alright i want to buy all my products to be ready before i go ahead and start all the beginning steps of painting my car.


what is the best buffing and polishing compound out there?

what is the best type of sander/buffer/polisher air tool to use for all the bodywork? what size of disk? what type of pad to be used for buffing/polishing?

what grit sand paper to be used to start sanding?
what grit sand paper to be used to do the final sand before base coat?
what grit sand paper to be used to sand the clearcoat then buff?

i am in the process of ordering a proffesional paint video to learn all the techniques and and steps but i just need to know the best products to use so anyone that knows this please post

 

Well the whole process is not as easy as it may look.. and does require quite a bit..

Prior to body repairs you will been doing, use a good grinder with about a 36 grit, I mainly used either a 5 inch grinder or a 2 inch grinder to strip off the paint to bare metal (on our cars), be sure to leave at least 3 to 4 inches of bare metal around the repair area

For body repair (filler), you will want to use 40, 80, 100, 180 grit sand paper for body filler and finishing putty. 40 to quickly shape the body filler, 80 to finish it.. I like to use 100 for smooth it prior to the finishing putty the 100 to take and higher spots left by the finishing putty, then 180 to smooth it all out.. ** don't use a DA to sand down body filler, either use a air powered long board, or do it by hand with a long board or sanding block

For fether edging the old paint around the repair area use a 180 grit on a DA (orbital sander) and smooth it out.. also use this to scuff down the old paint on the whole car. You may need 280 if there are still some scratches left by the 180 ..

In places where the DA just doesn't work use a 220 or 280 by hand. Also the Purple scotch pads are really handy too.

** Be sure to use a tack cloth, and wax & grease remover on the whole car before you spray any products, never touch the surface with bare hands after it's cleaned.. also make sure you use a air gun and blow out every nook and cranny of any dust **

Once you have sprayed the high build primer.. I would recommend about 600 grit wet sand. Be sure to use some guide coat also to help you see any low areas you might have missed.
If the clear is a good quality one, and it goes on well enough with out any problems.. you may not need to wet sand the whole car then polish it.. just to that in the areas where there is some dirt specs.

Once you have sprayed it all, and the clear is set.. you will probably have some dirt bits and or runs in the clear.. You will want to sand those out with a 1500 grit detail saning block.. drop to a 1000 if you have to.. but always use the least agressive method first. As for polishing compount, not sure what you have available.. ask around and see whats being used. same goes for the polishing pads.. we use two different types for cutting and polishing.

Well this is just a basic run down.. I'm in the process of doing my car also.. Body work is almost done, and it'll soon be ready for some epoxy primer, followed by the primer surfacer (high build). I hope you will have access to a proper spray booth with proper saftey gear... including a fresh air resirator. ok,, enough typing.. hope this helps ya.. and anyone else reading this post.

 

thanks very much for all the info and for going out of your way to type all of it...this will be a good start for me.
thanks again.