Oops polished through an edge on the door of my GTO. Advice would be appreciated

[dhutton01]

I have developed my own process. I only color sand out to 1500 grit. Then I use a rotary polisher with a denim pad with Menzerna Heavy Cut 400. The denim pad helps remove a little bit of wave or peel that I may have missed. Then I switch to a wool bonnet on the rotary with the Menzerna 400 to eliminate any slight scratching that is left after the denim pad. Then I switch to a long throw orbital using a microfiber pad and Meguiar's 205 Ultra Finishing.
Here's a couple of photos of the deck lid and quarter panel I just completed:

Do you have a link to the denim pad you use? An intriguing concept.

Thanks,
Don

 

[roger1]

CARPRO Denim Orange Peel Removal Pad - 5 1/2"

With our CarPro-US 5 1/4" Velvet and Denim Orange Peel Removal pads you can now remove or substantially reduce orange peel in the top layer without sanding. While removing orange peel and deep defects you are also polishing the paint rather than leaving sanding marks which reduces the steps...

www.carpro-us.com

2 packs:

CarPro Denim Orange Peel Removal Pad - 5.25 Inch 2 Pack

CarPro Denim Orange Peel Removal Pad 5.25 Inches 2 Pack - Remove orange peel without sanding! CarPro Denim Orange Peel Removal Pads are designed to remove or lessen the appearance of a car care perfectionists worst nightmare orange peel! ...

www.autogeek.net

They are designed for removing orange peel without having to color sand. I found them to work very well on some factory clear coats and not well at all on others.
But, I've started using them on color sanded SS and clear and found them to work very well for a first step compounding without having to sand out to any finer than 1500 when using them with the Menzerna 400.

 

[shine]

anybody remember red river mud ? i think R&M sold it. you could buff a lacquer car without sanding.

 

[farmerfred]

anybody remember red river mud ? i think R&M sold it. you could buff a lacquer car without sanding.

I seem to recall a 3M product that was that aggressive. I picked up a gallon of it 40 years ago at a closeout sale. It would buff lacquer without color sanding, but you had to be really careful, or it would cut clear to bare metal on edges. I used to use it on quickie jobs I was doing for used car lots. i once mixed it with some liquid wax to bring back the paint on an old combine we bought that was really faded from setting outside. Looked good for a couple of years since we kept it in the shed. I sometimes wish we could go back to the older simpler paint products that didn't require you to be a chemist to use.

 

[MP&C]

Roger, a bit late, but a helpful hint:

A helpful hint for buffing around edges.. When your buffing pad is rotating and IF it travels across an edge, you want it to rotate off the edge (like the right arrow shows) rather than into an edge (left arrow). The left arrow would dig in as it hits the panel crease, burning the paint. So for the example shown, lifting slightly on the left side of the pad would help to eliminate the pad cutting into the crease. Always best to stay away from the edges as much as you can, but when you do need to venture close, this hint may help...

 

[roger1]

More on denim pads.
I used one on the Endura bumper where I had color sanded the all the way across the top, sides where it meets the fenders and the center part.
Here's what it looks like using the denim pad and Menzerna 400. 1500 sand scratches to this after just 2 applications.

And here's the sides of the fenders the same. 1500 scratches and 2 applications:

 

[JimKueneman]

If it were my car (not a customers) I would just hit it with 400 around the burn through, make a tube out of some masking tape and place it around that area (so it does not make a hard line), hit it with base with the air brush, then hit it will UC let it dry for a few days, wet sand and carefully buff it out. My cars live most of their lives under a cover in the garage out of the UV and elements, that will last longer than I will ever own it.

Actually the Valiant in my profile pict has a place on the back pillar that will be getting this treatment someday where I chipped it during assembly and have it filled in with many dabs of base and clear but burned through trying to wet sand it smooth.

 

[dhutton01]

Does the denim pad generate more heat compared to a wool pad?

Don

 

[roger1]

Yes. Heat is one thing you do have to be careful of with them. I work areas up to 2 sqft at a time starting slow and adjusting up to about 1000 rpm. I reduce the speed on smaller areas. On that bumper I was at 600.
I work it until the the compound is fairly dry but not totally and I scrape off any compound left on the pad with a plastic scraper before starting another application.
Sometimes a second step using the same Menzerna 400 with a wool bonnet is necessary and sometimes I don't. I did use a single light and quick pass with the wool bonnet on those fenders but not on the bumper. Then I end with an application of Mequiar's 205 on the orbital using a microfiber pad for a final finish.

They warn you about the aggressiveness of these pads in the description and say equivalent to 2000 sandpaper. I'd say not really. They are aggressive on high spots and on their first pass but after the first application, they become much less agressive with additional applications. If I still detect any scratching or dullness after a second or maybe a 3rd application, that's when I use the wool bonnet step.

 

[roger1]

If you don't recall Don, here's how those pads did on my El Camino that was painted in SPI single stage white:

HEAVY CUT COMPOUNDS

I have been using Megs 105 for a good while now and am about to make another order for heavy cut compound and was wandering if you guys have any thoughts on Menzerna 1000? The Megs 105 has been good but I was wandering if the Menzerna would be a better choice?

www.spiuserforum.com

I didn't need the wool bonnet step on that car al all.

 

[HO455]

More on denim pads.
I used one on the Endura bumper where I had color sanded the all the way across the top, sides where it meets the fenders and the center part.
Here's what it looks like using the denim pad and Menzerna 400. 1500 sand scratches to this after just 2 applications.

And here's the sides of the fenders the same. 1500 scratches and 2 applications:

Mmm GTO.