Black paint

[Tocoti]

I'm finishing black paint. I'm learning how to progressively use finer grit paper. So far I am at the point of 600 to get rid of the orange peel, I don't have 1200 so I went 2000. That is not a good move. I can still see the 600 marks. I used the 3m perfect it 3000 then 5000 then orbital polish. I think I need a circular polisher then take out the swirls? Any thoughts would be helpful. I did a single stage urathane basecoat and a clear coat.

[Jeff Kleiner]

600 is really aggressive and makes for a lot of work to get rid of the scratches. You'll just have to keep working upwards. I wet cut by hand with the highest grit possible to open it up, 1500 if it's pretty flat, 1200 if it has heavier peel then work up to 2000. After that I wet cut with a DA using 2000 and finally 3000. I finish with a rotary polisher (I think you're going to find it nearly impossible to get the job done effectively with an orbital). I have been using Wizard's products; Turbo Cut on wool followed by Final Cut on a foam pad but recently tried their new Mystic Cut Compound and am very pleased with the results. You begin with it on a wool pad at about 1,800 RPM then switch to a foam pad running around 1,000.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj43/jkleiner/RyanW/100_4505.jpg

If we're lucky Batty Miller will chime in with some pearls of wisdom.

Carry on,
Jeff

[j.miller]

Pearls!!! I think not! More like turds.... So, ya started a bit steep with the 600. 1000 should be the lowest starting point for color sanding bad peal. Then to 1500 and on to 2000 by hand or 3000 orbital. 5000 is nice but if your first cut is with a wool pad then it's a waste. 600 takes off too much material so by the time you get the scratches out you burn through the clear or have almost no film build left. What kind of clear and how many coats did you put on?...da Bat

[Tocoti]

I used a single stage base, the car was in the refrigerator, up North here, that's the barn. I could still smell the basecoat when I did a clear coat. 3 heavy coats. I got some 1500 today along with 3000, and 5000. I went over a few sections. Tried the DA polisher with the 3M polish. It looks good from 4 feet. ;) Jeff, " Holy $hit that looks nice.." I actually tried my 50$ Sears circular polisher and got the best results. I had a black motorcycle years ago. I polished it with "Black Ebony". It was beautiful, so now I'm a scratch freak. Could you recommend a circular polisher? Years ago I used a single speed on a vari ac . I also burned a baby blue Cadi. Oye. 1972 I think, so I'm trying to be careful.
So I won't touch it with the heavy stuff, and I need to do some rotary polishing. What are you talking about when you say wool pad? What are the pad choices and what do I need? Do I use compound with it. Low speed? Do I need a spir? Sorry so many questions.

[j.miller]

Wool and foam are your choices for pads. Your first go-round will be what we call "cut" that is done with "compound" (a heavy grit material) I use 3m Perfect-it II with a wool pad and yes you should have a spur to clean the pad 5-6 times while polishing. Second go-round is "polish" (finer grit material) I use a black foam pad with 3m #2 polish....hardest part about this is telling someone how to polish is like telling someone how to spray....ya kinda need a coach with ya while you do it. I can tell you this (very important) It is the compound /polish do the work....not the machine! The machine only serves to move the compound over the surface. All my painting life I have seen guys putting a little blip of compound on a fender then hitting it with the buffer and rubbing it to death ( the reason they do this is they don't want to get showered in compound or the boss puts them in a tight spot and they don't want to sling compound all over) it's a balancing act....tooo little compound it doesn't polish and it drys to the pad making a dry grinding disk.....toooo much compound and it plugs the pad turning it into a "mud slinging" grinding disk looking for edges to burn........speed"wool pad and compound" 1400 RPM....Polish, 1000 RPM with black foam pad.....as far as a machine, one with a variable speed from 1000-3000.....feel free to ring up the "cave" anytime and we can have a chat about it...da Bat 951-676-0191......OH! The Wizard products Kleiner spoke of,,, they are on my list of "To Try" Jeff Kleiner has my respect and if likes their products I wouldn't hesitate to try them.

[Jeff Kleiner]

... Jeff Kleiner has my respect and if likes their products I wouldn't hesitate to try them.

Dang Jack, er Jeff, er Batty, whatever... Seriously, thanks a pile for the vote of confidence my friend. Coming from you, one of the masters, that means a lot to a backyard piker like me! I'd be interested in hearing what you think of the Mystic Cut and how it compares if you ever give it a try. Unlike the Perfect-it system it's just one product; you use the same schmutz for both cut and polish and just change pads. My jobber sells the entire 3M line as well as the Wizards and suggested it to me after he tried it out (that's the great thing about him...he actually paints and uses all the stuff he sells...if he doesn't like it or isn't happy with the performance he doesn't peddle it).

Cheers,
Jeff

[Tocoti]

I went out and got a buffer, rpm sensitive, wow how things have changed. Got the wool pad, did the car with 3000 then 5000 from 3M. Used the orbital. Then buffed at 1500 rpm. I have a local place that I got it. All I can say is wow! Thank you ALL for the help. I did about 80 % of the car today and it looks amazing. I have one spot I have to do over. I'll post a picture when it's done. I keep walking into the barn and saying, " holy crap that's my car" , and " I built that!"