Getting ready for buffing

I squeegee the water off and if you have scratches or rogue scratches you’ll see then right after the water has been squeegeed off.
 
What are the pros experience on starting with 800 versus 1000 grit the 800 really takes the peel and the wave down fast but it also leaves much deeper scratches to have to deal with
 
Well thats true. It will cut a little flatter and faster. If your not concerned about the difference in flatness too much and its just total time spent sanding and buffing then the extra few minutes you spend with 1000 will by far be eaten up by the extra time it takes to get out the 800 scratches. 800 is a pia to get out. I have found it not worth it usually. I even only start with 1000 if necessary. Which is most of the time because i am working lumpy artwork down. If i can get away with starting with 1500 then i will. Its far faster.
 
Jim C said:
Well thats true. It will cut a little flatter and faster. If your not concerned about the difference in flatness too much and its just total time spent sanding and buffing then the extra few minutes you spend with 1000 will by far be eaten up by the extra time it takes to get out the 800 scratches. 800 is a pia to get out. I have found it not worth it usually. I even only start with 1000 if necessary. Which is most of the time because i am working lumpy artwork down. If i can get away with starting with 1500 then i will. Its far faster.
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Thanks Jim that was my gut feel so thanks for validating it. My plan is to start with 1000 to get a start on the peel then switch to 1500 before it is really done so the work to finish out the peel also works on the 1000 scratches.
 
well i will tell you, i usually do 4 coats of clear, either uv, euro or speed. i will use 1000 to get the clear perfect. no peel, no specs, nothing. once its perfect then i make the switch to 1500 and only have to worry about refining scratches at that point. if your using the assilex and bufflex discs, these discs do not remove peel. they are a super thin silky fabric and are made to not remove peel. they will leave the peel and just cut off dust nibs and smooth out the peel a little. the discs follow the surface. sort of like what a scotchbrite does with primer.
 
Jim C said:
well i will tell you, i usually do 4 coats of clear, either uv, euro or speed. i will use 1000 to get the clear perfect. no peel, no specs, nothing. once its perfect then i make the switch to 1500 and only have to worry about refining scratches at that point. if your using the assilex and bufflex discs, these discs do not remove peel. they are a super thin silky fabric and are made to not remove peel. they will leave the peel and just cut off dust nibs and smooth out the peel a little. the discs follow the surface. sort of like what a scotchbrite does with primer.
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Thanks. My other cars I cut and buffed them 2-3 times because I did not get all the sanding scratches out and rushed it. This time I would rather not do that.
 
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youll find those assilex and bufflex discs cut very evenly and last along time so as long as you sand each grit long enough then you should have no issues. unlike trizact you can tell how well they are cutting by how much sanding slurry they are making. they should not be just a quick pass over the surface. you need to work them a little to get out those 1000 scratches.
 
Its been a long time since i did a whole car. I do remember there was a late 70’s corvette i painted once and i did the whole sand and buff job in 8hrs. Thats a tiny car though. I dont think i have ever spent more than a day and a half on a whole car start to finish other than maybe the black 41 caddy i restored.
 
Takes me roughly 40 hours to cut and buff a car FWIW…. :). I have to tape my edges and it takes a fair bit of time.

Don
 
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Yeah that seems to be a normal amount hours i have heard people say. I dont tape any edges. I sand and buff all the way to the edge of everything
 
Jim C said:
Yeah that seems to be a normal amount hours i have heard people say. I dont tape any edges. I sand and buff all the way to the edge of everything
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I go back and do edges with a hard hand pad or sometimes a Tolecut square. It’s the only way I can avoid busting an edge which is a huge PITA. Just not experienced enough to do it with a DA.

Don
 
Jim C said:
Yeah that seems to be a normal amount hours i have heard people say. I dont tape any edges. I sand and buff all the way to the edge of everything
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Same here. You need to make sure the rotation of your sander and/or buffer is going "off" the edge and not "into' the edge. Same with sharp body lines.
 
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I personally wouldn't attempt using da on that car. Look at all those semi flat panels & body lines.
Maybe 2000 & up but man those lines scream chamfered hard block to me (from here).
Looking great.

My 2c
 
For those who hand sand all the way do you have a pattern you use? 1000 to get it flat then? 5 passes with 1500 and 10 passes with 2000 or do you look for scratches? I am still having problems finding a way that my eye can pick up if I am done with each phase. I can barely see them after I buff it out. Have to catch a light _just_right_.... I tried half the hood last night... 1000 on the block till nothing left. Then 1200 for 4 passes, then 1500 for 4 passes then 2000 until it did not catch on anything and after the buff if I caught the LED light just right there are still scratches... but this light yellow is a bugger to see anything anyways....
 
I start with 800 95% of the time. Using guide coat will for sure let you know when you have all of the previous scratches out. I used to start with 1000, but found 800 just speeds the process up. I'll usually sand by hand to 2000 an then go back to 1500 with a da, then 1500,2000,3000 all DA. This will typically make sure I don't miss anything. But even then there is always something!

With light colors like white or yellow without a guide coat its really all just a guessing game if you got everything out.

Disclaimer:This post is purely just my opinion....
 
Unfortunately i dont think there is a standard # that can be given that works for everything. There are too many variables. Beyween hardness of clear, sharpness And brand of paper. Sanding pressure, etc. dont feel bad, you really cant see scratches once you get to the very fine grits. All this stuff applies to doing it with a da as well. Knowing how long to sand is just more something you need to get a feel for. I usually judge by how much sanding slurry is left on the panel
 
orangejuiced86 said:
I start with 800 95% of the time. Using guide coat will for sure let you know when you have all of the previous scratches out. I used to start with 1000, but found 800 just speeds the process up. I'll usually sand by hand to 2000 an then go back to 1500 with a da, then 1500,2000,3000 all DA. This will typically make sure I don't miss anything. But even then there is always something!

With light colors like white or yellow without a guide coat its really all just a guessing game if you got everything out.

Disclaimer:This post is purely just my opinion....
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I am using it for the first stage getting the peel and junk out.
 
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