newbie - polishing compounds, sealant glazes & orange peel

[karlooz]

do either help get rid of/minimize the appearance of orange peel? i want to get the most disortion free surface without being invasive and having to wet sand then polish compound the clearcoat. will using just a polishing compund help? i just read that using zaino is like adding another clearcoat. will several layers of z2 minimizes the orange peel?



i just purchased zaino`s show car kit upon numerous recommendations from another board. haven`t received it yet and was wondering what to do pre-application wise.



tia



this is such a great site!

[Gonzo]

Orange peel is a physical deformation in the surface of the paint itself (think rolling hills) and the only way I know how to eliminate it is to wet sand (think bulldozer). Having said that, polishing with a fairly agressive pad and compound will help after repeated use, in knocking the tops off the high spots (think erosion over a long long time). ANYTHING you do to the paint, sanding, polishing whatever, will abrade its surface - too much and you will either go through the clear or render it so thin it fails.



Its just a big balancing act, trying to get the maximum shine and best appearance, while at the same time living with the imperfections.



Unless you have lots of $$$, then you can just go out a buy a flawless paint job (think thousands of $$$). BUT after that, would you actually take it out of the garage or out of the trailer?

[karlooz]

i was afraid of that. i just want to minmize the orange peel rather than eliminate it. really the area with most orange peel is on the hood. it`s the broadest surface so i want to concentrate on it.



so would you say using 2000 grit w/ a foam sanding block then following up with a moderate polish like 1z paint polish w/ a random orbital is a good non-aggressive way to "knock" it down a bit?

[Gonzo]

See here:



http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34304



for Micromesh sandpapers.



DO NOT ue a foam pad, you will need a hard rubber one. I`ve experimented a little but any advice I could give would be highly suspect, so I won`t :D

[shaf]

Welcome to Autopia Carlos. :welcome



Don`t forget to use the search feature as much as you can - there is tons of helpful info stuffed into this place if you look for it. :)

[imported_Dave Holmes]

I suggest practicing on something you don`t care about if you are going to be wetsanding. This is one of the skills I`d like to teach myself in the near future.



Dave