I think I'm going to leave the paint work to the pro's. I made such a mess trying to polish some scratches out today I realized I should just take it in and have it done right the first time! In the end I think there actually was improvement but I figured I'd stop while I was ahaead before I polished my way thru the first layer of paint.
What do you guys think of the PowerBall? I've used it on my truck but don't have the balls (no pun intended) to use it on my baby just yet...thoughts?
If your using it on the paint. Be careful. Use only polishing compound, not anything designed to cut into the clear coat. Have a bright light next to you so you can SEE what your doing AT THE SURFACE of the paint. 3M makes a bunch of profesional grade buffing products. All available at body shop supply stores. They are pricey but worth it. IF your trying to remove scratches. You will need a mild abrasive compound. Then step back up to the polishing compound. The power ball is a mild spong type texture. If you keep moving and don't sit in one spot you should be fine. Don't let it build up heat by staying in one spot Buffing paint is kind of an art. It takes some time to learn. A clean up polish is much easier. Good luck
If you can post pics of the issue I or Richie can walk you through some possibilities on how to correct the paint/clear
Good info! It is definately an art. I first used 1000 grit sand paper and rubbed the big scratches out. Then I took 2000 grit over the whole area and smoothed it out. Finally I rubbed polishing compound over the entire area by hand then used the polisher on the wet polishing compound. Thats when I made the mess. It went everywhere. I didn't have a good light on it but when I pulled it out into the sun I could see some improvment. I think another run over it with the polisher/buffer might be what it needs but I'll wait till I read up some more. Kinda hard to see but the area just behind the tire on the plastic part of the bumper was scuffed from a fence post. I took out most of the scratches, some smaller ones remain. I can actually see a reflection in it now!
The bright light is needed to SEE the surface as you go. It takes some training of your eye's focus to see the surface correctly. Since you went at it with sand paper you may need a compound with some abrasive to remove the scratches. They will be small, but they will still be there. First, continue with the polishing compound. Yes it's messy, but worth it. If you starting to see some reflection your getting close. It doesn't polish quickly.
