Okay this may sound somewhat stupid but I'm going to ask it anyway... I understand the "how and why" of wetsanding, but I'm not sure of the "how" to buff after the wetsanding process. I know it's the final process to bring the shine out of a paint job, but what exactly do you use to do this? Is it an orbital buffer? Do you use compounds? Could someone tell me how it's done? A C4 buddy of mine painted his car in his garage. It came out pretty good except for the orange peel. He wetsanded starting with 800 and going up eventually to 2000. He got most of the peel out, lost patience, and proceeded to buff. The end result was okay, but by his own admission could have been better. I would like to know the correct process as eventually I just might try to paint my car myself.

 

Materials and techniques will vary among painters, and there would be a difference in both between production work and custom or restoration work, but here is how I polish a fresh standard urethane ss or bc/cc paint job where I am not matching orange peel to adjacent panels such as with a repair. The texture of the surface you start sanding will determine which grit you start with. A first time painter may need to start with a rougher paper if there is a lot of peel or dry spray, but never start heavier than 1000 with todays urethanes or you'll be chasing scratches that hold back the gloss potential all day.

I'll start wet sanding with 2000 on a 1/4" flat rubber pad and sand with long strokes (straight and diagonal) until the surface is smooth and also smooth up to the edges but not over the edge. Then I'll go over the panel lightly with 3000 grit. I then use a variable speed rotary polisher with a 3M Superbuff wool pad at a slow speed (1 3/4) using Meguiars Fine Cut Polish, working the polish with some pressure against the surface and going over the surface slowly back and forth to allow the machine to do it's job, increasing polisher speed (2 1/2-3) and movement towards the end. Usually 2 applications of Fine Cut until the panel is a nice high gloss. I now check for any peel I missed or sand scratches under a flourescent light, if none I now use the fine cut at a slow speed and concentrate towards the edges but not over the edge and then wipe the panel clean with a microfiber towel. I then move onto Meguiars Machine Glaze with the same polisher and speeds but flip the pad over to the clean side and apply 1 or 2 times. Panel should be very high gloss at this point with no scratches. Next I use Meguiars Swirl Mark Remover with an orbital polisher and foam pad at a slow speed one or 2 times slowly going over the surface and allowing the polisher to do the work and the job should be done until a later date when it can be waxed.

 

it takes longer to learn to buff than paint


blue painters tape is your friend !

 

Outstanding answer ahoover!

and porchdog you said it. Buffing in it self can be an art. I have seen a car that was for sure a candidate for a repaint be wet sanded and buffed and all into a show finish, and I have seen some really poor looking fresh paint jobs saved by someone that knows how to use a buffer. Then again, I have seen some bad paint burn thoughs with someone not knowing how to use a buffer. Burned edges, and burned rubber bumpers are not that uncommon if your not careful.

 

i've been doing it for 40 years and still use tape as a matter of fact i burnt a hood spear on the 57 because i knocked the tape off and kept buffing.

 

Thanks to all for the info! Could someone recommend a good buffer?

On a side note, allow me to hijack my post; my paint is a ten-footer on the hood and nose (especially the nose). The rest of the car is great. It appears that at one point the PO (bubba himself) tried to repaint some cracked paint on the nose with what looks like (gulp!) rattle can paint. Apparently he didn't prep the area well as you can still see the crack contours. My thought is I'll sand through whatever awful stuff bubba applied to get back to the "original" paint underneath. Basically, I want to try to undo what he did. He also left some nice overspray on the hood. I plan on using rubbing compound and polishing compound to remove that. Unfortunately, I'd rather just have the nose painted, but budget constraints don't allow that (this year anyway). Any comments would be appreciated - especially if there's a better way (or correct way).

 

I did a whole thing on buffing on my website in the paint and body section. It's fully illustrated:
http://www.repairnation.com

Makita and Dewalt both make great buffers preferred by a lot of shops. Milwaukee also, but I find it a little too heavy. Actually, Harbor Freight buffer that you can get on sale for $29 is pretty good for the hobbiest. It lacks the variable speed at the trigger which I prefer (but has a thumb wheel speed control instead). That buffer will work fine for you. It's basically a knock off of the Makita (w/o the variable speed trigger). You want to get a good 3M or Meguires backing pad because no matter what buffer you buy, they never seem to have a backing pad that's 'true'. I use 3M compounds. Others like Meguires.

If your car is white, you should be able to blend the color and get good results. White doesn't show blend lines or repairs as well as dark colors.

Mark G

 

Mark G,

Thank you (and everyone else)! Repair N ation was great for information.

 

as mark g stated the harbor freight polisher is a good buy for the money. i used the 3m perfect-it compounds. go to a auto paint and body supply store, and they'll set you up with the correct stuff and give you a lot of helpful hints.
jeff

 

Just the other day I ran across this buffer that "might" be the the perfect budget buffer:
http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/TTN-22507.html

Although it doesn't specify it here, in the magazine ad it says it has a variable speed trigger ...and the limiting dial. I would call their tech support before buying to verify the trigger is indeed variable speed. If so, I would say it is better than the Harbor Freight buffer. I liked the Harbor Freight buffer, but with only a on/off trigger, it won't cut it for me. Variable speed at the trigger is like a 'must-have' when ya get to panel edges and ya need to slow things down. Just thought I'd share.

Mark G