I think I`ve decided to go ahead and start with 1000 on a block to get all the orange peel out and use the DA from there to refine the scratches. I know that in the past I have had ripples in panels that looked flat before the cutting and buffing were done, and I`ve always felt that they were do to an uneven clear coat surface created from the DA. I`m gonna give the block a try and see how it works out. I think we can all agree that after using 1000 grit on a block to remove the orange peel I will have a uniformly flat surface of clear coat to polish up.
Another thing that has not been mentioned yet in the discussion is urethane wave. This is something that us painters have to be aware of in addition to orange peel when layering clear on heavy for custom jobs and show cars. This is why a lot of times painters will spray 3-4 coats of clear, block it down with 400-600 grit, and then spray a final flow coat. I suppose that if you were to put the clear on too heavy in the flow coat you could end up with some wave as well which would require sanding with a block to get it out. I really doubt a DA would flatten urethane wave.
One of my questions that still hasn`t been addressed really is this...When compounding and polishing until all defects are removed from the paint, is it possible for the final appearance to be different if a different set of products were used? Is the final appearance dependent only on a perfectly flat, smooth, and defect free clear coat, no matter if I got there using Menzerna, Meguiars, or any other compounds/polishes? Since I use the same clear on every job I do I am looking to find the magic formula for cutting and buffing that I know will produce the best results every time. Unlike in the detailing world, once I figure out what works best on my clear I will be able to use the same process every time.
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