Paint finishing/detailing, I don't know what I'm doing.
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 10:10 am
I'm just looking for suggestions and warnings from the pros. I'll try to explain what I'm trying to accomplish, and if I am doing something wrong, hopefully someone will stop me.
A while back I bought a cheap orbital buffer and some bonnets from Harbor Freight, with the intention of buffing out the scratches on my car from a fender bender. (my drunk neighbor ran a stop sign and t-boned me 200ft from my house ) Well I never got to it. However, I do have a full set of nice condition body panels for my project bike and I would like to smooth out and brighten the finish rather than strip and repaint. Now I have to learn what to do and what not to do.
I started by cruising Youtube for instructional videos, and that gave me some basics but really didn't give me enough detail for my exact situation. So I decided to pull out the buffer and start with some practice pieces. I picked up a bottle of compound and started with one of my backup panels from a parts bike that a PO sprayed black. The compound I chose says it cuts like a traditional compound, but shines like a polish. I expect that claim just means that the abrasive will break down quickly. Should be good for my needs, and bonus, it's one step!
I tried rubbing by hand first, and got nowhere. Then I tried the buffer with a terry bonnet. I applied some compound to the bonnet, smeared it on the left side of the panel, and ran the buffer for a minute or so. I'll be hornswaggled if it didn't shine up that Krylon! not perfect, but a good indication that I'm doing something right.
Next, I figured I ought to try it out on the car because there's a bunch of scrapes on it. And besides, that's the reason I got the buffer in the first place! Same procedure, and it seems to have worked there too. It's nearly impossible to photograph shiny things well, especially with a phone camera, but the scrape is just below the crease in these pics (behind the left rear wheel) So far, so good! When I was walking back to into the garage, I decided to try buffing the headlight lenses just for kicks. I had tried one of those polishing kits on them about a year ago, and it lasted a whole 3 months and turned cloudy again. Amazingly, (or maybe not, I'm new at this) they came clear with just a little buffing: continued...
A while back I bought a cheap orbital buffer and some bonnets from Harbor Freight, with the intention of buffing out the scratches on my car from a fender bender. (my drunk neighbor ran a stop sign and t-boned me 200ft from my house ) Well I never got to it. However, I do have a full set of nice condition body panels for my project bike and I would like to smooth out and brighten the finish rather than strip and repaint. Now I have to learn what to do and what not to do.
I started by cruising Youtube for instructional videos, and that gave me some basics but really didn't give me enough detail for my exact situation. So I decided to pull out the buffer and start with some practice pieces. I picked up a bottle of compound and started with one of my backup panels from a parts bike that a PO sprayed black. The compound I chose says it cuts like a traditional compound, but shines like a polish. I expect that claim just means that the abrasive will break down quickly. Should be good for my needs, and bonus, it's one step!
I tried rubbing by hand first, and got nowhere. Then I tried the buffer with a terry bonnet. I applied some compound to the bonnet, smeared it on the left side of the panel, and ran the buffer for a minute or so. I'll be hornswaggled if it didn't shine up that Krylon! not perfect, but a good indication that I'm doing something right.
Next, I figured I ought to try it out on the car because there's a bunch of scrapes on it. And besides, that's the reason I got the buffer in the first place! Same procedure, and it seems to have worked there too. It's nearly impossible to photograph shiny things well, especially with a phone camera, but the scrape is just below the crease in these pics (behind the left rear wheel) So far, so good! When I was walking back to into the garage, I decided to try buffing the headlight lenses just for kicks. I had tried one of those polishing kits on them about a year ago, and it lasted a whole 3 months and turned cloudy again. Amazingly, (or maybe not, I'm new at this) they came clear with just a little buffing: continued...