Civic EG

sry to bump this old thread, but i got a question about buffing

so i have done pretty much all steps: sand, prime, paint, clear coat. right now it does have a shine to it, but still dull. not nearly as "mirror-reflective" as the body




how do i go from pic1 to pic2? brian mentioned buffing, unfortunately i know little about that. do i use hand or machine buffer? what kind of paste/compound would i need to make it mirror-reflective?

thanks

Nothing wrong with bumping an old thread for good info!

I would use an orbital buffer. As for compound, go to your local body shop store and they will have a variety of different compounds. If you wetsanded up to 1500 grit, then be sure the compound you buy is for use after 1500 grit wetsanding.
For example, if you bought compound got use after 1200 grit, it would cut faster but also set you back by adding fine scratches or swirl marks.

Autozone type stores may not carry the good stuff, plus the people that work there might not know much about the product. A real body shop supply store will have the good stuff (like 3M, Meguiars, etc) and the person behind the counter will usually be sure you buy exactly what you need.

k i found this rubbing compound by turtlewax, it says heavy duty cleaner in red container. but it doesnt say anything about grit. so would i just use this on a orbital buffer, give it a wash, then wax/polish it? i have the turtlewax ice btw. thanks

p.s. im just afraid that buffing it will damage the clearcoat and paint

You would probably need something a bit more abrasive to start off with, i use Farecla g3 (unsure if you get it in the states though...) its a really thick gritty paste, i did it by hand though, but its alot quicker with a buffer

The idea is to flatten the newly painted surface, so you need something quite abrasive to start off with, then use polish etc

best thing to do with any polish or abrasive is to try it in a small area first, like on the bottom where it is mostly out of sight

ok, i still cant get the mirror effect for some reason

not sure if it makes a difference but i used duplicolor clear. one week after, i wetsand w/ 1500 then 2000. then i used rotatory buffer with 3M rubbing compound. some people claim that after buffing with rubbing compound, bumper should instantly turn shinny. well mine didnt. waited 5min then used buffer/polisher with turtlewax ice paste to polish. instruction says let it dry for 5min or when it turn haze, then wipe for deep wet look. well i followed the instruction but got no deep wet look.

after buff/polish, it still look pretty much like before...dull with hint of shine, but very different from body





as you can see, there's no reflection at all from bumper.can anyone please help? thanks

hard to tell in the night shots, but do you have a lot of orange peel? It doesn't look too bad. If the surface is already smooth, The turtle wax might not be agressive enough to make much of a difference.

i cant seem to see any orange peel.

the surface feels smooth, like plastic (duh) but not the glossy type of feel. I used 2 big cans of dupli clear, should be enough right? some people say if i used that much it should've been like glass already, but it isnt the case.

whats abrasive enough? cause again, from what i've read, some people gone from dull to near-factory shiny simply by rubbing compound. but isnt rubbing compound kinda like sandpaper except a really fine liquid? not sure how that can add shiny to bumper

p.s.: notice the amber corners, similar to bumper i painted and clear coated them, but no buff/polish at all. however corner and bumper looks pretty much the same, in fact corner seems a little more shiny

You are using a high speed buffer and not a BS orbital polisher right?

im using some cordless simoniz ones, yes its crap, but hey from what i've read people use hand buff works just as great, so i dont think tool-wise is really the problem

I see orange peel on the corners, or maybe it is just the flash.

you wetsand the paint to level the orange peel for a perfectly smooth, but dull surface. then compound will make it shine. I'd try something besides the turtle wax, it sounds like you've done everything right and that is keeping you from getting the shine out.

Cant see these pics

update pics!!!

Bump, dead link pics

Fix all the pics please...