fredbear

I used 180 220 400 400 wet then 1500

they didn't come out as well as I wanted them but next winter Ill get at it again then they should really shine

fredbear

Heres some more pics

t-top havoc

iTrader: (3)

Good job!!
Did you do it all by hand or use some kind of buffer or drill
attachment??

58mark

iTrader: (3)

if you want them to shine, you've got to buff them. you can't get real shine with just sandpaper

Blackdog36

iTrader: (3)

I like them! Makes your car even better. Well worth it.

I've been polishing my intake that is aluminum and plan to do a set of rims also. I've read on here that trick to achieve mirror shine is to use die grinder or dremel for final buffing. They can reach higher rpm than buff on a drill. Not sure if this is the final "trick" but I will give it a try.

When I was trying to polish my intake, I bought some good compound from below. I rubbed it on after final buff with jewelers rouge. I found that this last step did make the mirror finish better. Still had swirl marks but I will try some more with the higher grit sandpapers.
http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/custom.html

fredbear

I used a 3 inch disc on the end of a drill.....with those grits that 1500 grit cost 60 for a small box probably had like 40 pieces.
then I used that diamond compound on a buffer pad on the drill again

CruzinQueen

Lookin' good! I did the same thing not too long ago. It's a lot of work but well worth the effort.

blackbmagic

You missed a few steps after the 400 grit. You should have went 600 then 800 then 1000, then 1500, then 2000. Finished with tripoli, emery, and white rouge and a wheel, or polishing compound 2 steps and a finishing polish. Would be perfect

Also problem was you started out too low, 180 is wayyy to coarse. 400 would have been fine it would have just taken a little longer to get down to fresh metal. Much less time than getting rid of marring from 180grit though.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

i might have started with 200 to get off the clear if I couldn't strip it. it's not that hard to get out 200 scratches with 400

but I agree the there needs to be at LEAST 800 before you jump over 1000

i would go 200 400 800 1200 2000, and then buff with a wheel and compound

fredbear

As I live in a hick town those were All I had avaibal to me even at that I had to cut them with scissors to fit my pad... I have read and read how to do it here at 3rd gen and was very disappointed not to have the proper tools but I feel like the guy who painted his car outside and it turned out not to bad.....next winter ill better prep myself

58mark

iTrader: (3)

all of those things are available from amazon. Trust us, the difference will be night and day if you take a couple of extra steps. they are good now... go for great!

Even a drill mounted buffing wheel would be a huge improvement

Rhett86IROC

Nice looking IROC, Do you happen to live near Mustang ok?

fredbear

No, I live in Canada

zz's z28

I work as a guitar tech and we use Micro mesh for polishing things. It REALLY WORKS, and you can get all the way up to 12000 by hand.

I used it to polish my throttle body