Buffing the $50 PJ

[bank2me]

Refering to the $50 paintjob. Anyone who has done it might be able to help me out. When I'm buffing after wetsanding the car, are you supposed to leave the polishing compound on the car or whipe it off. The directions say to just wipe the excess before it dries which I did. After it dried it made the paint look faded. So I just wiped it off then it looked ok. I was just curious to see what others did. Thanks in advance.

[russiankid]

When buffing you need to remove the compound after it turns into a haze. That is how I always did it if I buffed anything. Hopefully someone with better experience will chime in.

[gfrg88]

i dont think many people on here have done that?? :dunno: maybe im wrong... i know theres a $50 paintjob forum, but dont remember the name of it... you should try lookin for more info there...

[2oodoor]

i dont think many people on here have done that?? :dunno: maybe im wrong... i know theres a $50 paintjob forum, but dont remember the name of it... you should try lookin for more info there...

hey I didnt know that, interesting

bankr you have to think of compound as a liquid sandpaper, you by no means should leave it on the car it will make a hella mess. You have to work it while it is wet and get it off. What is left after a good work area should be just dust and you can wipe it off, if it is still sticking to the paint you have problems, some of it needs to be washed off too.
I am not an expert on buffing resiny enamels like rustoleum, I dont see how it could possibly work fyi I did this for a living before I came to my current job.

[2oodoor]

there is a lot on the net on these, here is just one of about twenty links I found http://www.stylusscustoms.com/poorMansPaintJob.html

Im an telling ya , if you use tractor/implement paint you can roll it brush it, hell chunk the can off the roof of the house on the car and you will not have to buff anything.

[bank2me]

Yea I seen the beretta page before. His turned out decent.

[markmdz89hatch]

there's usually a ton of silicates in polishing or rubbing compounds. The majority of them are just as roodoo said, a fine grit of sand mixed into the compound. Be very carefull with these because they may actually have a heavier 'grit' then your 1500 or 2000 grit wet-sand paper.

Many of these, due to the amount of silicates in them, will not dry to a haze, and instead will almost get gooey on the surface, and begin to drag. The best and only thing to do at this point is to get a high-pile or terry towel and towel it off, constantly turning the towel so you don't end up just smearing the stuff around the surface.

Ardex makes a product called Wet-Cut, which uses aluminum flakes instead of sand, and has less silicates, and more cleansing waxes all mixed into it. As you rub, the aluminum breaks down and goes from a rubbing compound into a polishing compound, which is awesome. I used it to restore an original paint on a poo-brown 73 spitfire, and the guy damn near fell over when he saw the finish.

There's also a product out there called Ebony or Seal-B, which is very runny (about the viscosity of water) but has a great polishing/cutting agent in it. I use that after the Wet-Cut, then follow it up with a cleaner wax, and finally a finish wax.

Although a buzz-bombed car will only cost you $50 worth of rattlecans, you will have to work 3x as hard to get a high-quality, deep finish on your car. It can be done, but roll up your sleeves, and prepare for battle. You WILL end up with sore arms and hands for at least a week straight if you work on it each day.

Good luck, and post up before and after pics, as well as progress pics if you have them.

(so here's my disclaimer to my whole shpeal... I am by no means an expert on this, as I don't detail or restore cars for a living. I just use to help friends detail their cars, and use to be a fanatic when it came to the paint on any of my cars. Beyond that I use to make it my mission to keep up with some of the new technologies for detailing products. A huge push for me came when I made friends with the owner of a detailing supply retailer (obv they sell Ardex as that's just about all I use and reccomend now) that I got to know because his dad and I both had 3G hatches (go figure), and I would take care of him with anything he needed for the hatch. He reciprocated with giving me a huge discount, sometimes just free, on a lot of the stuff I use to use on the cars. Hell, a pair of near-new hubcaps netted me a 20% off my order and a free bottle of 97% pure silicone (he sells it for nearly $40), which when applied right, will keep your tire black and shiny for weeks or longer. Sorry, I just had to add this 'disclaimer' because I may be giving out bad info, or something that someone in the trade would claim i was wrong on. By all means, listen to someone in the trade before me, I'm just sayin what I've learned or has worked for me.)

[2oodoor]

yep, most of the right stuff to use will have to come from a detailer or body shop supplier. An Mark is absolutley correct, it will take a lot of work displine and love of labor to do a hand rubbed rustoleum job. The original 50 dollar paint job was dependant on a high gloss, brushed on self leveling enamel that requires very little ultra fine water sanding and rubbing :even then only after it has cured throughly.
I don't think black is a good choice personally , for this type job. It is hard enough to get black right even using professional products and application techniques. By right I mean no swirl marks, no brown blue tints under the clear, no lint, the list goes on of issues I have seen with black paint jobs when you start picking at them.

[bank2me]

Yea roodoo I hear you, Black I have found out probably isn't the best for the $50 paintjob just because EVERYTHING shows. I have buffed the whole car and it looks decent, about the same as partyhartys if not worse. I am still working on the bumpers though I wetsanded them to thin. I would like to post some pics this weekend because I'm graduating this week and am kind of busy.

[Hazwan]

I don't think black is a good choice personally , for this type job. It is hard enough to get black right even using professional products and application techniques. By right I mean no swirl marks, no brown blue tints under the clear, no lint, the list goes on of issues I have seen with black paint jobs when you start picking at them.

Black color is the worst, they can show even the smallest defect, but they're sexy if done right especially 3gee. Black 3gee=:drool:

I won't do black for anything thats going to be used daily though.

As for rubbing compund, I put them on my rotary buffer and buff away :lol: I used to buff with my hand, but man that hurts!

[bank2me]

Yea buffers are nice to have.

[markmdz89hatch]

Except on black paint. Buffers are notorious for swirling black paint. I have yet to see a mechanically buffed black car (w/ clearcoat) not leave a swirly finish. IMO all black cars should be done by hand.

[88LXi68]

Except on black paint. Buffers are notorious for swirling black paint. I have yet to see a mechanically buffed black car (w/ clearcoat) not leave a swirly finish. IMO all black cars should be done by hand.

this man speaks the truth!! damn swirl marks...