just recently painted my car. single stage black. starting to wetsand and wondering what is the preffered grit. been using 1500 as the final stage?

also any tricks on buffing it to a good shine while avoiding swirls, and what should the next steps be after compunding it {polish, wax, glaze etc.}? any help appreciated.

pretty new to the hole process.

 

The grit depends on how rough the finish is. 1500 will work, as long as you buff with a good cutting pad, like wool. Buff one section at a time, and move slowly. After the orange peel is gone, use polish designed for buffing. I use 3M products. Use the edge of the pad at a low speed, and buff in sections as well. After you have the desired shine, apply a hand glaze, and wipe off with a 3m buff cloth.

 

will finishing with a higher grit like 1800 or 2000 ease the buffing of compund.

appreciate the info

 

Only if you have scratches from the sanding that won't buff out.

 

body shop people will say use 3m but I say use Optimum or Menzerna.

I would use Optimum Hyper Compound followed by Optimum Polish and your choice of wax/sealant.

but body shop guys will say compound it and throw glaze on it and it will be fine.........

 

I never glaze over compound. 3M fine cutting polish.

 

E Post, you know J Strock got that ****

 

Yep, 3M products work great. The final finish polish is the bomb.

 

He is using 1500 grit wet sanding and 3m Perfect it rubbing compound, buffing by hand. I think we just need to break out the buffer followed by a nice hand polish/glaze and swirl remover.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by powerflow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yep, 3M products work great. The final finish polish is the bomb.</TD></TR></TABLE>

there are ALOT of better products out there.

 

How does the 3M p/n 82878 final finish, easy clean up polish compare to others brands?

 

Also are these other brands bodyshop safe for fresh paint?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by powerflow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also are these other brands bodyshop safe for fresh paint? </TD></TR></TABLE>

yes

 

What exact brands are that much better in your opinion, than the above mentioned 3M polish? IMO using a different brand will not result in a noticeable difference. However, I do like to try different stuff just to compare.

 

brands such as presta, ultima, menzerna, meguairs, automagic, Optimum, etc are all other options for you. I too tend towards menzerna for my higher priced details as I believe it gives off a better shine. another good detail lineup is Hi-Temp. their extreme cut works quite well and sometimes only requires one clean up step to remove micromarring.

Also, you can wetsand the entire car with up to 12000 grit paper and only need to use a light polish to remove the haze...12000 grit is almost finer than a piece of paper its so smooth. but most people use up to 3000 or 4000 and then start the compounding and polishing process when repainting.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by powerflow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What exact brands are that much better in your opinion, than the above mentioned 3M polish? IMO using a different brand will not result in a noticeable difference. However, I do like to try different stuff just to compare.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Menzerna and Optimum and what I primarily use. some of the Meguiars stuff is good, like their #82 swirl free polish, its great for following up after compound, then agains o is the Optimum polish.

I really like Optimum Hyper Compound. Superior correction, unlimited work time, and you "could" get away with following it with just wax/sealant, but I always follow with optimum polish or megs swirl free polish.

I as well only use menzerna for the more expensive cars as its a relatively expensive brand.

 

Thanks. Have you guys used the 3M 82878 final finish, easy clean up polish BTW?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by powerflow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks. Have you guys used the 3M 82878 final finish, easy clean up polish BTW? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Ive only used their compounds. Found Optimum's compounds much easier to work with.

 

needless to say compounding with the 3m will not remove 1500 grit. picking up 2000 tom.

 

I finish hand sanding w/ 2000, follow w/ 3000 on a DA, 3M compound w/ 100% adjustable rotary, 3M polish w/ high rpm random orbit DA polisher. The end result is a bling bling finish. Usually a cut/buff on fresh paint. I also soak the sand paper before I use it to soften it up a little.

 

I used 1500 on mine, Then i used some 3M rubbing compound, then some nu-finish polish, then glaze. I've had nothing but great results with a foam pad.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by postman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">needless to say compounding with the 3m will not remove 1500 grit. picking up 2000 tom.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Than your doing it wrong. Bottom line

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sc4dr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Than your doing it wrong. Bottom line</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats what i was thinking

 

or you can just spray and not wet sand it! jkjk

 

^LoL ...that messed up...hehe.