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....the polyurathane paint was wet sanded with 1200 paper to remove all traces of orange peel, pollen, suicidal bugs and other nasties. This was followed by buffing with an electric buffer and 3M Finesse-It buffing compound. The compound quickly restores the gloss of the paint, and as long as enough paint was applied to prevent cutting through to the primer, the finish can be worked until it is mirror smooth.

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And here is the car that he was talking about :







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And just to round off the topic on polishing and buffing up a polyurathane finish, I will include this chap's advice which also tended to reflect a common agreement on getting this type of a finish up to a mirror quality

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I started the wet sand process. I found a local auto body shop supplier with a good selection of 3M wet/dry papers. Using a stiff foam block purchased from the same store as the papers, I began with 1000-grit, liberally spraying the surface with water containing a little bit of dish soap (I used Dawn and it worked fine).

This first grit is the most critical as it flattens the orange peel and gets out the major imperfections. You have to let it dry completely before you can really see what you've got. You're looking for a uniform dull finish. Any areas that show up still shiny mean you haven't knocked them down enough and the finer grits will never touch them. Once you're sure you've got a good 1000-grit base to work from, proceed through 1200, 1500, 2000, and 2500 grits.

Keep the paper wet at all times - you're looking for a kind of milky "slurry" indicating material is both being removed and being carried out from under the paper. If your paper gums up with little globs of material, toss it and get another sheet. I found rubbing with the grain was fine, no need to make circles or figure eights. After finishing the 2000 grit pass, rinse off and let dry. The final step is to buff out the 2000-grit scratches with polishing compound. I used 3M "Perfect-It" and my Porter-Cable worm drive random orbit sander.

Both the rubbing compound and the foam pad that velcro’s to my sander came from the auto body supply store. Dribble some compound onto the surface and start up the sander. It's messy, so count on compound slinging around the area. Polish until the compound dries up, then wipe off any excess. You should see a near-mirror finish. Mine came out better than anything I've ever finished before in fifteen years of what I'll call serious hobbyist woodworking. It was much better than any sprayed or brushed finish. The only thing that might be better is a good French polish, but I personally don't have the time or patience for that. Good luck and one last piece of advice: practice on a test piece to get a feel for the papers - 1000-grit doesn't sound very aggressive, but it will eat your lunch if you don't know when to stop.

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Smoothes tough swirls, scratches, and imperfections to restore old, neglected paint.

Orbital buffers are the best way to restore dull, damaged paint finishes, but they’re only as good as the product you apply to them. 3M Finesse-It II Machine Polish is an easy, effective, affordable solution to your minor paint imperfections.

3M Finesse-It II Machine Polish is formulated to give the best results when used with a buffer. It’s abrasive enough to smooth the edges of swirls and scratches but gentle enough buff your vehicle to a deep, flawless shine. It’s also effective on light oxidation and water spots. 3M Finesse-It II Machine Polish will restore the smooth, perfect finish your vehicle had when it was new.

For the best results, pour a small amount onto your polishing pad. On a speed you are comfortable with, apply the polish with light to medium pressure. Allow it to dry to a haze and then buff away with a clean buffing pad or microfiber towel if buffing by hand.

Though 3M Finesse-It II Machine Polish will leave a deep shine, it offers no protection. Apply a quality wax or paint sealant to preserve your restored finish. We recommend Pinnacle Souveran Wax or Pinnacle Signature Series II Wax for a warm carnauba finish. If you prefer a paint sealant, try Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant for a dramatic gloss.

Your vehicle will look as perfect as the day you bought it after using 3M Finesse-It II Machine Polish followed by a great wax.

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I think Marq had considered skipping final wetsand and going straight to polish

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Hey that dude is practically a neighbor, 44 tags are Athens, AL about 8 miles from here. He rolled or sprayed this paint? I'd really like to see that car in person to give it a close up look, if I can get the finish on my truck looking like that I'm liable to literally shake with joy

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Hey that dude is practically a neighbor, 44 tags are Athens, AL about 8 miles from here. He rolled or sprayed this paint? I'd really like to see that car in person to give it a close up look, if I can get the finish on my truck looking like that I'm liable to literally shake with joy

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That little car is a 'kit car' and basically all the body pieces come off it in a matter of minutes. So what he did was take the body panels and fenders off the car and sprayed them in his garage using a polyurathane. So he cheated a little by not rolling.. but he still encountered many of the same 'surface glitches' that a roll on job would have.

So for our purposes we pick up on his story where he was attempting to resolve the 'suicidal bugs, orange peel and other mysterious things' that had landed on his freshly paint body parts. So we match up to the stage where he does the wet sanding and subsequent polishing to get a mirror finish onto his little Lotus Super Seven look-a-like.

And I guess the finish must be quite acceptable as the car has come 1rst place in a number of car shows.

I think most of us would kill to be able to get the paint on our cars up to a level where we would fearlously enter them in car shows

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I think most of us would kill to be able to get the paint on our cars up to a level where we would fearlously enter them in car shows

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Car show? Heck I'll be happy if I can park it at Wal Mart with pride

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The polisher that every US forum recommends is the Porter Cable 7424. There are a number of places that sell the PC online and there are also some video tutorials available

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