Compounding questions

[Alex.]

Afternoon All

I'm trying to deal with an area of overspray on the car's roof.

Initially I rubbed it down with 1200 paper (wet) and polished it with Halford's Rubbing Compound. It came up not too badly, but there were a few scratches left so I thought I'd go over again with 1500 wet to improve it. Bad idea. There are now more scratches and it won't polish up at all.

I've tried the compound, T-cut, and even chrome polish! I'm hoping that the problem is that I'm now working on the original 5-year-old lacquer which must be harder that the overspray was.

Will G3 paste be more effective? Or a polishing machine?

All ideas welcome! Thanks Alex.

 

[malcolm]

Try not to take any more off!

I've found 1200 grit followed by a tediously long T-cut gives good results on fresh paint. I'd not have sanded existing paint. The G3 is quite coarse (more so than 1200 grit) and I've found it to scratch badly on hand application.

Try intensively T-cutting a small area by hand and see how it comes up. If that doesn't work you might have gone through the lacquer, which on metallic paints is a bit of a nightmare and tends to need a new base and top coat. Solid colours aren't normally so sensitive.

 

[series2]

I find that T-cut will dull most paint finishes, paticularly twin pack & including modern cellulose. Farecla Total is a bit less harsh than G3, followed by G10 will give a nice shine.

However, if you've gone through the laquer.....

 

[Alex.]

I'd not have sanded existing paint. The G3 is quite coarse (more so than 1200 grit) and I've found it to scratch badly on hand application.

So I should only use T-cut to deal with overspray?

 

[series2]

if the overspray is on cured paintwork, it will usually come off with t-cut or similar, especially if there is wax polish on the surface where the overspray is. Sometimes white spirit will work, but exercise caution if there is any chance the original paint is celly! (test a hidden spot first), some panel wipe will attack celly.

I'm just in the process of buffing my Sahara after it's paint job (by hand), so far I've not needed to flat any of the overspray, coming off nicely with the total. The guy at my paint shop recommended the G10 as the paint is a very dark blue, and this takes out the very minor marks left by the Total.

I don't use t-cut any more as the ammonia sets off my exczema, it smells bad and it stains your hands with the rub-off. t-cut, as I mentioned earlier, will dull many modern finishes, due to the ammonia content.

On a side note, a friend recently came back from America, and brought me some 4000 and 5000 grit wet and dry from an automotive store he visited whilst there!

 

[Alex.]

I don't use t-cut any more as the ammonia sets off my exczema, it smells bad and it stains your hands with the rub-off. t-cut, as I mentioned earlier, will dull many modern finishes, due to the ammonia content.

Well well I've wondered for years what the smell of T-cut reminded me of!!

I'm getting there, the roof just looks slightly scuffed now, using compound and T-cut alternately.

 

[chunkytfg]

On a side note, a friend recently came back from America, and brought me some 4000 and 5000 grit wet and dry from an automotive store he visited whilst there!

Also avaliable in this country!

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/mirka-abralon-sanding-discs-and-accessories-polish.html

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acat...wetsanding-papers-and-accessories-polish.html


to the OP

Overspray can be removed with a aggresive detailing clay and wet sanding should be a last resort. 1200 W+D should never be put anywhere near a painted surface imo unless you want a decent key to repaint to

Also step away from the facerla g3/g10 and put them in the nearest bin! Dreadful products that should only be used by dodgy bodyshops who care not about swirls, buffertrails and holograms!

Try and get some pictures of the affected areas preferably using a flash or halogen lamps so we can see the true extent of the damage you have inflicted.

 

[Chipper]

Chunky, what would you recommend instead of the G3/G10? For 2k.
I mainly do bike stuff and polish by hand, after 1200/1500/2000 wet, but found the G3/10 a bit hit-and-miss but put that down to be not being pro etc etc. In fact I got better results on some things with a fine version of an ally paste polish similar to Autosol...

 

[series2]

Also step away from the facerla g3/g10 and put them in the nearest bin! Dreadful products that should only be used by dodgy bodyshops who care not about swirls, buffertrails and holograms!

I'm always open to suggestions, If theres something better than the Farecla, do tell. I only do paintwork DIY for myself, and the compounding always by hand.

I've not had any problems so far using the Total & G10 to finish, I do find that the G10 leaves a greasy finish on the paintwork, but does remove any marks left from the initial compounding. A good wash before waxing seemed to be the answer, a couple of months on the finish looks as good as it did.

 

[chunkytfg]

I'm soo glad you lot are thick skinned as after reading back what i had read later it came across to me as a bit 'holier than though' IYSWIM?

As for what is best then tbh by hand you will always struggle to remove defects to the point where the paint is mirror smooth. realistically your best bet is to mask them with a polish with a high filler content followed by a decent wax to seal them in.

Take a read of this thread

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=10656

Very much a non 56k freindly link but will point you in the right direction.

If this is a process you carry out fairly often then can i suggest investing in a DA polisher such as the kestral DAS6 or meguirs G220 plus a section of pads so true defect removal is possible and leaving you with a stunnig paint job that beodyshops can only dream of having the time to do.

