Buffing?

As some of you may have seen i just got my Duster painted and now i want to buff out some of the imperfections.
I could use some tips and suggestions about buffing because i have never done it before!
I was told to use 2000 grit paper or finer,is there any special sanding techniques i need to follow?

Any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated!

EvilScamp said:

As some of you may have seen i just got my Duster painted and now i want to buff out some of the imperfections.
I could use some tips and suggestions about buffing because i have never done it before!
I was told to use 2000 grit paper or finer,is there any special sanding techniques i need to follow?

Any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated!

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Base/Clear??? How many coats of clear? VERY CAREFULLY/WET

Also, read this, very informative.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2182233_wet-sand-paint-car.html

like skybolt said before we can really give you any info. does it have any clear on it? How many coats were laid?

Depending on how much you want to cut will determin the paper corseness. I start with 1500 and finish with 3000 if needed. Add a little dish soap to the water in a 5 gallon bucket. Soak some 1500 wet dry paper for about 30 min., this make the paper easier to work with. Get your self a rubber sanding block and start with some small areas untill you get the hang of it. It's not a bad idea to tape off the edges with some 3/8 masking tape so you dont burn through.
Is this the metallic green one Evil?

As stated above, this depends on if its clear coated.

I don't remember if I saw your car, if it's base/clear you're good to go as long as you have enough coats of clear, at least 3. If it's single stage it has to be non-metallic to sand.

Depends on how much orange peel you have, 2000 is very fine. I start with 1500 or even 1000 if there's a lot. You work through them, 1000, 1500, 2000 and finer if you want. You need a good buffing system as well, I use Norton Liquid Ice which is a single compound system.

You have to be very careful, especially if you've never done it, tape your edges and hard lines or you'll sand or buff through in a heartbeat.

Guess i should have given more info.! Yes it is base/clear with 3 good coats of clear on it not much orange peel but i did mange do get some dirt specks in it!
Probably won't take much to clean it up just not sure how exactly to do it without screwing it up!

homecloned said:

Depending on how much you want to cut will determin the paper corseness. I start with 1500 and finish with 3000 if needed. Add a little dish soap to the water in a 5 gallon bucket. Soak some 1500 wet dry paper for about 30 min., this make the paper easier to work with. Get your self a rubber sanding block and start with some small areas untill you get the hang of it. It's not a bad idea to tape off the edges with some 3/8 masking tape so you dont burn through.
Is this the metallic green one Evil?

As stated above, this depends on if its clear coated.

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Yep it's the green one.

If i tape the edges off what do i do after i'm finished buffing everything else?

use a sanding block,i use paint mixing sticks cut to about 5 inches long,the width of half a sheet of sand paper.Fold the sand paper around the paint stick/free$$$ block,that you have eye balled to be sure is flat and straight,and with plenty of water,go to sanding .I would recommend for beginners,1200 grit 3m wet/dry,followed by 2000 3m wet/dry.Ive been doing this for over 20 years,so i start with 800 grit,followed by 1500,then 2000 or 2500.Any ways,i sand front to back in a 45 degree angle,then reverse the angle(to make kind of an x with the scratches)and go from rear to front.I personally sand one panel at a time,all the way,and then buff.Paint starts to repair it self kind of,because the solvents in the paint evaporate.If you sand the whole car before you start buffing,were you start at might buff easy,but by the time you go for a while,you will find the paint seems to get harder to get the same grit scratches out as it did a while ago.Im sure there are other "pros" that will say different,but ive done 99% show cars in my 20 plus years of work,i know what im talking about.Oh yea,once you have sanded one panel,dry it off and you will see all the imperfections like crazy.That paint that you think isnt very textured will surprise you once you hit it with sand paper and the sanding block.Dont use the sandpaper without the block,or youll hace funny looking finger marks in the paint.

posting for future reference

ive ben doing deta fore 2 years and 1 year of this has ben nothing but nibing and buffing and i ues 1500 - 2000 grit and ues 3m buffing compound its a 3 part compound and it has a course compound u ues first called (2) like to get the 1500 grit scratches out or acid rain ect then there is a mid compound called (9) it gets out what the 2 left behind and brings the shine back to the paint and fore cars that are dark thers a 3000 compound that makes it somth as glass and after wax it is an awsom finsh

EvilScamp said:

Yep it's the green one.

If i tape the edges off what do i do after i'm finished buffing everything else?

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After you have done the majority of sanding and buffing, you can just take the tape off and use some light compound by hand to flow the edges together. The part's with tape might not need anything, you will be able to tell when you start using the compound. If it is noticable just hit it buy hand lightly with some finer compound.

I did notice some slight orange peel in one of you pics. Dont get me wrong. It looks great, you have spent alot of time to this point. I would spend just a little more and get it to really pop. Also if you are going to put stripes down the side it will look alot better the smoother it is.
I know it seem's like a shame to cut nice shiny paint but when you are finished you will deffinitally notice a differance. Doing small areas might be more noticable(and not in a good way) when finished on a new paint job.
When my paint buddy does small repair work he paints an area 12-24" and wet sand's and buffs to flow everything together.
Again I am not being critical at all, you have done an outstanding job so far. I just know how much better it look's and feel's when complete.
Keep up the great work.


Here is one of my scoops wet sanded with 1500 and hand compounded. No wax yet. I thought it looked great but had some small dirt specs and very minor orange peel. I couldn't really see it by eye. Well I tried to just do the small dirt spec and it was noticable, so I did the whole thing. WOW

Painted the scoops on the Swinger Rustoleum satin black

I know this is a few month old but I use a D/A set up at work. We start 1500 D/A paper dry, You use a special foam backing pad on the D/A which keep you from cutting through the clear.

I then switch to 300 grit D/A paper wet. I use a water bottle and spray a 2ft section down, D/A it till the water id dried up then move to the next spot.

Then its buffed out in 3 stages with Malco brand compounds and Glaze. 1st True Grit with a yellow wool pad, Then Buff lite with a Blue foam and finish with Plum Crazy Glaze on a white foam pad.

The D/A is Much faster but its not going to be dead flat. I did both my Dart and 340Swings car this way.

A paint job is not complete until it has been wet sanded and buffed. 2000 wet with a block lots and lots of water. If you come across dirt sand slow as not to rub dirt in and make deep scratches , rinse alot. stay away from edges and body lines very easy to sand through here. When you buff keep rpm low 1500 -1800 rpm and keep buffer moving at all times so you don't burn the paint. Small areas . practice makes perfect, hard work but finished job is the KATS *** good luck