Color sand and Buffing Explained

[Matt K.]

I am going to explain the fundamentals behind show winning paint jobs.

Paint and body is half the battle but to really stand out from the crowd and make your new paint job shine and really show off that straight bodywork here is the process explained.

Most un-buffed paint jobs will have "Orange Peel" tiny ripples and bumps that affect the depth and overall shine of a paint job, i will show and explain how to get rid of it and get the paint smooth by sanding the paint down and using the buffer and various compounds to bring the shine back. Now while this is tedious work, it is all about patience, because there is nothing like a smooth, glassy paint job.

Okay, lets start with some of the tools you will need: From left to right:
Presta compound with black wool pad, Presta 1500 polish with blue pad, a bucket with some clean water in it and a touch of dish soap( the dish soap acts as a lubricant for the sandpaper), a couple of hand blocks one small flexible one for curves and small areas and a larger one for flat areas( note on blocks: make sure that the block face is flat and solid without any small holes because the holes will leave marks in the paint), Zymol polish, safety glasses, microfiber towels and a electric buffer( note on buffers: I use electric ones- preferably adjustable speed that do not run over 2500 rpm, now you can use air operated buffers its all a mater of preferance.

Okay seeing how this car is already assembled and we are using it for demo puposes only i will tape off some items that i do not want touched with the buffer pad, usually the buffing process is done prior to the car being reassembled.

Stay away from sharp edges, you will need to tape these areas off to protect them from the buffer pad as these areas will "burn easily" which means the pad will wear through the paint and ruin your hard work, so tape off problem areas like this.

Wash the area first with clean water to avoid trapping dirt in between the sandpaper and the paint and give it a good rinse.

Okay now we are going to talk sandpaper, if the paint has alot of peel or i am flatting out graphics i sometimes start with 600 or 800 wet or dry paper then work my way to the finer grits. If it has small peel i start with 1000 then 1500 and finish in 2500 grit wet or dry grits. Sometimes it takes some work but you will get the hang of it.

Start by soaking the sandpaper in the bucket of soapy water and then wrap the paper around the block and begin sanding keeping in mind that you do not want to sand what you dont want to buff. I started this process with a steady supply of the soapy water as i sanded to keep the particles flowing away. I sanded with 1000 until the area was smooth while looking for the peel as i was drying it off, then continued with 2500 until all the peel is removed( note if you are unsure to how much clear is on your car, it is always better to have a little peel than a burn through, so unless you did it yourself or had a repitable shop do it ............be wary.

Sometimes you will not use the block and use the sandpaper in your hand to get the really curved areas, also using your hand on the final sand of it will will take out some of the little lines that the block put in.

Now as you can see the area that was sanded is completely dull and flat, it is very smooth to the touch......rinse off the residue and dry before using the buffer.

Now it is time to use the buffer. Put on your safety glasses and set your buffer speed to around 1200-1500 rpm and attach your pad (the reason i use the Presta products is because they work great and their compounds and polishes are color coded to the pad..IE black pad black compound, plus they have a quick release feature for their pads which is awesome but 3M and other brands work well too.)

Place a small amount of compound onto the surface and spread around with the pad before pulling the trigger. Start buffer and work small areas at a time using a side to side motion or up and down never stay too long in one spot or you will risk burning the paint. Add compound as needed and buff out until the panel is shiney again, the real trick is to let the compound shine the paint back up before you polish that way you have "less die" back or dull areas.

If you get "build up" of compound or polish in the pad it can be removed by a pad cleaning "spur" or a clean flat-blade screwdriver, run the buffer away from you upside down and run the spur through the pad to remove the build up.

Time to polish, using the same speed, change to your polish pad and polish in the same aspect as the compound only this time you want to polish it till it looks like a mirror, you want to take the last remaining scratches out with the polish and acheive that show like shine, take your time, the polishing is the the step that finishes the the paint to its final luster.

Finally wash and rinse the panel, look for areas that you may have missed with the polish pad, re-do the areas that need attention and wash again, when you are satisfied with the results polish by hand using a quality polish....NOTE: try not to use wax on fresh paints, they need to cure 90 days plus before any wax is applied, wax will seal the paint and not let it breathe. I am using Zymol wax because this paint is several years old and Zymol is great , i use it on the chrome too. I put the wax on with a clean, soft, damp towel and wipe away with soft microfiber towels that do not scratch............and viola' you done.

I hope that i have given you some insight on the process and hope that it takes some of the mystery out of it...............it really can be a pain to do but the results are far worth the effort................good luck on your project.....................Matt K.
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*Take a look at some of my custom paint: http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n119/mrpaint_2006/ .( NOTE: these are some older jobs but still neat.)

[spook]

nicly done Matt
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Welcome to he darkside, its lower here.

[hethen57]

