Unigrit sanding block, rubbing compound, swirl remover...?

[Vincent231]

OK, I`m following David`s article on repairing chips and scratches (http://www.autopia.ws/articles.php?articleId=27). I`ve finished filling the scratches on my rear bumper, the chips on my side mouldings and side mirrors, and the gouge at the bottom of my rear quarter panel, adding one layer of touch-up paint per day over a couple of weeks. I`ve also waited an additional week to let everything harden. Now I`m ready to get a sanding block, some 3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound or Eagle One Scratch Remover, and some 3M Perfect-It Swirl Remover. Since I`ve never done this before, I have a few questions:



1) LEVELING: I have 3 packs of 3M Imperial Wetordry Sandpaper in 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit strengths (5 sheets of each). Is it really necessary to get Meguiar`s UniGrit sanding block? Or can I wrap the 3M paper around a rubber eraser and obtain as good results? Any precautions I should take? I`ve heard it`s wise to fold the corners over themselves, but I can`t quite picture what that means.



2) BUFFING: If I level the paint with the 3M sandpaper, working my way up in grit strengths, I guess I should go with the 3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound to buff out the 2000 grit mirco-marring left in the paint surface. Does anyone know where to find this stuff in Vancouver? I couldn`t find 3M rubbing compound at Canadian Tire. Are there alternatives that will work as well as the 3M compound at removing the 2000 grit marks?



3) POLISHING: Should I complete the repair with Meguiar’s Hand Polish or 3M Perfect-It Swirl Remover? I`d like to stick with 3M if I`ve used their stuff up until then, but again, I`m having trouble finding 3M Perfect-It Swirl Remover in Vancouver.



Any other thoughts or words of advice? I intend to finish the job with Zaino (liquid dawn, claybar, Z7, Z2 w/ZFX, Z6, Z5, Z6, Z2, etc..). The car is metallic silver.

[hondaguy2582]

mine is brief, but i think i can help some.

1) use anything flat period, use painters sticks and just fold the sand paper over the stick. Make sure its flat so you can have a flat surface to sand on, it works the same as a block only u can get in smaller areas.

2) Most compounds will do(dont use super duty obviously), heck even 3m finesse it 2 will remove 2000 grit sandmarks.

3) Never worked with meguiars polishes, i like 3m. Like #2, if you want to compound the 2000 grit, id definitely go with the finesse it right after the compounding stage and you could go straight to waxing, or you could take it one step further and use 3m smr although i dont know how much of a difference it will make since finesse it 2 usually gets the polishing job done by itself.

[Vincent231]

Thanks for that... Is the 3M Finesse-it a sanding disk? I`m doing all of this by hand... I do see that there is a "Hand Sanding Pad" for the Finesse-it disks (http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/auto_marine_aero/automotive_aftermarket/node_NR7BMSL778gs/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSLPLPKL4Xge/bgel_L0K7FHW9H4bl/gvel_GSP5WW2V13gl/theme_us_aad_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html) but I was hoping that after sanding my way up to 2000 and then using a rubbing compound to take out the micro-marring, I wouldn`t have to go back to any sort of wet sanding and could simply use the 3M Swirl Remover (if I can find the darn thing) and then go to clay and wax.



Any tips on how to fold the sandpaper so that the edges don`t scratch the finish? I hear the edges have to be folded a special way around the block...



Also, anyone heard that a rubber sanding block like an eraser does a better job for blending touch-up jobs than a hard surface like a paint stick? I`m actually going to be taking out some 800 grit marks to start... those marks are left from the primer stage, when I sanded slightly over and around the scratch that I had primed.



I do like the thought of having a very precise sanding block since my touch-ups are all quite small -- the "gouge" on the quarter panel is about 2 inches long and 1/4" wide at it`s largest, but the holes I plugged in the rear bumper are about 1/8" in diameter, and some of the nicks on the moulding and side mirrors are really tiny, so the paint blob to be levelled in those places is only a few millimeters long.

[hondaguy2582]

finesse it 2 is a polish that removes 1500 grit sanding marks, its also used as finishing material after compounding and you can go straight to waxing a car after finesse it 2. As for edges on sandpaper, i doubt you`ll scractch your paint up with the edges unless you don`t have the sandpaper flat on and your holding the stick vertically. 3m smr won`t really do much for swirls either, heck its more of a mild abrasive polish with fillers, your better off with finesse it 2 or meguiars dual action cleaner polish. Btw, you really should invest in a porter cable polisher, it will make your life a heck of a lot easier than doing all the compounding and polishing by hand.