Was wondering if anyone had some recommendations for polishing. I have tried a few and never seem to get that super gloss finish. I start with 120 grit to sand the gloss coat, then use 220, 320, wet sand with 400, then polish with maguires polish using a lambs wool buffing pad on a power buffer. What brands of polishes work best - and what about a glazing compound afterwards? I always seem to have some deeper scratches left behind and when it is done, almost looks greasy on the surface. Maybe start with a finer grit??
if you start polishing a gloss with 120 you have a bad gloss coat…
no way you can finish with a show room that way; to do that you ll need to use all the grits and you ll kill the coat and will see burns everywhere…a nightmare.
so, first have the sanding step well done, without “channelling”, etc that the gloss coat dont fill or don t level right.
then apply a nice gloss coat
all super soft pad except noted
-with gloss resin and you finish with an excellent coat, you can start with 400
-with gloss resin and normal coat you can start with 320
-with sanding resin and normal conditions you can start with 320
-with sanding resin and a so so coat, start with 280 and soft pad then 320 then change the pad to super soft (the harder pad the gently the passes)
-a bad coat obtained, so you can start with 220 and soft pad then 240, slightly both, then 320 pushing a bit, then change pad
-worst coat start with 180 soft pad very slightly and pray because near the rails the possibility of get burns are high.
with all the pads is just 1 pass in figure 8 styleto avoid some scratches in rounded areas, etc
try to find in the search a thread that few fellas and I discusses almost all the techniques about gloss
Thanks for the help. My gloss coats actually have come out pretty nice, sounds like I just need to start with 320 or 400 and get to polishing. Is it allright to sand the 320 by hand instead of using a soft pad on a sander. Know it is more work, but may keep me from oversanding until I get a few under my belt....
BTW. Welcome to Sway’s… You’d better get used to it…
You’re gonna’ love Huie, I know I do…
To answer your question, the best I can, and perhaps lead you in a “modern” direction…
I’m leaning towards a good spray on water based gloss so you can reduce the amount of sanding all together, as well as save resin for more important things like glassing… Why put on 2 or maybe even 3 different applications of resin, then sand most of it off ???
I really want to try the H2O product the makers of Resin X have to offer… It sounds like a great product…
I’ve used plenty of 2 part polyurethane clear coats, but they’re not good for your health… I prefer to put on a hot /sanding coat of epoxy resin , sand that smooth, then finish the final glossing with a spray on clear coat… You still have to sand the hot coat out with a fine grit… I finish with 2000, but that’s because I obtained 400 sheets of it for free… 400 to 800 is fine if you’re spraying on a clear coat…
I look at it this way: All those shiney exotic cars on the road don’t have a thick layer of resin applied over the base paint ,using a brush, that would be dumb… A properly applied spray on clear coat is a show room finish the minute it leaves the gun … At the most you have to sand the “paint” with 1000 to 2000 then buff it out…
Oh yeah, Really shiney boards don’t work any better than sanded finish boards…So don’t sweat it…
hi kiterider. please do not judge or make opinion of someone on this site. huies comment was not of a personal nature. it was a comment of disagreement about methods used. You have turned this into a personal attack… i am here to play by the rules and having been banned for not playing by the rules i can see very clearly when people do not play by the rules. if you do not apologise and retract your derogatory remarks i have to make a complaint to the moderators sorry.
Stirred the pot up pretty nicely. Love how heated up some can get over this stuff. The way I see it, do your own thing, enjoy making boards, enjoy riding them even more, and try to learn from others along the way. As with anything, some have good advice, some have not so good adivce, and some are just complete idiots - but you can learn from them all equally.
Thanks for everyone who gave their opinions and who offered advice. Whether a certain way it is right or wrong is only a matter of opinion - what works for one person may not for another.
I will try to get my sanding coat really smooth before I gloss, do my best at applying the gloss coat, then start with a finer grit. I ordered some polish and glazing finish from foam ez - anyone used it before? We will see how it turns out. If I don't get a showroom finish, guess I will have to keep paying my dues until I do - damn........