Hand polishing tips, tricks and techniques wanted

[AudiOn19s]

All,

I`d like some feedback on what works best for you in those ares that need to be polished but cannot be accessed by a buffer. Specifically after wetsanding work needs to be done in those areas.



I have a project coming up where a car was sprayed and there`s all sorts of overspray in all of the door jambs, louvers and other areas of this car that needs to be addressed.



In the recent past i`ve found a terry or microfiber applicator and M105 seems to knock down stuff by hand pretty decent. I`m a bit worried that it`s going to take quite a bit of effort after the wetsanding of these areas though.



I`m almost wondering if I`d be better off cutting up a few foam pads and using foam instead.



I`ve quoted high enough that I`m covered for time, but would like to be as efficient as possible in doing the work.



Looking for any insights from others on their methods.



Andy

[imported_WhyteWizard]

Micro-Mesh Sheets - Individual [SHT-01] - $2.37 : MICRO-SURFACE FINISHING PRODUCTS, INC (http://micro-surface.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=272_6_150_177_178&products_id=5)



http://micro-surface.com/images/products/inst_0CONVERSION%20CHART.pdf



Also, 3M 3000 gets you pretty close to being able to finish without a machine, but in the end it`s going to be time, time, time.



Clay for the overspray in the door jams is obvious, but you have to clean those jams thoroughly first or you`ll go through a lot of clay from contamination. I`d be using small amounts at a time.



Blue Magic metal polish on cotton cloth will polish out fine sandpaper scratches but you`ll have to work down finer from there, Blue Magic on microfiber, then very fine polish, then wax.



The Hitachi Right angle drill with the mandrel and 3" backing plate will get into very tight areas too and was worth the money for me. Search here and you`ll see my posts about it.



Good luck.



Robert

[Mike_Phillips]

I`ve always used 100% cotton terry cloth for aggressive paint removal with an aggressive compound understanding that after the initial defect removal there may be some toweling marks leftover that I`ll have to refine by re-polishing the area using a foam applicator pad by hand with a less aggressive products.



Using M105 or even UC you can easily remove #3000 and #4000 Grit Sanding marks by hand.



I recently sanded down and buffed out a bc/cc finishing on a 1969 El Camino using the new Meguiar`s Unigrit Finishing System and just for fun I removed the sanding marks on both sides of a raised body line by hand using M105 and microfiber.



Here she is all sanded down...



Took less than 2 hours to sand down the entire car using the new Meguiar`s Unigrit Finishing System



http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/834/UnigritFinishingSystem000.jpg





http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/836/UnigritDampSanding001.jpg





I removed most/all the sanding marks using a rotary buffer and M105 with a wool pad but just for fun, I took some pictures to show you can remove sanding marks by hand if you don`t mind putting a little passion behind the pad...



http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/834/RemvovingSandingMarksbyHand01.jpg



http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/834/RemvovingSandingMarksbyHand02.jpg





This can come in real hand if you want to be extra careful around a raised body line, especially if it`s not your car...





This project was for a how-to article on how to wet-sand, cut and buff and we also made a video out of it...





Also, the XMT #4 is like liquid sandpaper in the sense of a traditional rocks-in-a-bottle rubbing compound, it will remove sanding marks or other below surface defects very quickly, with emphasis on the word very.



I used to avoid products like this in my detailing work because they`re just too aggressive and scratchy, but now days I find myself using it for times when it`s the exact type of product I need. Plus when used by machine, the swirls it leaves behind polish out easily, so it`s not like it`s leaving ruts in the paint. Just another tool for the tool box kind of products.





:)