How can I make sanded plastic shine again?

L

lov2xlr8

New member
I wet sanded the plastics with 400 grit then wet sanded the with 1500 grit. The surface is perfectly smooth but the shine is obviously all gone.



What can I buy to bring back the "wet look" shine?



I tried some Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish and it sucked.. lol



It basicly just cleaned the surface a little more and did not add any shine what so ever.



I need a WET shine.



Thanks guys this forum rocks! :2thumbs:
 
Why did you use 400 grit? Were you trying to repaint the car?



I have some photos in my gallery of a scion hood that is all messed up, does it look something like that?



I know you used 400 grit so it is probably worse. 400 grit is NOT for buffing purposes it is way to coarse, 320 and 400 is for painting. The sad thing is after you used 400 and 1500 your clear coat might be real thin. You are probably border line from burning the paint, if you haven't done it already.



By the way what plastics did you wetsand? Was it a plastic surface or was it paint that was on plastic? Have pictures?
 
I'm assuming you sanded the plastic trim on the car. No amount of polishing or sanding will restore the shine to the plastic- you've sanded off the layer that gave it its shine. Your best bet is some type of trim dye- protectant and restorer aren't going to cut it. I think Top of the Linehas some trim dye ( http://www.topoftheline.com/trim-molding-dye.html ) that you might want to check out. I've never sanded trim, but I have had good luck with trim dye bringing back severly faded trim.
 
Its not for a car.. its for my 2006 Yamaha YFZ450 witch is a racing quad. The reason I sanded it down with 400grit was to get the deep scratches out.



Here is a pic of my rad scoop.

plastic.jpg
 
Ok so there is nothing I can buy to get smooth plastic to shine again?



I wet sanded the plastics with 400 grit then I sprayed on very light dusting coats of Krylon clearcoat spary paint. Then I sprayed 3 full coats and wet sanded the finish with 1500 grit.



That's where I run into problems. When I attempted to wetsand the clearcoat that has an "orange peel" texture, I make the high spots dull. How do I stop this from happening?



Is there something I am doing wrong?
 
lov2xlr8 said:
Ok so there is nothing I can buy to get smooth plastic to shine again?



I wet sanded the plastics with 400 grit then I sprayed on very light dusting coats of Krylon clearcoat spary paint. Then I sprayed 3 full coats and wet sanded the finish with 1500 grit.



That's where I run into problems. When I attempted to wetsand the clearcoat that has an "orange peel" texture, I make the high spots dull. How do I stop this from happening?



Is there something I am doing wrong?
Click to expand...





well you have to polish it then.



some ssr 2.5, then 1...
 
lov2xlr8 said:
Then I sprayed 3 full coats and wet sanded the finish with 1500 grit.



That's where I run into problems. When I attempted to wetsand the clearcoat that has an "orange peel" texture, I make the high spots dull. How do I stop this from happening?



Is there something I am doing wrong?
Click to expand...





If you think you are done at 1500 grit, you are gonna need to use a heavy rubbing compound (like 3M Extra Cut) in order to get any kind of shine out of that. Otherwise continue to 2000grit but you're still gonna need to polish....
 
Orange peel is normally caused from improper tacking/prepping of the panel to be painted. You really have to know what to do to prep for paint. Proper prepping will help you tremendously. A small panel like that should not cost much to have a body shop spray it.
 
Hmm.. I dont quite understand.. sorry guys I have never done this before.



I tried a coat of zaino Z2 and it did absolutely nothing to the finish.
 
autoprecise1 said:
Orange peel is normally caused from improper tacking/prepping of the panel to be painted. You really have to know what to do to prep for paint. Proper prepping will help you tremendously. A small panel like that should not cost much to have a body shop spray it.
Click to expand...



Its not just this panel.. Its my whole quad!



lakers.jpg
 
lov2xlr8 said:
Hmm.. I dont quite understand.. sorry guys I have never done this before.



I tried a coat of zaino Z2 and it did absolutely nothing to the finish.
Click to expand...





You need to use a RUBBING COMPOUND. Afterwards you can use a POLISH to get a good shine. THEN a wax/sealant.
 
The plastic will get damaged again over time and will need to be done all over again so I was hoping for some liquid that would cure and leave a wet finish look.
 
MrSelfDestruct said:
You need to use a RUBBING COMPOUND. Afterwards you can use a POLISH to get a good shine. THEN a wax/sealant.
Click to expand...



Ah! I understand now..



So the rubbing compound will make the dull looking clearcoat perfectly clear again?
 
lov2xlr8 said:
Ok so there is nothing I can buy to get smooth plastic to shine again?



I wet sanded the plastics with 400 grit then I sprayed on very light dusting coats of Krylon clearcoat spary paint. Then I sprayed 3 full coats and wet sanded the finish with 1500 grit.



That's where I run into problems. When I attempted to wetsand the clearcoat that has an "orange peel" texture, I make the high spots dull. How do I stop this from happening?



Is there something I am doing wrong?
Click to expand...



I'm wetsanding a (repainted B/C) '65 MGB as we speak.



The goal of wetsanding is to reduce/eliminate those high spots. Think of the orange peel as a series of hills and valleys.



You want to level the hills.



When I wetsand, I START with 1500 grit, squegee dry, evaluate, 2000 grit, squegee dry, evaluate, 4000 grit squegee dry, evaluate, rotary buff, PC finish, sealant.



We do Show Cars.



Hope you can save that piece!



Jim
 
Please re-read my last post. Rubbing compound (with a PC or rotary) will make the paint start to look decent after the wetsanding. Polish or swirl mark remover will then make it as shiney and smooth as it will get. Follow that up with a liquid wax/sealant for "wet look" and protection.
 
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