I have the kestral as suggested above so correcting paint by hand is not something i need to do anymore however this is an example of what can be done with a bit of paitience.

obvioulsy the top is corrected and the bottom isnt. it was corrected with autoglyms super resin polish which has a very slight cut to it but mainly fillers. I worked around 8" sq at a time for around 3-4 minutes using a foam applicator pad and then removed. the above correction was after 4 goes at it.

Expect a full car to take ALL day by hand!

 

[Chipper]

Good stuff, although it doesn't seem to talk about replacements for G3/G10 post-flatting, more about final polishes. Although I confess I didn't read all 22 pgs... I use a Meguiars wax but can't remember what one. Doesn't seem worth getting the DA on the bike stuff so it's always hand cutting for me. Kinda like that doing that too, bit therapeutic...

 

[chunkytfg]

Good stuff, although it doesn't seem to talk about replacements for G3/G10 post-flatting, more about final polishes. Although I confess I didn't read all 22 pgs... I use a Meguiars wax but can't remember what one. Doesn't seem worth getting the DA on the bike stuff so it's always hand cutting for me. Kinda like that doing that too, bit therapeutic...

By post flatting i assume you mean 4000+ wet and dry otherwise by hand you will be fighting a losing battle if you want perfection imo.

this is an extract taken from polished bliss' website which details the processess needed to remove paint defects by hand also what to use.

It is worth a read imo. you need to read from question 3.4 onwards.

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice-faq.html#3.7

Being brutally honest, you have almost no chance of correcting swirl marks and light to moderate defects (fine scratches and etching) on your car by hand. The best you could hope to achieve making multiple attempts per panel with a light compound like Menzerna 203S in conjunction with Lake Country German CCS Light Cut Pads is around 50% correction, and even this would require a huge amount of time and effort to achieve. Therefore, our advice is to consider alternative options such as glazing, machine polishing or using the services of a professional detailer. Layering heavy glazes like Poorboys White Diamond Glaze and Poorboys Black Hole Glaze with Lake Country German CCS Polishing Pads can give the illusion of a reasonable level of paint correction for relatively little effort, and this effect will usually last for up to six months at a time if a good quality last step product is used regularly to protect the resulting finish. Investing in a machine polisher makes more sense if a high standard of correction is desired, but considerably more time and money will have to be invested in both products and the learning of new techniques. For those desiring a high level of correction but not wishing to entertain the idea of machine polishing their own paint, using the services of a professional detailer to get the paint back up to standard can be an equally cost effective option.

Just to clarify i am by no means an expert on this subject it is just that detailing is another hobby of mine aswell as fixing my mini.

 

[Alex.]

Chunkytfg I think you are confusing me with someone who can take good photos but here goes -



Is my local paint shop likely to have 'detailing clay' whatever that is? Does it have a trade name?

 

[chunkytfg]

Chunkytfg I think you are confusing me with someone who can take good photos but here goes -

View attachment 10433

Is my local paint shop likely to have 'detailing clay' whatever that is? Does it have a trade name?

Worth a try i suppose but i doubt it no. the bigger halfords will have a meguir clay kit which includes the quick detailer to lube it plus i beleive halfords have there own kit out now aswell. It is a pretty mild form of clay but will eventually remove the overspray.

i'll try and sort out a quick guide for it to help

 

[chunkytfg]

do you think it would be worth putting together a quick 'how to clean, polish and wax a car' type guide?

 

[Chipper]

I stop at 2000 wet, by which time it's completely flat and got a sheen. The painters I took my cues from stop at 2k, 2.5k. 4k seems overkill but of course there's different ways to skin cats. Just needs final cut to polish then (using G3/G10 currently), by which time it ends up mirror like. This is mostly fresh 2k, my own stuff, don't do usually do anything with older paint or defects etc. Using G3/G10 on older gloss black 2k didn't work well, hence wondering what to replace them with.
Can't see anything to replace the G3 sort of stage yet, but it's interesting to see what other stuff is there for the final stages.

 

[chunkytfg]

the point of using the finer than 2000 wet and dry is that with 2000 the sanding marks are still quite pronounced whereas at 4000 they are less obvious so when it comes to the polishing less effort is required and you can start with something less aggresive.

have a look at your paint under a halogen when you have finished with the g10 by hand and does it look like Alex.'s above. I cloudy conditions this is perfectly acceptable but the minute the sun comes out i bet it has similar to the pic above.

using some of the polishes mentioned in the links i have given will give the mirror finishes without defects that i would hope you strive for after all the effort that goes into paintwork

 

[series2]

Useful info Chunky! I do a lot of green laning, so whilst I would love to have perfect paintwork, it would last about a week

My Disco had a 2 Pack paint job, it lost in a battle with a dry stone wall. repairing it to make the car look acceptable again took too long for for my liking!!, consequently I decided to paint the Sahara in solid colour celly, so that in the (likely) event of damage, repairs can be effected quickly.

I borrowed a polishing m/c when I painted my Series, and it did give much better results than doing it by hand, but for the amount I would use one, it's not economical, plus there's a sense of satisfaction in doing it manually.

 

[Chipper]

I'll try next time, I check under strip lights and sunlight and am quite picky so should've noticed but will def have a good old look next time around.