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Buffing Out Paint
Once the paint has been wetsanded, the paint
should appear smooth and dull. There should be few if any shiny
spots or specs. Whereas wetsanding was a lot of hard work and trudgery,
buffing can be really fun. This is the part where all your artistry
and hard work come together and a beautiful shine is revealed!
Buffing is accomplished in two stages. In
the first stage, you buff using a course pad and "course"
compound. The second stage uses a finer pad and finer grit compound.
The paint will begin to shine immediately durring the initial buffing,
but keep working it, it get's even better!
Please read the Buffing
FAQ's to learn which supplies you need.
 Step
1.
Install a course wool buffing pad on your buffer's backing pad.
Most pads these day fasten using a hook and loop (velcro) type system.
It's allows different pads to be quickly changed. Be sure it's properly
centered onto the backing pad.
If you have a variable-speed buffer, set
your speed to around 1,800 RPM. Apply a few thin ribbons of "course"
grit compound to the paint surface in an area no larger than 2'x2'
like shown in the picture. Here I plan to buff the L. front section
of a hood.
Step 2.
Take your buffer and smear the wool pad around in the buffing compound.
Distribute the compound around the paint surface. Get compound onto
the buffing pad -- particularly around the pad's edges. Don't spin
your buffer yet. You want to avoid slinging compound all over the
vehicle.
 Step
3.
Once the compound has been smeared around, pull the trigger slightly
and begin spining the pad. Start at one corner of the area you plan
to buff and move the buffer from left to right. Hold the buffer
at a slight angle to the paint surface (about 15 degrees) like shown
itn the pictures to the right. Move the buffer at a rate of about
1-3 inches per second.
In the picture above, the Red represents
the portion I have buffed. You can see the pattern I take. Each
time I get to the edge of my buffing area, I pull the buffer towards
my body a little and reverse back the other direction in one smooth
motion without stopping the buffer. The buffing pad makes a semi-circle
at each end. The whole pattern from top to bottom is kind of a zig-zag
pattern, only with rounded edges. All the buffer passes are parallel.
I overlap each pass by about 50%.
When buffing a panel with bodylines like
on this hood, it is important to reverse directions BEFORE reaching
the bodylines. If you have bodylines like on fenders and hoods you
want to buff BETWEEN the bodylines not ON them. In the above picture,
I reverse direction about an inchor two before I reach the body
line on the L. side of the hood. Later, after I've finished buffing
my area, I will go back and do the 1-2 inch strip next to the bodyline.
This gives me greater control over that area so I don't accidentally
buff through. Bodylines and panel edges area the easiest places
to buff through paint. It's worth it to do them separately.
Step 4.
While you're buffing, apply a slight amount of downward pressure
to the buffer -- but not too much. You want to let the buffer and
compound do the work. If you are bogging the buffer down, you are
pressing too hard.
Buffing Do's And
Don'ts
- Hold The Buffer - Always
hold the buffer firmly with two hands as shown in the picture.
- Buffing Angle - Hold
the buffer at about a 15 degree angle to the surface you
are buffing. On a flat panel, say a hood, angle the buffer
slightly sideways like shown in the inset picture. The area
on the pad that does the work is the outer edge of the pad,
not the center. Looking at the larger picture above, you
can see how I am holding the buffer at a slight angle to
the surface of the hood.
- Buffing Direction -
Buffing direction is generally dictated by the contours
in the panel. Buffing is typically done from left to right
and right to left regardless of how you are standing. In
the picture above I am buffing from my left to right. I
zig-zag back and fourth w/o stopping the buffer.
- Keep Moving - Do Not
hold the buffer in any one area for more than a second.
Keep it constantly moving.
- Zig-Zag - As you move
the buffer back and fourth, draw it towards you as you come
to the edge of your buffing area. Overlap each pass by 50%.
- Small Patches - Buff
small areas at a time. Then, move on to another area or
panel.
- Stopping - Go ahead
and stop the buffer periodically to check your work. After
a little practice you will have a good "feel"
for how to do it.
- Shine A Light - A great
way to gauge your progress is to shine a very bright light,
like a 300 watt halogen lamp, near the paint surface. It
helps illuminate the surface and reveal sand scratches.
If there are still sanding scratches (from wetsanding) visible,
continue to buff. When they are removed, you are ready for
a finer buffing pad or foam pad.
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