I havent touched my new paint yet, Have a small ammount of orange peel. I think tonight after work I'll start cleaning it up. Anyone use Zymol waxes before? I hear good things and want to use that stuff, was just going to 2000 grit wet sand real light, wax by hand then buff, not sure what kind of pads to use, lint free wool pads or cloth, etc? Never waxed a car before. Dont mind the hard work doing it by hand, I need to spend quality time with her anyways ;) Thanks guys...

" New Paint " How New ?

For Color Sanding... the 2000 is Ok 1500/2000 but you want to use a system to buff it out..
3-M makes a few good one's.. Maquires (SP)also has ...
If it's a New paint job.. No wax for at least 3 month.. it seals the thiners and it can not dry..

Your in for a lot of work if you plan on rubbing it out by hand. Do a search here on colorsanding and buffing and I'm sure you'll find the info you need. Better yet, ask someone to show you the process on one panel before attempting this yourself. It is very easy to cut through the clear or burn the paint with the buffer. Be careful!

Ohhhh jeeze. I may have already made an error here. I did the driver side fender I got all the orange peel off, made it really smooth, but once it dried it is really foggy looking, REALLY foggy, but smooth. I waxed it twice and used a buffing pad, the kind that hook into a drill, 5" still looks like ass, Im thinking I messed up, unless someone tells me differently I may have to re-shoot a clear on this fender? :eek: :eek:

How new you asked, about 3 months. There is supposed to be 3 coats of clear on here. I used 1500 grit, lots of water, soapy water. Went very slow.

It will be dull when you sand it. You will not be able to buff it by hand to bring up the shine. You have to use a cutting compound then a polish compound then a swirl remover to get a mirror finish. I would suggest you STOP and let someone do it that is familiar with this buffing process. I don't know what kind of paint job you received but if you continue you will most likely ruin it. You need a real buffer not a drill buffer. It needs to be done at low speeds or it will haze out from getting to hot. If you fill the need to do part of it do the wet sanding and let an experienced person do the rest. I hate to see you ruin a good paint job and through your money away. Just my .02 Best of luck

You're probably right. I'll ask around, Im sure I could do a pretty good job I just don't have a real buffer, which I will buy or borrow before I go any further. Well it feels nice, I didnt go to far, no more orange peal on the test fender. Well ive got the wax, I know Id probably need a swirl remover, so this cutting compound im not sure on....

YOu need to get a real polisher, not one of those 10inch orbital polishers. Those won't give you the cut you need to polish out the paint. Sounds like you did the sanding already. Waxing isn't the next step. If you go to a good paint store they can sell you a system of polishing compounds to polish the paint. Starts with a gritier compound followed by a finer one. Usually appplied with a foam pad or wool pad. Keep the polisher moving or you will burn through the paint for sure, ESPECIALLY on edges and body lines. It can be done by a beginner, but it would be best to read some more and go slowly. The nice thing is that since you painted it, you can also fix it if you screw up. Read alot and take your time and you should be oK. Autobodystore.com has a good message board.

YOu need to get a real polisher, not one of those 10inch orbital polishers. Those won't give you the cut you need to polish out the paint. Sounds like you did the sanding already. Waxing isn't the next step. If you go to a good paint store they can sell you a system of polishing compounds to polish the paint. Starts with a gritier compound followed by a finer one. Usually appplied with a foam pad or wool pad. Keep the polisher moving or you will burn through the paint for sure, ESPECIALLY on edges and body lines. It can be done by a beginner, but it would be best to read some more and go slowly. The nice thing is that since you painted it, you can also fix it if you screw up. Read alot and take your time and you should be oK. Autobodystore.com has a good message board.

You can find fairly inexpensive single action two speed (use on low) sander/polishers at some hardware stores. Ones with at least a 7" pad. You need a wool pad and a foam pad for it. The kind the center bolt go through, not the kind that tie on with a drawstring. I hope you didn't sand enough to get color on the sandpaper. If so, you went through the clear and messed it up. Will have to be re-cleared. Only sand just enough to get a consistent foggy surface, no further. Stop and dry the spot with a towel often to check. Wipe off all the residue and buff with 3M Microfinishing Compound on the wool pad. Clean the pad in water after using or it will scratch. That will get some shine back. Then buff with 3M Finesse It II or III on the foam pad. That will bring the glossy shine back. Clean that pad in water too. Stay off of edges, trim, and glass at all costs. Move the buffer somewhat slow but keep it moving. Check results often. Follow with hand polish like Meguiars and if the paint is over 2 months old you can wax. Worked for me.

