What rubbing compound to use on brand new paint?
 

It is reccomended to use a rubbing/buffing compound to really get that gloss / shine to stand out right after having something painted fresh.

I am painting my body kit right now and would like to get some of this stuff in advance to apply right over the clear coat and buff it out to a shiny surface after it's done..

what to use?


thanks :)

You're painting this yourself? Are you going to wetsand the final coat or not?

I don't think you need anything all that strong since fresh and aftermarket paint is usually softer I think, but it depends what your plans are. Also, too strong a compound will actually dull the surface and you'll have to go over it again with something milder. I don't think you *have* to compound a new paint job. If you did a good job and it's shiny enough, then leave it alone. If you're wetsanding it, you'll probably need a fine cut compound like the one from 3M. HTH...

Most bodyshops recommend not polishing or waxing for 30-60 days.

Yea, I'm painting it myself..
i'm wetsanding between coats and I will sand the final coat and then clearcoat it, possibly 2 layers..



i didn't know that.

Don't wax it for a while (spraybomb waiting time? I don't know, 30-90 days is for the baked bodyshop stuff...), but polishing is okay. New finishes are often polished for one reason or another all the time.

I have only limited experience painting stuff myself, but I wouldn't sand the final colour coat - won't that leave it looking all hazy and dull under the clear? :confused: You can wetsand the clearcoat to reduce any orange peel when you're all done though - just make sure you apply enough coats for you to work with. Wetsand it, compound it, then finish up with a swirl remover or other similarly light polish.

Wait for a month, then compound.

you should not use compound on fresh paint. the bodyshop use glaze just to make it smooth & shiny. after they give you the car you should not wax or polish it for 60 days. you may use glaze for touch-ups like bird sh!t & dead bugs.

these are the steps i was told of..

i have 2-3 coats on most pieces, with wetsanding between coats to even out any imperfections or leftovers of previous paint that went up. final layer is not sanded but i sanded the clearcoat with a small grid wet sand paper as directed. Also told to use 3M rubbing compound, fine or medium cut? I'll hold off on that.. but it came out pretty good so far.. i just want to help keep that shine.

I agree! My body guy uses a product called Race Glaze. I got it at my local parts store.

Ironically, Race "Glaze" is actually a wax/polymer sealant, not a glaze. :p I think it may be okay to use on new paint though.

The reason you should not use a sealant/wax of any sort is that there are still solvents in the paint below the surface, and a coat of wax keeps those from escaping. It takes about two months to fully cure. If you go ahead and wax or seal (actually many glazes have a polymer sealant in them, too), you will cause the paint to never fully cure. It's kind of like if you were to put a couple of coats of paint on a wet piece of wood. It would seem all right at first, then it would start rotting and eventually fall apart. Your paint will eventually start peeling, and you'll have to go through this all over again.

like most have said after painting wait 30-90 days before polishing/buffing/waxing. i have worked in detail shops and dealerships for a few years now and i always use 3M perfect-it III compound and glaze. do not go through the compounding step unless you have deeper scratches (run a ballpoint pen over the scratch, if it catches, chances are you may not get it out) then as a final step use the glaze to get the swirl marks and very light scatches out.

always wash your car first, if it still feels rough you may want to either solution bath it or better yet(but much more time consuming, and a lot more work) use a clay-bar, this will lift anything out of the clear coat. the polising glaze is not a great protective agent, so you always want to wax after all of that, i recomend 3M paste wax, it is by far the best wax out there. (stay away from silicon based waxes)