I have a quick question about buffing and polishing paint. Wchich would be better for applying a buffing and polishing compound.

A single speed random orbit polisher such as this one,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/pr...romSearch=true

Or a variable speed polisher like this one
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=92623

Thanks

 

A variable speed is what you want. I try to avoid HF if I can but if you're only going to do a bit here and there, then theirs should suffice.

Slim

 

Great, thank you very much. I'm not planning on doing a bunch of cars with this I just want something to use to get the hang of using a rotary. Afterwards when I have some extra cash I'll probably go higher end.

What would everyone reccomend in terms of pads/products to use?

 

i use all 3m stuff at our shop, its not too expensive but works great. they have wool pads which i like for compounding because it seems to cut quicker, but they also have foam pads which is what i use for polishing. they are labeled what is for what. they also have 3000 grit sand paper you can use by hand or on a DA, stuff makes paint look like glass. use 1500 or 2000 then hit it with the 3000 then compound and polish and its show quality.

 

Wicked thank you for the advice. Exactly which 3M products should I use, and in which order? Sorry, I'm new to all this. Do you have any guides you can refer me to?

 

http://www.tcpglobal.com/3m/3m450.aspx

the perfect-it system is the way to go, it explains you the order. thats whats used at my shop

 

yeah, perfect it works.
depends on what your doing, but if wet sanding is needed start out at 1500 or 2000 depending(sometimes if its real bad 1000 is needed), obviously start out at the lowest number and work your way up. if you start at 1000 then go to 1500 then 2000. if you wanna do real nice you can get the 3000 too.
then compound with either a wool compounding pad or the light colored foam compounding pad, *be careful not to burn through the clear!*. use the compound untill the shine is back, then move to a dark colored polishing pad and some foam pad polishing glaze. use that till its the best you can get it. then what i do is get meguires #9 swirl mark remover and a damp rag and run over it with that so you don't leave any marks.
part numbers of what i use-
rubing compound- 3m 6060
polish- 3m 5996
swirl mark remover- meguires #9