Whats the best compound to use on a bad bad paint job?

Whats the best bonnet to use on the buffer, foam or wool?

Thanks for any other helpful tips!!!

DXR_DAD

quote Originally posted by DXR_DAD: Whats the best compound to use on a bad bad paint job?

>Do you mean that the paint that was sprayed on looks crappy, or do you mean that it's beginning to fade and stuff? If it's a bad paint job, you almost have to wet-sand a little and use come glazing compound w/ a buffer. Makes it look quite a bit better. Gets rid of the wavy-ness. Glazing compound works pretty well too, as long as it's sanded well enough. The stuff we used for mine was made by 3M. Hope this helps a *little*. Have a good one!

Sorry Puff, I didn't make it clear but yes it's beginning to fade and STUFF!! Working on my little RED toy. need to put a little life back in the paint....if I can. May have to just suck it up and paint it???

Thanks DXR_DAD

I use 3m Super duty (from paint suppliers only) its the coursest grade on badly oxidized or new wet sanded paint. I prefer a wool pad because it makes for a slicker job. Id recommend a foam one for a novice. If you dont know what your doing , you can destroy a complete paint job in minutes. Some tricks is to use masking tape on edges of adjoining panels to keep from burning the edges. EX- if your buffing the fender, tape the hood and door edges. Always buff 'OFF' of edges and creases - not 'Onto' the edge. around moldings and rubber, make sure the wheel is turning the direction that it comes off of the rubber and not towards it- youll rip the rubber rite off (ie- windshield rubber molding)after I finish with superduty i clean pad thoroughly and use Perfect III finish compound. It removes most of the scratches left by superduty. Then you can finish with a machine glaze and a NEW pad, or I like Turtle Wax Swirl/scratch Remover by hand to finish. I prefer to not use wax myself, too many applications dull the finish or make it cloudy and its a real pain to get out of nooks & crannys. After your all done make sure you wash it very good, after rubbing compound dries, its like cement. Very hard to remove.

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Thanks Roger!!! That's funny I was going to pose this question to you Thanks for all the info. I'll get some pics of it up sametime later today.

DXR_DAD

...hey, hate to hijack a string here, but just had to ask a couple of related questions.
(1) When you repainted you cars, did you strip the old paint off (and if so, how?), or did you just paint over the old?
(2) Did you repaint with the panels still on the car, or did anyone repaint with all the body panels removed from the car?

...just had to ask.

3VOM, Go to the top right of the screen, click on the SEARCH, Type in as search word:
Repaint, Paint, Panels off, Paint jobs.....any of these will work as the search word. You will find more info than you need! about painting a Fiero. Quite a few members have painted there own cars.

Hijacker

DXR_DAD

[This message has been edited by DXR_DAD (edited 07-04-2001).]

TI_3VOM-I agree that it is much better to strip off the old paint, but on a Fiero, if you are painting over the factory paint it is better to merely prep the surface, as stirppers of too much sanding can ruin the plastic panels. Also, contrary to popular belief, it is MUCH better to paint the panels ON the car, especially with metallics or bright colors like red or white, so you are sure the pigment orientation it the same on adjacent panels. If a panel is removed from the car, it should be painted in the same orientation as on the car, ie do NOT lay a fender or door panel flat to paint, as well as do NOT hang a decklid, etc to paint. As long as the masking and detailing is done with extreme care (these are the hardest parts of painting and the most vital to good results) the on-car method will come out WAY better than removal. I also have one tip. Get some 3m 1/8" fine line tape and run a strip inside each gutter, and as SOON as the roof is painted, remove it while the paint is still wet. This will prevent buildup in the gutter, but allow the still-wet paint to slowly flow to the edge of the panel... anyways, good luck, DXR! Now that you have a new toy, can I have your black beauty?

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'85 GT (in progress)
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Roger, I use Super Duty rubbing compound too, and it works great!! I usually finish off with some Mirror Glaze Dual Action Cleaner/Polish, and then Mirror Glaze #7 Glaze, and then a wax (my car is always outside, so a wax is very necessary). The wax I like the best is Meguiar's Gold Class, in paste form. Very very reflective!

As for bonnets, I usually use foam pads, especially when I'm using those 3 compounds. Just rip the pad off and stick a fresh one on. Wool bonnets do work a little better, but today I saw my dad burn through the camaro's freshly painted hood with a wool bonnet, on a crest in the center of it (I told him not go to so fast!!) He had the router control up to 7.5, where I usually don't go more than 5.5

b lo 0 - is this gutter you speak of the black drip rails on each side of the roof section? Those just snap right off, no need to try and tape around them.

Another hint, besides the metallic paint orientation thing, about painting with panels off. Just because you are going to have to move them around a bit to get them back on and fit correctly, you have more a chance of dinging your new paint or running a scratch in it. If you tape properly, you shouldn't need to paint panels seperatly.

Also, remove as much trim as you can! That really helps.

Bill, that car is beginning to look good! I'm just curious though, is the Black Toy getting jealous yet?

Thanks Roger!! After a hard weekend of work
the paint is starting to look good. I got the 3M Super duty, YES the stuff works!

thanks again. Here's a pic:

DXR_DAD

Wow, Looks like new paint!