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I don't think the body shops/detailers use high RPM polishers. I believe most are <4K RPM. The compound/pad/pressure are the main issues.

Like you said - the higher speed is just waiting to burn through something - usually when you think you are going along just fine! I have first hand knowledge of this phenomena.

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i agree, espically when polishing new paint. also random orbit polishers are much better at delivering a more uniform polish because they spin and orbit in a oval at the same time, basically giving you less swirl marks and a better finish. I've tried alot of compounds when polishing paint, and out of them all, the el-cheap-o turtle wax polishing compound worked the best, but it did take time. the down side is time, the upside is that it works, and there is virtually no chance of burning the paint. i would equate the rubbing compound to 600grit paper, and the polishing compound to 2000+ grit paper. some compounds are rated according to grit, or their equivelent, no matter how much you buff with rubbing compound it will still be dull, try polishing paint with 600 grit paper wet and let me know how it works out!! i'd bet it won't. if you think about it, you know how long it takes to wetsand with 2000grit paper when compared to 600, that is why the polishing compound takes time to see results. but it's easy work, basically just stand there and let the polisher do the work, for the sides i reccommend a chair/stool!!!

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A side by side comparison; before and after.

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Looks great for a fridge! Now do a car

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Looks great for a fridge! Now do a car

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gotta be honest with you, even though I managed to learn quite a bit with this technique, I'm not sure I'm convinvced... yet. Fortunately, I still have lots of other work to do on the car before I'm ready for paint. I did the beer fridge with the "consumer" grade Rustoleum, and haven't tried the "Professional" grade yet although I don't expect it to perform much differently. I'm real curious to see how the paint performs once it's had a chance to harden properly, a month or two perhaps. Right now, it feels quite soft and I have no doubt that if I tried I could dig up some paint with a fingernail. Having never painted a car before, I honestly don't know if that could be expected of a "traditional" spray job or not. In the mean time, I got eyes on my riding mower, which sits out in the Florida sun 24/7/365. It'll go a long way in convincing me to see if this paint can stand up on the mower after a few months of abuse.

EDIT: THE FINAL COAT IS NOW ONE WEEK OLD AND I GAVE IT THE "FINGERNAIL" TEST. PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS, COULDN'T EVEN MAKE A DENT IN IT.

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I have noticed on some sections of the car that have 6 total coats and about 2 weeks of drying time that if I dig my nail in, it will scrape right off down to the primer below it. In reading this thread, it sounds like only one other person has that problem, and no solution

Asking the paint guys at Home Depot (whatever that is worth), they told me that Rustoleum isn't made to stick to a urethane based primer, which is what I believe was on my car prior to the painting...

Any insight on how to make this paint harder?

-Mike

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I've been reading this thread like many others and have been a reader of moparts for years (I have a '70 Challenger R/T). I tried doing this on my Datsun 240Z and so far have enjoyed the results. The paint goes on nice and easy and looks good (I have 6 coats of white so far).

I have noticed on some sections of the car that have 6 total coats and about 2 weeks of drying time that if I dig my nail in, it will scrape right off down to the primer below it. In reading this thread, it sounds like only one other person has that problem, and no solution

Asking the paint guys at Home Depot (whatever that is worth), they told me that Rustoleum isn't made to stick to a urethane based primer, which is what I believe was on my car prior to the painting...

Any insight on how to make this paint harder?

-Mike

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I think GTSDAVE's advice on surface prep is sound, but I would be hesitant to thin with laquer thinner simply because it's not the recommended thinner from the manufacturer. Gotta defer to the Rustoleum chemists IMHO.
I'm convinced at this point that the troubles folks are having are not a "hardness" problem, rather an adherence problem. My dilution ratio was significantly higher than the average (~45%), so you would think that it would take significantly longer for my paint to dry, yet it's hard as stone after only one week - unscratchable. I might be wrong here, but I think those having trouble started with a primer base. Did the primer coat folks sand down the primer coat before starting, or just wipe down with cleaner before starting? Maybe a primer coat alone isn't rough enough for the paint grip/adhere? Bare/clean metal painters, are you having problems? I know with products like POR15, a metal prep/etcher is needed, something to "rough up" the metal enough to give the POR/paint something to grab onto. Hope this helps.

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i totally agree. use mineral spirits, NOT laquir thinner with the rust paint, it is mineral spirits based and NEEDS to be thinned with mineral spirits. let's keep one thing in mind here, the mineral spirits mixed with the paint allows for a thinner layer of paint to be applied, that will actually dry faster then straight paint in a thick layer. the mineral spirits increase the pot life, and tack life of the paint and don't really effect the overall drying time. after 6-8 hours, even if you thinned with mineral spirits at 80%, the paint will "flash" and dry. the solvent (in this case being mineral spirits) evaporates from the paint in 6-8 hours, from then on it is the paint that dries, very little of the "flashing" occurs after that time, then it is the paint that actually dries, and that is a constant. remember your not comparing apples with apples here, how hard the paint dries in the end is soley based on the paint it self. on the other hand, when you paint using a enamel that uses a hardner, the hardner causes a chemical reaction with the paint that forces it to flash faster. it's like body filler, eventually straight filler will harden, but the hardner speeds this process. i think all the adhesion issues and scratch tests are related to surface prep, i allways sand with no more than 600grit when prepping a surface to get the paint to adhere. then you have to also clean the surface. even though you sand, you don't remove all surface contaminents, if there is wax for example on the paint, sanding will not totally remove it. i'm sure that if you prep properlly with the right paper, and don't go too fine with the prep, and you really clean the surface well with mineral spirits there should be no issues with adhesion. we can see some members have issues and others do not, the paint is the same, and the only varaible is surface prep, regardless of the ratio of mineral spirits. as a test, if you really feel it necessary, if you paint with straight paint, and paint thinned with mineral spirits at 50%, assuming you could get the same thickness in layers of paint, i'd bet they would dry roughly at the same rate after the first hour. if you soak a rag with mineral spirits, and whipe the car down, the mineral spirits will evoperate completely in about 10 mins. same happens in the paint. then mineral spirits slightly increases the initial drying time, allows you to work with thinner paint strictly due to the thinner viscosity of the paint, and allows the paint to "self-level" better then just straight paint. rant out

P.S. - EXIT1965- quit painting test areas and paint that damm car allready!!!!! next pic i want to see is a done car!!!! lol