sure there is enough left on there after the Cut and Buff to provide adequate protection for you base coat and depth of shine.

Wet sand with 1000 grit on a hard block. I use a 5-6" long piece of Oak wood, 1 1/2" wide, 3/4" thick. Sand until the clear is flat (no shiny spots or waves).
From there you can use a soft block with 1500 and wet sand to remove all of the 1000 grit scratches. Repeat with 2000 to remove all the 1500 grit scratches. (You can use a DA for the 1500 and 2000 and dry sand but care must be exercised not to burn through.) Clean the panel before buffing.

Rotary buffer is the way to to, in my opinion. 7" pad.
I have a Dewalt buffer with variable speed trigger so I can start slow and then speed it up.
Start with a twisted wool pad and Meguiars M100. Run the buffer at a lower speed to start working the compound over a section of the panel and then bump the speed up to 2500 RPM and continue to buff the area with a smooth, continuous motion.

Next wipe the panel clean and use a White Foam Pad (Lake Country CCS is what I use) and then some Chemical Guys V36 or similar polishing compound). Same proceedure as before.

Wipe the panel clean and use a Black Foam Pad and some Menzerna Super Finish Plus 3800. This stuff will work for quite some time with drying up and polishes out the tiny scratches you can barely see.

I use clean Microfiber towels for wiping the compound from the panels.
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 6:04 pm
68, thanks for your time and information.

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:...Make sure you have at least 4 good coats of clear on the car...

It definitely will!

Rotary buffer is the way to to, in my opinion. 7" pad.

So, out of my stuff, is that the Dewalt DWP849X? Using the 7x1 1/4" pads?
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 6:06 pm
And I will have more specific questions (well I already thought of one)

How long after spraying the clear do you wait to start polishing? A day or two? or wait a week or more?
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 7:32 pm
OldFatBald wrote:And I will have more specific questions (well I already thought of one)

How long after spraying the clear do you wait to start polishing? A day or two? or wait a week or more?


Depends on the clear you are using. Euro will be ready to buff in a day or two, UV may take longer but I have only sprayed it once and didn't need to buff it. :wink:

Any rotary buffer will do, I just mentioned that I am using a DeWalt.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 10:20 pm
Well, I re-cleared my hood Sunday morning.

Loaded up my Sata 5500 with Tamco 2104 clear, and when I did a test pattern on the wall, the center was a little narrow kind of like a blocked side port. Like an idiot, I didn’t stop and try to clean the gun, I opened up the fluid control a half turn (don’t ask me why because I don’t know, I just get all weekend rookie excited). I then moved over to my hood and the first coat came out looking like garbage. Again very frustrating and disappointing as this gun has shot some beautiful glassy clear before.

So, for the second, third and fourth coats, I switched over to my Sagola 4600 which has a smaller fan but was laying the clear out correctly. I put on a lot of clear figuring that I was going to need to wet sand and buff. For most of the hood, I plan on wet sanding with 1000, 1500, 2000 then buffing, then buffing through and reshooting anyways (hopefully NOT)

What I didn’t plan on was getting a run, still not sure how as I really didn’t think that I had that much clear in that area but I guess the runs don’t lie.

* So, my first question is how do I sand this run out? Do I start with a stiff block and use 400 or????
* Someone in a different post mentioned to add glazing compound around the run, but I didn't understand why


3rd Time! Whole Hood.jpg

3rd Time! Run.jpg

3rd Time! Run (2).jpg
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 10:32 pm
For my next question, what do I do about the small areas at the detail creases?

I assume that I don't run the buffer up against those small areas at the hood crease detail areas?

* Do I just skip those areas? Including the center peak?

* Should I tape off the sharp detail creases to keep the sand paper and buffer off or....???


3rd Time! (3).jpg

3rd Time! Left Edge.jpg

3rd Time! Rt Edge.jpg

3rd Time!  Center Peak.jpg
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 1:54 am
Definitely use a fine fill or glazing putty on that run. Search The Gunman on Youtube for a video on how to do it. It's been my "go to" method for years and has worked on some shockers.

Also, yes, tape along the hard edges to protect them.

BTW, you still haven't fixed the different times on the clocks on the wall. :happy:
Chris

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:52 am
Get you a shark blade
https://buymirka.com/products/mirka-sha ... QAQAvD_BwE

that using filler and glaze crap on you tube is some of the dumbest crap ive ever seen.
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