Thread: Paint And Polish Question

Think of rubbing compound as liquid sandpaper. A polishing copound is even finer. The only reason to wetsand clearcoat is to remove orange-peel texture and polish for a glass-smooth finish, or to respray over an unsatisfactory finish.

THe answer to question is based on what type of finish you are after.

On the finish on my dash peice i was able to match the finish so closely that even a cougar owner couldn't tell that i painted.

Altimat is the man around here... you should see some stuff he does... all high quality proffesional fabrication, Listen to what he says.

Now about sanding the clearcoat. In my finish which was a flat finish (i used a clear flat) It was necessary to wetsand with 1000 grit very lightly and re spray the clear one final coat and the really really lightly sand the clear again with 1000 grit.

It may not be the right way but it worked. It took me at least 10 trys with the paint to match the color and the finish but i am really proud of what i have in the car now.

Here's what I did.



Wetsanded with 600,800,1000 (might be overkill but worked for me)

Then I buffed the whole thing with 3m final polish.
Then with Menzerna Intensive Polish and the finished up with Menzerna Final Polish II. You could probably skip the 3m or the Intensive Polish as they are somewhat similar. The intensive is a little finer.





Here's the punchline. So my dash is pretty shiny, not a problem at all unless it's high noon (sometimes), and then sunglasses make it a non-issue.

But just in case I get a dashmat. I find one for cheap (used) on ebay. I don't know if it's a chemical used in making the mat (maybe a fire retardant) or something the owner cleaned it with, but it screwed up the clear after a month. It made it gooey so now I have a slightly fuzzy dash waiting to be repainted. It did firm up again but peeling the mat off left fibers in it.

i heard somewhere - to do with exterior painting anyway - that you shouldnt wax the surface in the first ## months. Allows the paint to breathe properly whilst curing or something like that.

Originally Posted by shotgunefx

Here's what I did.......... so now I have a slightly fuzzy dash waiting to be repainted. It did firm up again but peeling the mat off left fibers in it.

aw man, that sucks... it came out mint..... now to take it all back apart to redo it... owch!....

Originally Posted by turbocad6

aw man, that sucks... it came out mint..... now to take it all back apart to redo it... owch!....

Yeah it does. I did it at least 5 times trying to get it perfect too. For months I just had my gauges ziptied to my steering column with an afghan over.


With a gun and decent compressor, I imagine it will take a lot less finishing.