Scratches in primer/base or not done buffing?

H

Hud1086

New Member
Hi all. First timer here. I recently did a bc/cc paint job in my garage and am trying to cut and buff out all of the orange peel, trash and dry spray.

Starting with one of the t-tops I did 1000 wet, 2000 wet, 3000 wet followed by high cut compound on a wool pad then finishing compound on a white pad.

The panel is smooth as butter to the touch, but I see all of these scratches I didn’t see before starting the cut/buff. Are these showing through from poor prep work, or am I not don’t buffing? My biggest worry is to keep buffing and burn through the clear since I only put two coats on… thanks in advance from a novice.
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I suggest you shoot three more coats after carefully scuffing what you have.

What compound are you using? What clear did you use?

Good info here:

The "Jim C. cutting and buffing method" summarized

Many people are interested in using the @Jim C method for cutting and buffing. Jim has been very gracious and helpful to all of us who ask for his advice. The "Jim C. method" is mentioned in several threads. And, he has updated it over time. It is hard to find a simple, current summary of...
www.spiuserforum.com
 
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Not near enough grits or coats of clearcoat.For hand sanding I go 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000 trizact.

500 is the biggest jump except when down at 1000 grit, keeping the jump smaller will help with scratch cancellation.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses. Unfortunately I don’t have the option to respray the clear on the whole car, so going to continue to experiment on the t-top since I can respray that if needed.

On a small test section of the top I went back with 1200, 1500, 2000, 3000 then heavy cut Maguire’s compound and the result in that small spot was much better. When I have time I am going to carefully replicate on the rest of the t-top and see if the final result is something I can live with before moving on to the car itself. There are still some scratches, but this is a driver car and a cheap paint job (my first and maybe last) so I have to hedge my expectations.
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In the future, and if you are like most of us there will be another car to paint, plan to shoot 3 coats of clear minimum.
Trust you are using a rotary buffer, as that will play a big part in getting those scratches removed.
 
'68 Coronet R/T said:
In the future, and if you are like most of us there will be another car to paint, plan to shoot 3 coats of clear minimum.
Trust you are using a rotary buffer, as that will play a big part in getting those scratches removed.
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Possibly. Actually I am using a cheap dual action polisher. Is this not as effective and will take longer than a true rotary?
 
If it's just a driver I would skip the 1000 and 1200 with only two coats of clear. Otherwise you are taking a big risk on curves and edges imo.
 
Hud1086 said:
Thanks. Will the 1500 be enough to knock down the orange peel?
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I would try. Step back to 1200 if needed. Knocking down the peel with only two coats of clear may not leave you with much clear depending on how bad the peel is and how heavy you sprayed.

Don
 
Thanks all. I think instead of risking burning through the clear, I’m going to enjoy the car as is until I decide I want to do a full respray.
 
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