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I didnt have any compounds to buff with so i thought i would try turtle wax for car buffing. I sanded to 600 and buffed the mando back and it seems to be working well . Anyone ever used this before ? any problems that might arise that i havent thought about ?

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Does it have any Silicone in it? Could make refinishing difficult.

Should have mentioned , Im buffing my lacquer .

As for silicone , not sure but ill check

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

I was taught to polish with Maguier's (I think#7). Seems to work well.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Car wax does not have buffing compound in it. You are just making it shiny by filling in the scratches with wax. The shine will last a few days and then you will be left with a 600 grit sanded surface gumed up with wax.

I've used Meguiar's polishing compounds on several guitars, using a 7" variable
speed buffer. They work very well. I started with the medium cut cleaner

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.asp?T1=MEG+CUT+16

And finished off with the Ultra Finishing Polish (used to be called Swirl Remover).

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+POLISH+32

You don't have to buy them on the web. Almost any good sized auto parts store
will have them. I used a knobby foam pad on the buffer while applying them. Be
careful how much you load on the pad. I ended up with white spots of compound
for several feet around when I first started.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

These are only a few small points to remember.

Barry is right. And there are usually at least 3 steps involved in this process and some terms are often misused and misunderstood by people.

1) Cutting compound. These are available in various grades (microns just like sand paper) ranging from heavy such as a sand coarsenes to very fine such as found in toothpaste and dont usually contain polish. They cut the surface and leave marks known as swirls. These compounds can be applied by hand (hand rubbed) or applied by machines (check the tin for suitability) Using a machine for application and removal makes one hell of a mess and it should. Compound on the surface and under the pads helps lubricate and prevent friction and buff throughs. A word of warning keep the pad moving dont leave it in one spot. Try for water soluble, much easier to remove the flying particles from the kitchen wall.

2) Polishes. Polishes make things shine and are usually applied by hand. Polish may be removed by machine or hand. Some polishes contain cutting compound. So take care with them.

3) Waxes. Waxes waterproof and protect shines and usually would be removed with a 'buff'. People often refer to the term buffing when using a straight drive or right angled drive machine with a pad to perform any of these steps.

Most of these products are petro chemically based. Silicon has no known solvent and can leave a non removable residue on the surface thus the warning when using them. Some of these products react with different surfaces and finishes
Pads for the buff machine are either foam or sheepskin and should only be matched with the same grades of polish and compound. Washing doesnt remove all the coarse grains from a compound and render it suitable for fine polish (cross contamination). Use an apron and eye protection always.


Steve

Sorry typo

I left out the word 'not' in 3) Waxes are not usually removed by buff. Wax can melt with friction from a pad...


Steve

[quote="Kamusur"]Sorry typo


I always aim for fine or ultra fine compounds, medium and heavy leave medium and heavy marks just like sand paper. I always aim to sand, spray, cut, polish and wax in the same direction usually longitudinally.


Merry Christmas Steve

I've used Mequiar's #7 on oil varnish, waterborne lacquer, and nitrocellulose lacquer. I always wet sand first, getting the surface flat and free of shiny depressions. On both the waterborne and nitro lacquers, I then rubbed through the range of micromesh pads all the way down to 12,000. I did this dry. I was able to polish with the Mequires by hand using a soft cotton cloth. Not much pressure required, and the finish keeps improving with each pass. On the varnish job, I power-buffed with a fleece pad in a drill after the level sanding step. Yes, polishing compound went everywhere, but the guitar sure did polish nicely. With the waterborne lacquer, I tried following up with Mequiar's #17, but didn't notice much difference. All of these products are pretty inexpensive. You can usually remove wax with mineral spirits, changing cloths or paper towels frequently. It's worth a try. Let's just hope there's no silicone in your wax.

Well said cphanna its hard to try and pass a lifetimes learning into a coupla paragraphs

Steve

I use 3" square pads cut from an old Stetson beaver felt cowboy hat from my youth. They are so soft, and are easily washable when they get filthy after several jobs. I used a different pad for different grits of Meguiars compounds and polishes. After all these years, I still have some of that cowboy hat ready to cut a few more pads if need be.

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when your sanding down to that fin of a finish , are you sanding in straight lline with the grain or in a swirl pattern ? I have noticed a few swirl marks in my polished finish and im not sure if its my sanding , or the buffing .

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Do I amuse you? I seem funny to you?

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince