Leveling Orange Peel with a PC and Compound -- PART 2

[tguil]

The continuing saga leveling orange peel with a Porter Cable dual action polisher. A synopsis of my first attempt:



Wet sanded door using Meguiar’s #3000.



Polished a bunch using CMA orange pads and yellow pads. Products used 3M Perfect- It II, Meguiar’s Dual Action Cleaner Polish, Mequiar’s Swirl Free Polish, and Meguiar’s #7. What is a bunch? About three hours on one door.



The midweek discovery – A few sanding scratches that I missed.

Sunday morning discovery -- A BUNCH of sanding scratches that I missed.



Choices. Get busy with the PC. See my professional detailer friend. Run out and buy a rotary buffer.



I chose to get busy with the PC. If it didn’t work I’d head for the detail shop. And I still may buy a rotary



I think (I hope) that I got out the scratches.



I went over the entire door nine times using 3M Perfect-It II and the PC with a Meguiar’s burgundy pad. This pad got loaded up some so I switched to a CMA yellow pad and hit the door three more times with Perfect-It. I had the PC set at 5 for much of this buffing.



Next, I went over the door four times with a CMA yellow pad and Meguiar’s DACP. The PC was set at 4.



Rather than using #7 this time I just QDed the whole side of the truck. The truck has been Blackfired and I wanted the door and the rest of the truck to sort of match.



After every application above I wiped down the area with a 50/50 rubbing alcohol distilled water mixture. This sure lets you know where there is filler. I always detail wearing my reading classes. Boy, can I see the imperfections.



The door looks OK. It still has some orange peel. Not as much.



Lessons learned.



Don’t wet sand unless you have a rotary and know how to use it. #3000 sandpaper can create rather deep scratches in the hands of someone who has not wet sanded before. Practice all of this stuff on an old vehicle, not a new black truck. I fixed my mess OK. I certainly didn’t sand too deep or buff too much. I know that there is still a bunch of clear left because my door was cleared twice with only slight sanding in between coats when the door was repaired.



What do I do next? Not mess with this truck for a bit. And try to find another obsession!!!!!



Tom

[shaf]

Did you consider using something stronger maybe, like a fine or medium cut product instead of slaving over it with just DACP?

[tguil]

Brian,



I did use a compound -- 3M Perfect-It II Rubbing Compond. It is a mild compound according to the folks at my auto body supply shop. They said it was a little less aggressive than the newer Perfect-It III. I had it on hand so I used it. It`s more agressive than DACP.



I didn`t use a final polish yet. I just used Blackfire QD after wiping down the whole door with 50/50 distilled water/alcohol. I`ll go back and hit it with a polish and #7 later this week.



I really had a bunch of scratches from my wet sanding attempt. I didn`t want to mess up the clearcoat with more swirls or possible hazing.



What do you think a wool pad would have done? Remember I`m using a PC. I was going to use one but ended up using the burgandy foam pad instead. Yep, I was cautious. I`d already messed up with the wet sanding.



I am finding that a PC has limits. But then to remove scratches you have to remove paint. Abrassive compounds + friction does that. Perfect-It II + a PC+ a lot of patience can work. Sad thing is that I still have the orange peel in the door. It wouldn`t be bad except that it doesn`t match the next panel.



I`m still considering a rotary even though I`d probably use it very little.



By the way, I remember the days of "hand rubbed" laquer.



Tom

[Spork]

Why not take it back to the paint shop and see if they can take care of it? A good shop should be able ot match the amout of orange peel on the orignal panels. I am thinking you are not going to get rid of it with a PC. The problem with a rotary is that if you do not use them alot you will not get good with it. Unless you have lots of friends with bad paint that will let you practice it will be your car you are practicing on!

[tguil]

MiataPaul,



I was thiinking the same thing about both. I may take the truck to another shop to get their opinion. A shop that specializes in custom paint jobs. The color is fine. For sure I don`t want the door recleared again. Wetsanding by an expert may be the answer. The guys at my regular shop just don`t seem to see the problem. Neither do most normal folks. :-)



About the rotary. You may be right. I have only two vehicles. Both are garaged and I keep them pretty nice. The only time I would use a rotary would be when I had to get out minor scratches and swirls. That doesn`t happen all that often - at least not in the past forty years.



Tom

[tguil]

The truck goes back to the original shop. The painter simply messed up a bit. It needs to be fixed. The manager agrees that it should be wet sanded and polished. I still am concerned about the door being made to smooth. But better too smooth that too rough.



This has been a heck of a lesson for an "old guy" like me to learn. The good thing is that I actually did learn a lot about the capabilities of the PC and various pads, compounds and polishes.



Tom

[Accumulator]

tguil- I`ve followed your work on this with interest. Yes, 3K grit paper IS more, uhm, dangerous than many might think. Glad to hear you didn`t cause any irreparable damage.



Funny about the bodyshop guy`s PI-II FCRC vs. PI-III RC comments, *I* would`ve thought the PI-III RC (pn 05933) was MILDER than the PI-II FCRC (pn 39002), it sure seems to leave a finer finish :nixweiss Both are less aggressive than one might think.



Likewise, the wool pad isn`t all THAT aggressive when used on a PC. Given the apparent severity of what you were initially dealing with, *I* would`ve used the wool (and a more aggressive product, too) to remove the worst of it. It`s a bit more aggressive than the cutting pad, but not as much as most people seem to think. OH, and BTW, *I* use speed 6 when dealing with that sort of severe marring.



Hope the shop makes things BETTER, and not worse.

[tguil]

Accumulator,



Thanks for the comments. I hope that my experience and this thread might answer a few questions that others might have.



Tom