Matt K, you are right on. I was struggling with this issue last week, but your post came a few days late for my project. I'll just chime with a couple of additional items I learned (so others can learn from my rookie mistakes). My suggestions and tips are as follows:
1. Make sure you have a good thick coat of clear, i.e. 4-6 coats.
2. You'll get rid of alot of peel if you sand with 600 and reclear with 2-3 more coats. I had to do this becasue I didn't know how to use a buffer the first time and I burned through a couple of areas and caught an edge and screwed another thing up..don't stress, you can fix it and it won't even show with BC/CC, but learn from my mistakes and don't jump in with the DA sander mentality). Also, colorsanding scratches deeper than 2000 grit may be difficult for a beginner, so if you need to use 1000 on something, try to at least finish with 2000, or better yet just stick with 2000 if you can. 2 or 3 half sheets of each grit will do a bug.
3. Get good buffing pads, wool for rubbing compound and foam for machine glaze (Napa had decent ones for about 10 bucks each), the Harbor Freight pads suck and if they fly off or disintegrate while the thing is spinning, you will have your first repair to do...dooh!
4. Respect the buffer and what it can do! Delicate and under control, it can make your dull paint shiney. Harsh and sloppy and the thing will burn a hole in your paint or jump and screw something else up. Try to have the pads spinning off your edges so you are less likely to grab or burn through. You can do rounded edges with a gentle touch, too hard and it will burn through or grab your part if is is loose and throw it across the floor (did that on my rounded fiberglass nose piece.. dooh again, but no damage).
5. Take your time and concentrate..no distractions (when someone walks in and starts asking quesions...stop).
The experts on this site probably don't have to worry about alot of this stuff, but this is what got me through my first project and now I think it looks pretty darn good. I had to screw it up first to learn to "respect the buffer". Hope this helps.
-Mike
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69 Baja Bug
77 Bus

[crewlvw]

matt did you have a rubber R&H pad with the hole's in it or a soft pad 3m 5526? you paper looks kind of crumply or are you free handing it? just wondering. i like to use the 5526. the R&H ones with the holes suck. and the little bumps make grooves if you don't put it on the flat side.i use blue magic mag wheel cleaner to do my finsh hand jive with very soft dupont polising and detailing cloths. billy

[Matt K.]

[Tram]

I do things a little differently, but this process is spot- on for someone just starting out.
I would preface this with a warning to make sure there is enough paint on the car before you attempt any of this! Three thin coats won't cut it. You don't want to wear thru and have to start over. The other thing to be sure of is that you also flatten and wet sand your PRIMER dead flat with 600 and then 800 grit, especially if you use multiple coats of primer or a hi- build sandable primer under your paint. If you use multiple coats of primer, wet sand between each coat. If your PRIMER has orange peel, the chances are very good that you'll have primer "bubbles" show up in your top coat as you wet sand it flat.
So again, a good job all comes down to prep. If your primer is flat with no orange peel or other defects, you can easily sand out orange peel and even rather ghastly runs in your topcoats with Matt's method, but again, you need lots of coats of paint! I prefer ten, but then I'm a maniac. But, why not? This much paint assures you that you can sand out any defects without going to primer. Plus, if your paint gets dull in 30 years, you have plenty there to buff!
Finally, an old trick to use if your paint looks really orange peely and you want to cut your coloursanding time significantly, you can do what we call a "melt in" coat, which is about 75% reducer to 25% paint. You'll be amazed at what this does for your unwanted "texture". You can do it twice if necessary, just allow the appropriate flash time between applications for your particular paint or you'll be very upset.
Last, make sure the paint is TOTALLY CURED before using Matt's process.
I know that it's easy to get impatient during the process, but keep this in mind:
When it comes to body/ paint, the more you rush, the more you'll despise the end result.

Glad to see this important issue addressed! STAMP OUT ORANGE PEEL!
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[Major Woody]

Great thread, thanks guys!

[dog_jr911]

does the same apply for single stage paints?
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[Matt K.]

[stabincabin08]

tram. u said that u should wait for the paint to cure....how long after ur done painting it does it take to cure?

also i know that its alot better to pain your ride inside a paintbooth do to dust particles and such getting in ur paint...does this aply to the whole buffing and polishing step too?

thanks, the bewildered guy.

[Matt K.]

[PaintingWithPressure]

YOU SHOULD WAIT 90 DAYS BEFORE THE PAINT IS CURED !!!!!!! Also donot use wax on a freshly painted car , make sure the paint is 90 days old before putting wax on !!!! You can wet sand a new fresh paint job after the 12 hour period , after clear coating, but do NOT use a wax , use rubbing compound and then a glaze, then a polish if perfred , then wait the whole 90 day period before waxing and/or washing !!!!!!!

Also depending on what kind of finish you want , if you want a pure show room finish, lay down 2 -3 extra coats of clear , then start with 800 grit DRY sanding with an orbital sander, then move to 1000 < by hand not with orbital> then , 1500 < by hand> , you can end @ 2000 grit < by hand>, no need to go further than that !!!! All rubbing copounds and glazes will cover 1500 grit scratches ! Then use a rubbing compund , then a glaze , then a polish ! NO WAX !!!!!! UNTIL THE 90 DAY PERIOD IS OVER.

[Matt K.]

[Tram]

[Aiko]

I'm curious if there are any concerns on color sanding/buffing paint that has been on and well cared for approx 4 years? It is single stage paint with no clear coat. Thanks !!

[Matt K.]

[splitsville1951]

First off "THANKS YOU" for posting this information! Invaluable!!

Now to my "newbie" observation and then to a couple questions. I started using 1000 to start the process but ran into some tougher areas and per your instructions used 600. The process using 600 seemed to really cut down on the labor. My question is why not start at 600 on everything working up to 1000, 1500, 2000, etc? Also, do the grades going up smooth out more or simply remove scratches from the pervious grade of sand paper?

Thanks again.

[Matt K.]

[Aiko]

[Vintage Split]

Should I be taking out the orange peel with 800 (or 1000) and then taking out those scratches with the finer grit? Or am I taking out peel as I work my way up? For example, knock somewhat flat with 800 (still orange peel), knock a little flatter with 1000 (still orange peel), knock a little flatter with 1500 so on and etc.

Also, certain spots I am able to flat (i.e a flat panel) better than others (i.e. near the belt line). Should I be flattening these with my fingers or work the block in a different direction - side to side, circular??

Thanks.
Mike