Buffing polishing advise needed

[player1up]

Ok so after many mistakes up to this point I'm trying to determine the best "stuff to use. I don't have a buffer yet and was wanting advise on a good buffer and what compound to use. The paint is enamel (single stage) with hardener and it was painted the weekend before Thanksgiving so it should be more than ready for finishing touches..
Thanks

 

[Rob]

Were you planning on sanding and buffing or just buffing? If you're color sanding you should do it as soon as possible, the more it cures the more difficult it is. A good variable speed buffer, I have a Dewalt, looks like a big grinder not one of those little 2 handed deals. I like to use a single stage system that uses a single compound with 3 different pads. You can use systems that have a different compound and different pad for each stage but you have to clean more between steps to make sure you have all of the more aggresive compound off the surface before going to the next step. I use Norton's Liquid Ice, but there's other good ones out there, System One I think is another. Be really careful on edges and peaks, tape them if you're sanding, you can burn through quite easily. You can buff through as well if you're not careful.

 

[player1up]

yeah I'll be color sanding then buffing, I know I shouldn't have waited but the thought of sanding AGAIN was a little hard to stomach until now. I've seen what a power buffer can do to paint and that's why I'm asking. I thought that the little 2 handed buffer things would take a long time but I'm scared of burning through my new paint with the huge angle grinder type.
. Thanks

 

[Rob]

Before you dive in, you didn't mention the type of paint in terms of being a metallic or non-metallic. If it's a metallic you CANT color sand single stage paint, only buff. You have to make sure it is a buffer that you use, they look like a grinder but spin a lot slower. The problem with those 2 handed jobbies is they don't spin quite fast enough. If your paint looks hazey it's the fine sand scratches, you haven't buffed them out. The risk of burn through isn't as great as you think as long as you have enough coats on and you keep the buffer moving. Keep the buffer flat, don't tip it up on end to use an edge, that's a no no. I sand with 1200, 1500 and finish with 2000 before buffing. You can start with 1500 if you're nervous and like I said it's edges and peaks that burn through in a heart beat. The amount of paint on an edge or a peak is significantly less than a flat surface so that compounds the risk, tape off about an 1/8" from the edge to be safe. Color sanding is a bit of a ***** by hand, I have a Quicksander, it's a DA sander that squirts soapy water while you sand, makes life a lot easier.

 

[player1up]

yeah sorry , single stage solid blue. the metallic I sprayed was.... well .... not so good so I went with blue carib, (it's like the blue version of sublime.) I did 4 coats on it and I expected to mess up so I have another whole gallon.

I had planned on hand sanding it just to be on the safe side.

 

[Rob]

That's the problem with single stage metallic, what you se is what you get, nothing you can really do about it. I only spray metallic with base/clear, the only problem with that is sanding through your clear is an even bigger disaster. The car looks good, start with your trunk lid or something that is small enough to fix more easily while you're getting a feel for it. Good luck, it should go well. Make sure you sand it every bit as much with each finer grit or you'l see that haze I was talking about and have to go back. You can go as fine as 2500 grit or even 3000 if you can get it. The finer you go the easier the buffing goes.