1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

[dnoraker]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

Okay- I finally took a minute to learn how to edit in iPhoto. It was stupid easy.....

So, here are the last few pics I meant to add, some of which show the wetsanded area of the decklid:











I think I totally used the wrong filter for this picture....I was in a hurry and left it on "full sun", which isn't flattering to the clarity of the paint. You can also see all the rock chips. It's still cool, though, to see the body lines of this hood. Beautiful curves!

[Mudman]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

fantastic work! such a beautiful car!

[dnoraker]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

I found yet another photo that I meant to post. Disorganized, I tell ya.

[RaskyR1]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

Car looks great Dan!


Hey sorry I never got around to emailing you back. By the time I got the email it was Sunday and I actually didn't have any clean wool pads anyway. (I'm bad at cleaning my pads )

[BACNBLACK]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

Great Job, looks beautiful !!!!

[dnoraker]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

Rasky- not a problem. It was a little safer with the light cut wool anyway. I just got my double-sided from UPS Tuesday, so now I'm ready for anything that comes my way!

[RaskyR1]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

Rasky- not a problem. It was a little safer with the light cut wool anyway. I just got my double-sided from UPS Tuesday, so now I'm ready for anything that comes my way!

I actually like using the Solo better anyway. The small size makes them perfect for working on cars with lines like the older Vette's. The W5000 pads are just to large IMO unless you have a lot of flat open panels.

[dnoraker]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

ah, yes. I should throw in some burgundy wool solo pads in my next order. The yellow ones were just to "gentle" for getting the sanding marks out.

[dnoraker]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

Rasky (or anyone for that matter) what speed are you spinning the solo wool pads at? I was using 1800 RPM, but I've done a little reading around the forum and it sounds like people are using a little lower speed with M105. It seemed like the product dried up fairly quickly and didn't finish out quick at clean as I would have expected from the reports I've read. I just followed with M105/yellow polishing pad to clear it up before going to M205 and it was fine.

I was also trying to use a bead that was 5-6" long and maybe a little bigger than 1/8" wide.

I think I may have been pressing a little bit too hard as well. Any pressure comments with the wool pad? I think I have a good feel with the foam pads.

[RaskyR1]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

Rasky (or anyone for that matter) what speed are you spinning the solo wool pads at? I was using 1800 RPM, but I've done a little reading around the forum and it sounds like people are using a little lower speed with M105. It seemed like the product dried up fairly quickly and didn't finish out quick at clean as I would have expected from the reports I've read. I just followed with M105/yellow polishing pad to clear it up before going to M205 and it was fine.

I was also trying to use a bead that was 5-6" long and maybe a little bigger than 1/8" wide.

I think I may have been pressing a little bit too hard as well. Any pressure comments with the wool pad? I think I have a good feel with the foam pads.

I'm usually around 1200-1500 rpms with medium pressure.

What version of M105 are you using?

I have been playing around with how I apply M105 on the wool cutting pads as I've been getting pad hop on a few cars now. I've had much better success by applying the M105 to the pad with small dots spread through out the pad. This takes longer but seemed to eliminate the pad hop for me. You have to spread out out at low rpm's to avoid sling though.

[dnoraker]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

I have the newer version. After washing the pad (either soaking it in kitchen cleaner, rinsing and drying or running through the clothes washer) I prime it so that it feels damp with product. I then lay a pretty small bead for the first section, since there's already plenty of product in the pad, then a little more after that.

I can usually get overlapping passes in one direction, then there's just a little bit of product left for overlapping passes in the other direction, then it's usually gone and stops cutting. Sometimes I only get one lap with it and it's absorbed into the pad. I thought I was using too little, but when I use more then it seems like it gets everywhere. I've never seen much for play time with this product, though I'm sure it's possible. M205 has never dried for me.

One thing I did that seemed to help is I re-primed the pad after maybe 1-2 panels. The pad felt pretty much dry and was all dust. After re-priming, I got some play time back.

I have to say that I tend to tilt the wool pad just a hair (maybe 5-10 degrees) and it never hops on me. I always hear to "keep the pad flat" but when I do that with wool it almost always jumps around.

Need more practice!

[RaskyR1]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

I have the newer version. After washing the pad (either soaking it in kitchen cleaner, rinsing and drying or running through the clothes washer) I prime it so that it feels damp with product. I then lay a pretty small bead for the first section, since there's already plenty of product in the pad, then a little more after that.

I can usually get overlapping passes in one direction, then there's just a little bit of product left for overlapping passes in the other direction, then it's usually gone and stops cutting. Sometimes I only get one lap with it and it's absorbed into the pad. I thought I was using too little, but when I use more then it seems like it gets everywhere. I've never seen much for play time with this product, though I'm sure it's possible. M205 has never dried for me.

One thing I did that seemed to help is I re-primed the pad after maybe 1-2 panels. The pad felt pretty much dry and was all dust. After re-priming, I got some play time back.

I have to say that I tend to tilt the wool pad just a hair (maybe 5-10 degrees) and it never hops on me. I always hear to "keep the pad flat" but when I do that with wool it almost always jumps around.

Need more practice!

I will use 4-6 wool pads when doing a full wet sand and buff. I use the air compressor to blow out the pad after each pass. I try to clean them right away in the S2000 but sometime I get lazy

I find the older version to work better on the rotary...at least on most paints.

Tilting the pad will help tame it but it will also induce deeper swirls.

I honestly hate compounding! I like the nice smooth gliding motion of the final polishing step!

[dnoraker]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

I use a spur for cleaning the pad, but haven't tried air. I have a compressor handy.

I kind of figured that the slight tilt might be what's causing the swirls. That and too much pressure.

I only owned two wool pads at the time of the Corvette job, but just got a third light cutting pad and one double-sided. I would love to get 5-6 of everything (like with my foam pads) but I do need to keep SOME of my detailing income. It just means I have to wash them once or twice during a typical compounding job. I think I washed them both like 5 times because I was having to go over the sanding scratches SO many times!

I hear you about not liking compounding. It was a "breath of fresh air" getting to M205 and "caressing" the paint!

[Joenok]

Re: 1980 Corvette - wetsand, compound, buff...shine!

looks amazing. Just love those ´Vettes.