What to use next with a random orbital buffer on freshly cleared car

[73charger]

I painted my '73 Charger a few days ago with Duplicolor Burnt Orange Metallic and Championship White and followed with clear coat. Next step is using a random orbital buffer with a wool pad and fine grit buffing compound (1500 to 2000) and then with a foam pad and finishing compound. These last steps were recommended by Duplicolor. Should I use m105/205? I am worried that m105 will be to abrasive. I am looking at putting the ultimate polish and ultimate liquid wax soon (duplicolor says to wait 7 days to wax). Is this worth doing if I am already possible using the 105/205 combo or what ever combo I settle on? I want a wet smooth clean look, not glassy. Basically if I hold my hand near the paint I want to see the reflection, color of hand but not the fine lines of my hand.

[greg0303]

Re: What to use next with a random orbital buffer on freshly cleared car

Welcome to Meguiar's Online.


I'm not sure if I understood your goals correctly.
Was your fresh paint already sanded ? Are you trying to remove the sanding marks and polish to high gloss ?

I think you may need a rotary buffer to go with a wool pad (no random orbital nor D/A polisher will work in that case) and M105/ M205 combo to do this job.
In most cases you start waxing your fresh paint after 30-60 days to let it fully outgas.

[73charger]

Re: What to use next with a random orbital buffer on freshly cleared car

it's fresh paint that I'm not going to sand. It didn't lay down that bad. I tryed sanding a small spot just to see if it would make a difference, it didn't. So now I will skip the sanding and go right to the next step. So still go with the m105/m205 combo?

[greg0303]

Re: What to use next with a random orbital buffer on freshly cleared car

In most cases fresh paints get sanded. Very rarely they are flat enough to ensure perfect reflection (wavey surface, orange peel, etc).

If you want to skip sanding then just polish it to a high gloss with M205.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: What to use next with a random orbital buffer on freshly cleared car

Even if you don't feel a need to sand the paint, stay away from the wool pad on a DA buffer. You're going to end up badly swirling paint by doing so and then you'll need an extra step to remove those marks. Wool pads are a rotary only tool. M105 on a foam polishing pad will do quite a bit to enhance the appearance of the finish, but go sparingly with the M105. Prime the pad first, then use just a few drops of product, run the tool at speed 5 with a fair amount of pressure, and clean the pad very regularly as you go. Then switch to a foam finishing pad and M205, slowing the tool down to speed 3-4 and easing up on the pressure.

It is a bit surprising to hear you say that sanding did not improve the finish as we would expect that process to definitely help. But if you say no, so be it.