Orbital Buffer around windows

[BluBrett]

Do I have to tape off the black window surrounds when using an Orbital Buffer around them?

[Lonnie]

In a word, Yes, tape the trim when using an OB.

There are some "concerns" about your question:

1) How much experience do you have with an OB?

2) What is the make and color of the car?

(Paint color and manufacturer are important factors often"neglected" by novices)

3) What are doing to the paint finish? Correcting? Polishing? Burnishing/Jeweling?

4) What kind of pad are you using? Wool? Yellow foam? Blue foam?

5) What kind of abrasive polish are you using? M105? SSR 2.0? P085?

(4 & 5 are related to question 3)

That`s why no one can give you a definitive answer.

As stated above, it would be wise to tape.

I use the 3M Blue painter`s tape, but most prefer the 3M Light Green easy-release tape. Don`t use some cheap dollar-store masking tape!

You`ve invested this much time and effort into doing the job yourself; why waste it because you tried to save a few bucks on masking/painter`s tape.



I was not trying to diss your experience with Question No. 1. But anyone trying to learn how to use an OB in the beginning will have the bad experience of burning through a painted panel edge or scuffing a piece of trim from an over-zealous use of an OB because they thought they did not need to tape it off.

(Kind of like what someone wrote on the bathroom wall in mechanic`s area of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway "If you race here, it`s not IF you hit the walll, but WHEN").

[BluBrett]

I have more experience than you think (I corrected my Tahoe with a Makita rotary) but I had less taping on the Tahoe than I do on the Legend. Since I know orbital buffers are less harmful to trim I didn`t know if I still had to tape it off around the windows.

[Accumulator]

BluBrett- Even though I often use abrasives on such surfaces, I still tape them off when doing the surrounding areas just to make sure I don`t have an "oops!". Some of those black finishes are mighty fragile too...so I`d rather be safe than sorry.