what product do you use to rub out your car?

[firstgear]

Long ago...when I was just a kid......too many years ago now, I worked at a dealership and cleaned new cars including rubbing them out and then waxing them prior to delivery. I used to use a product called Black Ebony and that worked great with a high RPM wheel......like all rubbing out exercises, you have to be careful not to burn the paint anywhere (ok, I did on a few, mirrors were the areas to really watch out for).

I was at the local NAPA store the other day looking for Black Ebony, and of course, it is no longer made (ok, that was 30 years ago).....I need to get my newest car rubbed out since the paint is looking a little tired....the car is black and silver.....so what is a good product to use these days to breath new life into old paint?

3M has some stuff, but they call out for using a specific kind of wheel (foam based if I remember correctly).....at any rate.....let me know what works for you....I can go from there......

[IH2LOSE]

I am sure its on the shelf right next to the pink bottle of fill and glaze and the metal can of nitro stan red lead.

the industry has changed so much.

I am lucky we have a local detailer that can do magic to paint jobs regaurdless of what type of paint it is. He charges me $150.00 for interior and exterior detail with a buff and wax, If you have one of those guys in your area i would suggest hiring that job out as they are probably more skilled then the normal guy, Plus you still have allot of work to do

[John Mcgraw]

I use 2500 grit wet sanding, followed by 4000 grit, followed by 3m Finesse-it on a wool pad, followed by machine glaze on a black foam pad. Makes for an absolutely swirl-free finish. The old 2000 rpm buffers we used to use just won't cut it on modern finishes and polishes any more. I seldom ever buff at over 700 rpm now days, and quite often, as low as 350-400. I finally retired my old Makita buffer and replaced it with the Dewalt DW849, and it was one of the best decisions that I have made on equipment. There is a good reason that almost every shop in existence owns one of these buffers, and after owning one for the last couple of years, I wonder how I got by without one!
It was kind of like switching to a SATA gun, my old guns were good, but it sure stepped up the quality of my work when I made the switch!


Regards, John McGraw

[Tyler Townsley]

Originally Posted by John Mcgraw

I use 2500 grit wet sanding, followed by 4000 grit, followed by 3m Finesse-it on a wool pad, followed by machine glaze on a black foam pad. Makes for an absolutely swirl-free finish. The old 2000 rpm buffers we used to use just won't cut it on modern finishes and polishes any more. I seldom ever buff at over 700 rpm now days, and quite often, as low as 350-400. I finally retired my old Makita buffer and replaced it with the Dewalt DW849, and it was one of the best decisions that I have made on equipment. There is a good reason that almost every shop in existence owns one of these buffers, and after owning one for the last couple of years, I wonder how I got by without one!
It was kind of like switching to a SATA gun, my old guns were good, but it sure stepped up the quality of my work when I made the switch!


Regards, John McGraw

John posted this method some time ago and I did the 2500-4000 method and agree its the way to go. Trying to buff straight from the 2500 takes a lot more effort than the added 4000 step then buffing. I think you are less prone to burning through.

What I learned is to sand the surface lightly with the 2500 then when you look at the surface from an angle in a good light and you can see a mixture of shiny and dull area ( This was described to me as a 'textured look), you want to get it all dull with the 2500 then use the 4000.

Tyler

[WayneC]

John, I keep reading that the Porter Cable 7424 buffer/polisher is the way to go... did you consider that one before you bought the DeWalt Polisher?

Porter Cable: http://tinyurl.com/mjppn

[John Mcgraw]

Originally Posted by WayneC

John, I keep reading that the Porter Cable 7424 buffer/polisher is the way to go... did you consider that one before you bought the DeWalt Polisher?

Porter Cable: http://tinyurl.com/mjppn

Wayne,

The Cable Porter is a good machine for what it does, but it can't really be used to rub out a paint job effectively. It is a random orbit polisher and is used primarily to polish and wax cars. It is very safe to use, but it does not generate the heat and force necessary to buff out paint. It should be viewed as a maintenance tool and not really a body shop tool. I use random orbit machines to maintain my paint jobs, but I use an air-powered machine simply because I have shop air. Trying to bring back an old damaged finish, or buff a new paint job with such a machine would make for many, many hours of work, and I am not sure that you would ever get there. I use a 7" buffing pad on my Dewalt machine and tape all the edges of the panels as well as all the peaks of panels. After buffing the panels, I come back with an air-powered 3" buffer with a wool pad and buff the edges.

To get the paint to that mirror shine during rubbing, you really need to generate some heat on the pad. Part of the buffing process is an abrasive process, but it is also a process where the heat from the pad makes the paint flow a little, which helps generate the gloss. There is sometimes a fine line between generating the proper heat to make that mirror shine and burning the paint, especially on lacquer. It takes a lot of practice to get to be an expert on a buffer, but with a little care, even a beginner can get spectacular results. Guys who have been rubbing cars for years still will use the masking tape trick to prevent edge burns. If you pay attention to the direction of rotation of your pad edge, you will almost never burn an edge, but it is still good insurance. If you run a turning pad off the edge of a panel with the direction of rotation being back toward the panel, your pad will grab the edge and burn it in a heartbeat!

Regards, John McGraw

[gmjunkie]

Originally Posted by John Mcgraw

I use 2500 grit wet sanding, followed by 4000 grit, followed by 3m Finesse-it on a wool pad, followed by machine glaze on a black foam pad. Makes for an absolutely swirl-free finish. The old 2000 rpm buffers we used to use just won't cut it on modern finishes and polishes any more. I seldom ever buff at over 700 rpm now days, and quite often, as low as 350-400. I finally retired my old Makita buffer and replaced it with the Dewalt DW849, and it was one of the best decisions that I have made on equipment. There is a good reason that almost every shop in existence owns one of these buffers, and after owning one for the last couple of years, I wonder how I got by without one!
It was kind of like switching to a SATA gun, my old guns were good, but it sure stepped up the quality of my work when I made the switch!


Regards, John McGraw

You Got it Happnun John!!