TMaxxTim

I have a 1992 Black SC 300 and its showing its age in some parts obvioulsy. The guy before me parked it outside and he had a LOT of trees in his yard so there' s lot of sap spots that have eaten away at the paint and bird poop spots.

Tonight I took some 800 grit and 2000 grit sandpaper and sanded the parts down. 800 Grit to get down farther on the bad spots. Once this was done I used the 2000 grit to sand it down. I then took some rubbing compound and rubbed it down real well.

After that I used some Meguire's Scratch X and buffed it out, first with my 10" hand buffer, but I used my elbow grease after that with some microfiber towels and it worked a lot better.

Everything looks better than before, but of course in some spots I still see the sandpaper marks.
I have a 10,000rpm porter-like grinder, but I coulnd't find any cutting pads to buff with at home depot or Lowes, any idea where to find those? I think I could get a lot better finish if I had those.

Also, I've been sanding by hand, if I got a power sander and put the 2000 grit on it, do you think that would give me a much more even surface than what I have now, possibly getting it where I could polish it up better with a grinder that has a cutting pad on it?

Also, any suggestions on other chemicals to use, I'm using Turtle Wax Rubbing compound and the Meguire's Scratch X.

Thanks!

lkirchner

I would not go there with the 2000 on a power sander. You probably will cut through the color coat and go to the primer.

Guitarman

Ok, let's slow down here...If i'm an "expert" at anything, it's colorsanding, so hear me out on this as I've been doing it half my life...as well as painting cars...

Firstly, let me second lkirchner's thoughts and say ; NO POWER SANDING! Please! > That's just too dangerous unless you're experienced, and besides you would do it with the 3M dry disc system via a D/A sander . If you are inclined to repaint the car anyway, well, then sure, go ahead. But if you aren't tickled to spend $2000-$4000 on new paint, let's proceed more rationally here...

The 800 grit is the wrong choice, that's much too aggressive on car paint to remove these type of blemishes, especially for a beginner. When I colorsand I stick to 1500 to 2000 grit. You WILL remove waaaayy too much paint initially with 800, and then waaaayyy MORE when you try to exorcise the 800 grit scratches with the 2000. Sanding with 2000 will give you CONTROL over the situation. Sure, 800 cuts stuff FAST, but why the hurry? And why remove more paint than is necessary? It makes much more work afterward to clear the paint back up and you can cut right through to the primer if you aren't careful.

You didn't mention a sanding block, so I want to know what you used behind the paper? You need a good foam sanding block like one of these ;

http://www.axminster.co.uk/products%...cks-22291.html

They will help give even cutting which is imperative. Your local auto supply store has similar. You can't use your hand as a backer for wetsanding, as you'll get uneven imprints of your fingers if you stay in one spot too long, especially noticeable on black. Trust me on that.

here is a link to a colorsanding article I wrote for another website years ago, read it thoroughly as it gives specific details on how to wrap the paper, and what polishes and compounds work well;

http://www.fordvschevy.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46645


At this point, I'm concerned that you've removed too much paint with the 800 to attempt to go back and wetsand with 2000, in order to remove the 800 scratches. You may just have to live with them. You * could* try to briefly wetsand them again with 2000, but you have to understand something ;

Your paint is (when new) about 50 microns thick (2 MILS), and 50 microns is about the thickness of a baby's hair. Think of the width of a baby hair. Scared yet? You need to be. You don't get the chance to sand and sand until stuff disappears magically. You may get lucky, but your luck will run out when you sooner than later break through to primer. Let's not even mention UV inhibitors and cutting them away. I don't say any of this to sound like a "know -it -all" but rather to help people avoid very $$$ mistakes. It's not for the faint of heart or gut, or wallet.

The Turtle Wax tins of rubbing compound are...ehh..well...let me just say you can do better. Pick up some 3M liquid Rubbing Compound and 3M Machine Glaze and get a rotary buffer if you can, and a foam cutting pad & foam polishing pad to be used with each respectively. Those will get you back to GREAT paint clarity, This is just a case where, if the results matter to you, you have to bite the bullet and do it the correct way with professional tools and products, OR just have a pro do it for you.

Yes, it CAN be done by hand too, with those products, but it'll be a lot more work and time. I really hope this helps, it's not intended to berate anyone,( everyone's a novice at something right?) I just want to help you get where you need to be without costing you a trip to a body shop. Good luck!



P.S. That grinder would have to be a variable speed and should be limited to 1200-1500 RPM for this application, any higher and you're asking for trouble. If you can find a blended wool bonnet for it, you could try it with some LIQUID (the 3M) rubbing compound, the Turtle Wax paste R/C -will not - work properly, and burning the paint would be an issue with it.

The wool bonnet would induce some serious swirls, which would need to be finessed out with a polishing foam pad (wool won't work for finishing) and some finer polish such as the Machine Glaze, or Finesse-It II Finishing material (3M) or Menzerna intensive polish. You could then finish up by hand or orbital with Menzerna Final Polish or a dedicated swirl remover.

TMaxxTim

Wow! THANKS A TON! For the help. I'm going to go out and get the stuff now.

I have a 10" $20 Wal-Mart Rotary Buffer, it spins at 3200rpm's and has a motor of .75amps, is this what you're talking about? I'll pickup some other pads too. I was thinking of trying the smaller 6" buffer to see if that was easier to use since the large ons is somewhat hard.

Guitarman

Tim, an orbital isn't going to be able to cut or polish out fine scratches and dulling very well, in this scenario at least. You need a strict rotary buffer. If it's your only option, well, you can try it and see how you do, but make certain you use ONLY liquid compounds and polishes. No paste stuff.

If you can swing a cheap rotary buffer, WEN makes a decent one for occasional use, and it's about $50-$60. It would be much better than that angle grinder for this purpose. It's not going to be as smooth or heavy duty as a Makita or DeWalt or such, but it has vari-speed and a locking trigger, and holds up fine for weekend detailers. I had one years back as a back up to my Makita. I even found it at Auto-Zone.

Get a cutting pad or 2, a polishing pad, and a finishing pad. All foam if possible. Hope that helps.

GS300Rich

Guitarman where are you located at in FLA? Im located in sarasota. Do you paint cars for a living or on the side?

Guitarman

Rich, I'm just north of Daytona in Ormond Beach. I don't paint for a living, just a hobby/ necessity thing for myself. I *used* to do it for a few friends and my brothers when I was younger, but I only paint my own stuff now when needed. Don't have the time nor inclination to do it for others these days.

I have to respray my wife's Miata rear bumper this weekend, thanks to someone who took most of the paint off it in a parking lot last week.

If you're looking for someone to paint stuff over there, I know a couple people in the Sarasota area that may know a good painter or two. One guy had a custom ghost flame job done on his T-Bird Super Coupe. Cheers.

GS300Rich

yeah please let me know. I have been using this one shop for my durango and the GS and they have done all my custom work but this past time I took it to them because the car was broken into. They repainted the driver door and black part of the door by the window. Anyway they did a less than stellar job and after all the $ I have spent there they wont fix the issues that I have So I have to search for a new shop. Let me know who I can you can recommend and how good of a job they do.

TMaxxTim

I ended up taking microfiber towels and using that to polish everything. Sure looks good and glossy when done. Takes a helluva lot of energy to do it but its worth it in the end I think.

Guitarman

Rich, I'll get hold of my friend and let you know what I find out, I'll send you a PM when I do.

Tim, glad you got your shine back.