Wet sand and buff

[Chuck Fryer]

What are your favorite products for this.

I have just painted my car using PPG DCC Concept single stage paint. Started with 1000 grit paper, then 1500 , and finally 2000 grit. What are your products of choice for compound and polish?I have done part of the car with presta ultra lite compound and it is coming out good, but if there are better ones I am all for it. Any tips and inside trade secrets welcome, this is my first sand and buff.

[danny gabbard]

Have you every used the sponge pads that 3M makes, they work great,and almost fool proof. I like useing a electric buffer on all centers of all the panels and a air buffer for all the edges, for better control. By the way your came out nice

[Brandon Sinclair]

Hey Chuck,

Depends if you are looking for the older diminishing abrasive products or newer products that do not break down.

If you are looking for the diminishing abrasive products then Menzerna is hard to beat.  You can check out their whole like at autogeek.net or properautocare.com

If you are looking at the newer line then Meguiars 105 and 205 are the way to go.  There is a learning curve with these but they work great.  I have seen and done jobs that are sanded and you can use these products and cut your detail time in 1/2.  You can even eliminate using a rotary at all with certain techniques.  You can get smaller sizes or these products from autodetailingsolutions.com 

If you want to get more info I suggest going to autopia.org and meguiarsonline.com and checking out some detailing threads.

Depending on what you already have in your arsenal and what types of machines you are planning to use for the detailing I would definatly try the Meguiars 105 and then maybe the 205 and if you want some extra crystal clear finish then I would finish up with a Menzerna final polish or 3M Ultrafina on a finish pad.  Should leave the finish crystal clear with no swirls or holograms.

Looking forward to seeing the final phots!

[Casey]

Hey Chuck, good luck on the paint work. You definitely want to put a 50/50 mix of alcohol and water in a squirt bottle and spray the panels and wipe ALL traces of compound off. Do this after each stage (compounding and swirl removing) the fillers and oils in these products can really fake you out. That’s why when you bust your butt one day, let a day or two pass and look at the panels again and it looks like scratches and swirls re-appeared or looks hazy and foggy.
The alcohol and water mix will remove all of the compound completely and give you the reality check you need to completely buff it out. Also, after the wipe use a good Halogen light and look close at the panel and move it back and forth. You will see all the buffing you still need to do. Do spend more time with the compounds to get all sand scratches out first. Don’t think the lighter compounds will "finish it off". They will return to haunt you later. Best of luck and hope this helps you. Behind every painter.......is a better buffer!

[Chuck Fryer]

Thanks for the tips! I had never heard of the 50/50 spray trick. I will go out and see what I can find at the paint supply store and let you know how it goes.

[danny gabbard]

Good idea casey

[2manytoys]

I like the 50/50 idea,..it's not,.. 12oz of Beer (in me) and 12oz of water (on the car) is it?

[Casey]

If you don't have the beer to mix with, "wax and grease remover" or any of your "pre wipes before tacking" will work too. No need to mix those. Later.

[Chuck Fryer]

OK, I have it buffed, for the most part at least. I used the above mentioned presta compound and a wool wheel. Followed that up with some wizard shinemaster. I know Matt, 3m, use the 3m. I lust could not find what you recommended, and the guy at the paint store suggested the wizard stuff. I sure put a shine to the paint! There is a spot here or there that I need to hit with some sand paper and take out a little orange peel, but that can be done when the car is together. Thanks for the pointers. The 50/50 spray did help.

[Matt H]

I dont know any Chuck Fryer

[jhicken]

I know I'm chiming in a bit late, but I'm another big fan of Menzerna Products. I use a Flex Orbital Buffer and their stuff works great. Check out  http://www.detailedimage.com/. They are a great resource for all your finishing needs.

-jeffrey