My wife just got me a 1000-3000rpm sander/buffer for my b-day (she's an awesome mod-friendly wife ).

It's NOT a Random Orbital. Is that an issue?

I have some swirled/slightly scratched paint on my '01 that really needs work, and I wanted to polish it out with this.

Will this work OK? ...or should I look for a random orbital instead? After polishing it out, what would you suggest to get back that nice glassy look?



I did some searches, but really couldn't find an answer to this question. My paint color is silver, so it does hide some things pretty well. ANY tips, ideas would be helpful!

Thanks in advance!!

 

best to do by hand.... you will only make matters worse for yourself. remember that orbital anything or swirling will destroy paint. it is all about up and down strokes on the sides, and front to back on the top surfaces.

 

Orbital buffers are best for Waxing.
What you have is good for polishing.

Orbitals are great for waxing becasue they are almost fool proof, less likely to burn your paint from excessive heat.

A true professional will use a single action buffer/polisher.

 

So, for what I want to do to fix my paint, this would be OK? I really want to polish out the fine scratches, swirls, and defects. I'm not looking to remove the orange peel (wet sanding??), just get the finish flat and smooth, ready for ??? after polishing?



What's a good polish thats forgiving, to use with an orbital? Any recommendations on pads?


...you guys rock

 

Swirls, scratches and orbital things.

Kind of a scary topic , I have seen a dealer detail a customers vehicle with a hand orbital buffer and presto, A big paint burn.

Try seeking a professionals training on running it, like maybe stop at a detail shop and get shown by a pro. Heck, the last thing I would want to see is a post saying you burned the paint off.

Good luck on your endevor . Be careful

 

I'll practice on my wife's car first ;-)

Actually, I plan on doing practice runs - just need to find someone with a chitty paint job that wants some work done.

 

I learned a chitload from these sites RobG suggested in a previous post.
There is a ton of knowledge here to learn from.

http://autogeek.net/pinsouvkit.html
http://properautocare.com

 

LMAO,

Try buffing the household appliances . And let your wife find the swirls.

 

You got a riding lawnmower or have a neighbor that does?
That's what I used.

 

Thats all i have used for years. Im no professional but have done detailing for a few years. The high speed buffers can actualy do more harm if you dont know what your doing. It can leave more swirls, etc.

 

this site has a lot of good info:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/

a good suggestion is to get a hood or trunk lid from a salvage yard and prctice on that. if you burn it, no big deal, and you know what not to do then. work n your technique on that then move on to your L. or maybe do your wife's car first just in case

 

http://www.coastaltool.com/cgi-bin/S...htm?E+coastest

http://www.properautocare.com/porcabuldetm.html

 

A waffle faced foam pad is safer to use and less abraisive than a wool bonnet. Don't expect buffing to level your paint and remove orange peel to any noticeable degree. It polishes the highes and lows equally. The only way to level paint is to block sand it with the micro sanding papers. Stay away from sharp edges and corners as this is where you are most likely to remove paint. If you have to go over an edge run the buffer so the leading edge of the pad is going past and dropping off the edge, not approaching the edge. I usually mask off the edges with high quality body shop masking tape but you have to be careful removing it, always pulling back on itself and never straight up. Even so there is a possibility of peeling some paint off the edge that wasn't well adhered. Use the least aggresive polish compound that will clean up the paint to your satisfaction.

 

Hey Dan (SVTARKANSAS)

I just now noticed your list of beast
is all I have to say,
SMOOOOOOOOOKING

 

The best piece of equipment "the do it yourself detailer" can get is a Porter Cable Random Orbital buffer (model number 7336 or 7224). It can be had for around $150.00 including the necessary accessories (buffing pads, velcro backing pad etc). It is virtually fool proof and very unlikely to cause any damage to paint and very user friendly. For polish, I recommend Meguiars DACP as it is readily available and works excellent. There are others that will provide equal results though. Somebody else already mentioned the Autopia website, as that place is awesome to find out information on products to use to detail your truck. Do plenty of searches and pay particular attention to posts by Scottwax, as he is about as good a detailer you will find. Caution, it becomes as addicting as the mod bug.