[bobyell]

How do I buff the tail panel on a 69 Firebird? There are many small convex area on a bird, Do I have to do it by hand?
Also how long do I need to buff or is that just personal preference?

Can I get rid of all the buffing scratches?

Any tips that you can provide would be appreciated!

 

[[email protected]]

Best to do all non-flat places by hand. Rub till shiny and smooth.

Swirl-mark remover or a final Glaze will remove fine compound marks.

 

[bobyell]

OK , thanks. I've been VERY careful of the edges as I don't want to paint it again. Other than that it is coming out way better than I had hoped for. Very pleased with the results.

I said it before, but worth saying again! I could not have done this paint job without the input and guidance from this forum! period. I thank all of you very much. I'm a very proud happy man and the clincher is my WIFE loves the paint job! She was really against me painting it myself. Now she wants me to repaint her Benz 380SL convertible..LOL

Bob

 

[mechEcwru]

Alot to be said for doing things by hand... so many people think that there is always a machine that can do it better! Glad to hear your firebird is going nicely. I can't wait until I'm ready to paint my '68!

 

[rcrobbins]

Inside of the jambs and tight/restricting areas, I wetsand to 2500 and use Megs 105 on microfiber. M105 is perfect for those areas and buffs right up with very minimal effort. On difficult curves and body lines, I go to 2500 and buff it with my DA sander/LC orange or white pad/M105. The most important thing I find is to finish with 2000(minimum)/2500(recommended). The whole process of compounding is simply removing the scratch marks. The finer the scratches, the less time/effort you spend on removing them. Using this setup/process, I can generally have the scratches out with a single application of material to a 2ftx2ft area. With the orbiting motion of the DA and the design of the pad to store material in "pockets", heat/burning clear is no longer an issue on edges, swirl marks are rare, no material splatter and much less dust. Those are just a few of my suggestions when you can't use the rotary, hope it helps.