Guys, I recently picked up a makita. I tried polishing for the 1st time during the NE DB meet, but I definitively more practice. I got great advice from a lot of people at the meet ... I had the rotary walking on me several times ... carlos makes it look so freakin' easy ... lol. I don't think the sentra that I brought is a good paint to practice on because of its softness. How did you guys practice when you first started polishing? A lot of people have mentioned scrapped panels, but I don't have access to them unless I buy some at the scrap yard. I enjoy all the advice I get here, so I'm all ears guys!!
Get a panel and practice. You can even put some RIDS on it and practice wet sanding and compounding. Try your best to burn thru the clear and you will find it is not easy to do. This will take away the fear factor most nubies have on using a rotary. Stay away from edges and ridges and you'll be fine.
I'd start with a finishing pad and polish and just get use to the machine if you need a little more practice.
That's what I did on the sentra we worked on ... Used 85rd with a finishing pad. The paint was so soft I actually noticed a big difference in gloss and less scratches.k
Get yourself a wool pad and any polish and just practice getting the feel for the rotary first. The reason I suggest wool is that it will just glide along and not grab like a foam pad will and walk you around. Then try a polishing pad and then something with a little more cut and so on.
Find a panel or car unlike your Sentra and Auroa where the paint isn't butter soft so you can learn. If you get a scrap panel, tape off a bunch of different sections and try different combos.
Thanks bobby ... I will try to get a large panel to practice on. I wasn't a fan of the body curves on the sentra either ... lol. I know you and other folks gave me great advice, but like getting opinions on the forum too. I can't wait to do some serious correction.
All good advise from above...all that I'd add is stay away from plastic bumpers and whatnot for now..that is where you will burn through if anywhere.
109. Diminishing Abrasives http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f8/diminishing-abrasives-7724.html 110. Polish / Compound Abrasive Abilities http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f8/polish-compound-abrasive-abilities-7723.html 111. Rotary polisher usage tips http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f8/rotary-polisher-usage-tips-7706.html 112. Polishing (Paint Surface Correction) http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f8/polishing-paint-surface-correction-7690.html Random Orbital Buffer - http://tinyurl.com/l5p62o