Go to 3M dot com or whatever, and look at the "Micro Finishing" products. There are several different Rubbing coumpounds, as well as machine glazes. If there's a good body shop supply store in your area, ask their advice.
If the paint is already 3 mo. old, it's going to be a little tougher to buff.
I would start with the Micro finishing coumpound with a wool bonnet. The Coumpound combined with the wool pad, will restore the shine, but it will leave swirl marks. You might want to follow up with a foam pad, and the same coumpound to reduce the swirl marks. Follow that with the machine glaze with a Black Foam pad. (Do NOT use the same pad you used for the coumpound)This will eliminate 95% of the swirl marks. Last step is hand glaze to eliminate those last little swirl marks.
You absolutely have to have a GOOD Variable speed buffer. My Black and Decker buffer has variable speed, (you can set the maximum speed between 1500, and 3000 rpm) as well as a variable trigger.
It was about $300 8 yrs ago.
Dewalt makes the exact same machine, except it's yellow, for around $150-175.
Set the speed to the minimum 1500 rpm, and throttle the trigger when near corners, edges, body lines, windshield wipers, etc.
If you know anyone that has some previous experience to get you started that would be a very good idea, otherwise, just go slow, and WATCH what you are doing.

Thanks guys, tons of detail. You answered all my questions! So far... I will shill out and buy all the right stuff this week, I didnt burn through the clear or anything, it looks good for the next step. I'll buy all the goods and do it slowly this week and weekend, I will post pictures too graemlins/beers.gif

Im looking through products we carry here at my work, I was thinking about getting this No.7 Brand, heavy duty rubbing compound to use next w/ a wool pad on a real buffer, Ive already 1500 wetsand, looks pretty alright so far.

I dont think we have any 3M Finesse II or III in stock, any other good alternatives for the next process? smile.gif

Meguiars Meguairs Meguairs, throw that 3M in the trash.
Diamond cut 2.0 followed by dual action cleaner, then finally speed glaze or number 7 glaze.

A wool pad for a beginner is very risky, but since your paint is 3 months old its a kinda must.
Once done with the diamond cut use dual action cleaner on a BLACK FOAM PAD.

All of the above is good advice. I like the Makita variable speed buffer. One other thing you can do is use masking tape on edges over door and hood seams until you get use to the buffer. Do one step at a time to the whole car because you should wash it between steps. You do not want to get compound on a panel that you just glazed. You do not want to cross contaminate your pads. Best of luck.

Originally posted by sevt_chevelle:
Meguiars Meguairs Meguairs, throw that 3M in the trash.
Diamond cut 2.0 followed by dual action cleaner, then finally speed glaze or number 7 glaze.
Mequiars huh??
I'll have to give that a shot on the next one.
Hell, I havn't buffed anything since my Nova....like 3 yrs ago! graemlins/beers.gif

Do your final sanding with 3000 grit paper and you won't have to use the aggressive compounds or wool pad.

3M makes the best compound IMO, This is the stuff I like to use- ]http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/auto_marine_aero/automotive_aftermarket/node_GS4NZKC9DWgs/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSLPLPKL4Xge/bgel_FT6DLVF76Zbl/gvel_GSRKGRPJV4gl/theme_u s _aad_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html] (

I've tried the perfect-it 3 and don't care for the way it cuts.

Then you follow with a complete wash and polish with this- ]http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/auto_marine_aero/automotive_aftermarket/node_RPGX1V3LJ5gs/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSLPLPKL4Xge/bgel_J4WX4JLXZ9bl/gvel_GS8V45YN4Pgl/theme_u s _aad_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html] ( [url="http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/auto_marine_aero/automotive_aftermarket/node_RPGX1V3LJ5gs/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSLPLPKL4Xge/bgel_J4WX4JLXZ9bl/gvel_GS8V45YN4Pgl/theme_us_aad_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html")

The Perfect-it 3 machine glaze is not really a glaze at all but is a polish that will remove the slightest imperfections from the surface leaving it glass smooth and swirl free. Most glazes merely hide the imperfections with a coating that later washes off and the imperfections become visable.

Just my opinions here, I've tried the Meguire's compounds awhile back and wasn't impressed, they didn't cut as fast as the 3M products and sure had a nasty residue. Bob

It always seemed like foam was more harsh than a wool pad. I guess this isnt true? Maybe it just cuts through differently. Wow, lots of great tips here tongue.gif I already picked up some Number7 Heavy compound plan on using that w/wool. How about TR3 Resin Glaze followed by Meguires color x polish w/foam followed by a wax. How does that sound? So many products to choose from.

Bob, that 3M 3000 grit paper is sweet!!
Anytime I buffed I used it, it really does speed things up. Plus for your ultra hard to buff clears like PPG's DC3000 final sanding with 3000 makes the difference between buffing it out and reshooting clear and trying it again.

The Perfect-it 3 machine glaze is not really a glaze at all but is a polish that will remove the slightest imperfections from the surface leaving it glass smooth and swirl free. Most glazes merely hide the imperfections with a coating that later washes off and the imperfections become visable.
Just my opinion but I think that all the 3M products contain a filler that just covers the scratch instead of removing it. 3M looks good goinh out the door, looks like crap a month later.