little help on steps..

[ackkkkmanp]

First off, Hello everyone!

ive been poking around and have a few questions that I just cant seem to get organized or ive read conflicting answers too. Some of this might be so simple as to not having needed an explanation, which is why I might be confused lol

Im painting a datsun z car with new Omni urethane...BMW blue mist metallic covering a uniform primer.
ive put 3 coats of blue down with 2 coats of clear with 12-15 min between coats.
I painted the inspection lids, cowl and just did the hood. waited until the next day to colorsand.
Ive read bits and pieces about color sanding the clear and what I was doing was using 1500 then 2000 wet/dry and then using a cutting creme with a wool pad on my buffer. I can get the material down to nice smooth look but its very cloudy looking. Im assuming that after I wait 30 days to wax it I can get some of that out with swirl remover and waxing.

Question: is this the correct steps and in the correct order?
ive been reading about something called 3000 trizact and now realize sanding urethane by hand is way more difficult than enamel was so are u using the cutting compounds first then switching to hand??? that seems backwards to me. :confused:

Any points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. I realize this has probably been covered but I cant find the answer in one thread. It seems to be an answer to a single step instead of all the steps covered. Thanks in advance and GREAT FORUM. Wish I had found this about a year ago.

[motomann883]

After your 2000 cut you need to go with a good compound I use 3m with a wool pad, the paint should have a fairly good shine then use a good swirl mark remover with a black rounded edge pad. check out the store link at the top of the page you find all you need

[Len]

First off, Hello everyone!

ive been poking around and have a few questions that I just cant seem to get organized or ive read conflicting answers too. Some of this might be so simple as to not having needed an explanation, which is why I might be confused lol

Im painting a datsun z car with new Omni urethane...BMW blue mist metallic covering a uniform primer.
ive put 3 coats of blue down with 2 coats of clear with 12-15 min between coats.
I painted the inspection lids, cowl and just did the hood. waited until the next day to colorsand.
Ive read bits and pieces about color sanding the clear and what I was doing was using 1500 then 2000 wet/dry and then using a cutting creme with a wool pad on my buffer. I can get the material down to nice smooth look but its very cloudy looking. Im assuming that after I wait 30 days to wax it I can get some of that out with swirl remover and waxing.

Question: is this the correct steps and in the correct order?
ive been reading about something called 3000 trizact and now realize sanding urethane by hand is way more difficult than enamel was so are u using the cutting compounds first then switching to hand??? that seems backwards to me. :confused:

Any points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. I realize this has probably been covered but I cant find the answer in one thread. It seems to be an answer to a single step instead of all the steps covered. Thanks in advance and GREAT FORUM. Wish I had found this about a year ago.

The problem is probably not the compound it's the paint, it's still a little soft. Wait about a week or more then polish it again and it should give you a much deeper gloss. You're doing good so far, in fact, we cut and buff about 24 hours after painting because it's easier then we buff again after about a week in order to get that hard shine. :cool:

[ackkkkmanp]

The problem is probably not the compound it's the paint, it's still a little soft. Wait about a week or more then polish it again and it should give you a much deeper gloss. You're doing good so far, in fact, we cut and buff about 24 hours after painting because it's easier then we buff again after about a week in order to get that hard shine. :cool:

A week?? i was under the impression that you need to do this within 24 hours then leave it alone for about 30 days then do the swirl remover and a good 3 step waxing? i thought waiting more then 24 hours would cause issues with the paint and clear bonding properly by heat generated by the buffing..
the very simplistic instructions i recieved withe the clear mentioned something to that effect.
If not why wait the week?? is the clear fully activated now and can be polished with the creme better with less chance of burn through??

once again thnx for the replies

[another2centsworth]

My label says 16 hrs to buff and within 72 hrs.....after that it gets tough.
I used to wetsand with 1500 then 2000.
Now I use 1500 with a 3/16 palm sander then 3000trizac. Using water for trizac.
Each grit I use separate interface pads because the 1500 is dry and I don't want to get it wet mixing with the trizac.

Back to your procedure...
Then compound as you said with Perfect-it II Compound.
Then polish with w/ 3-M perfect-it II Polish and a black pad as mentioned by motomann earlier.
Might want to compound with a yellow pad as the wool pad slings lint all over the shop.

Maybe after all of that I apply 3-M Hand Glaze.

I always try to do all of my cut and buff with in a day or two....
I waited on the top of a Honda too long and it was major hard buffing out. Took me once to learn that.

[ackkkkmanp]

My label says 16 hrs to buff and within 72 hrs.....after that it gets tough.
I used to wetsand with 1500 then 2000.
Now I use 1500 with a 3/16 palm sander then 3000trizac. Using water for trizac.
Each grit I use separate interface pads because the 1500 is dry and I don't want to get it wet mixing with the trizac.

Back to your procedure...
Then compound as you said with Perfect-it II Compound.
Then polish with w/ 3-M perfect-it II Polish and a black pad as mentioned by motomann earlier.
Might want to compound with a yellow pad as the wool pad slings lint all over the shop.

Maybe after all of that I apply 3-M Hand Glaze.

I always try to do all of my cut and buff with in a day or two....
I waited on the top of a Honda too long and it was major hard buffing out. Took me once to learn that.

sorry if i misunderstood.... you dry sand 1500 using a handsander?? wouldnt that cause the clear to have cracking later because of heat?? or is the dry 1500 not quite as course is the wet/dry paper. so many different techniques... sure would be easier though.. that eurathane is way tougher than enamel ever was the next day.

and yes.. wool pads throw lint everywhere.. i do all my polishing outside as much as possible.. =0)

[Len]

sorry if i misunderstood.... you dry sand 1500 using a handsander?? wouldnt that cause the clear to have cracking later because of heat?? or is the dry 1500 not quite as course is the wet/dry paper. so many different techniques... sure would be easier though.. that eurathane is way tougher than enamel ever was the next day.

and yes.. wool pads throw lint everywhere.. i do all my polishing outside as much as possible.. =0)

Yes, using a palm sander is SO MUCH EASIER than hand sanding. However, we use a 3/32" throw sander for this process because it has a lot less of a tendency to generate "pig tails" in that paint that can be very difficult to remove. If you have a buffer like the Makita with automatic speed control you can use a foam pad at slow speed with more pressure on the pad to remove sanding scratches easily then increase the speed and lessen the pressure to finish the buffing.

If you sand with 1500 it can pay to also use 3000 grit Trizact or 4000 grit Abralon to remove the 1500 scratches so that the buffing goes much easier and faster.