DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

[DaveS]

Hi, I'm the in the process of doing a rustoleum paint job. I've applied the paint and sanded it nice and smooth with 1000 grit . This is a single stage enamel paint with no clear coat.

I now need to polish it to restore the shine but I'm not sure whether I need a DA or a rotary. I understand DAs are easier to use but I'm not sure if I need the higher power of the rotary to get a decent deep gloss.

Can anyone advise which I should buy?

This is a cheap paint job so I don't want to spend money on both types. If I burn through the paint it's going to be a pain in the rear, but I won't be ruining an expensive paint job so I'm leaning towards rotary. On the other hand if a DA will do the job just as well then I might as well make life easier for my self.

Any help massively appreciated as I have no clue which to buy!

Cheers

[EXECMOBILE]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

DA Microfiber Correction System would be the safest best option for a newbie. I'm a fan of the rotary and the best way to become familiar with the rotary is to trial and error. Try a rotary with a wool pad (w4000) using M105. Follow up a yellow foam polishing pad (w8000) with M205 and your favorite carnuba or synthetic wax.

[Detailing by M]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

I would sand with 2000 and finish with 3000. this will eliminate alot of buffing.
A maroon pad and ultamate compound will remove 3000 marks.
that's the cheapest solution I can think of

[DaveS]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

Thanks guys, that's massively helpful. Please Wash Me Detailing, would you recommend a rotary as well for this?

[Detailing by M]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

rotary. Not at all. that's alot of power and isn't needed.
if you finish with 3000 grit you'll be fine with the maroon cutting pad and a Little compound

<<<<---- Look at my avatar.

This is what your dealing with, making the deep scratches less deep, as in removing paint from around the scratches.
3000 grit is almost like a compound, so you'll be eliminating the tough job of removing the deeper scratches.
Really after using 3000 you could remove 3000 sand marks by hand with Ultimate Compound.

[Detailing by M]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

here's the post on 3000 grit sand paper

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?54950-The-Power-of-3000-Grit&highlight=power+of+3000

[DaveS]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

Thanks! Can't work out how to enlarge the avatar but I think I get the idea looking at the images on it. I'll read the thread you linked to now

Thanks again

[Detailing by M]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

here's my avatar and some more educational pics

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?56333-Educational-Pictures&highlight=educational++pictures

[DaveS]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

I'll give the 3000 grit a try on my test panel and then polish by hand and see how it looks before I go any further.

Thanks again for the help

[Michael Stoops]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

A Rustoleum enamel paint job is going to be fairly soft so buffing out sanding marks shouldn't be too terribly difficult, but there are things you can do to mitigate the potential for damage, and make the whole process go much faster and easier.

First, as Mario (Please Wash Me Detailing) suggests, refine your sanding marks down as far as you can reasonably go. 1000 grit is still pretty aggressive, and taking that down to 3000 grit (preferable via a DA process instead of by hand - it's actually less aggressive and more uniform via DA) will make the buffing process a whole lot easier. In fact, 3000 grit sanding marks should be quite easy to remove with the DA Microfiber Correction System on a good DA buffer (our G110v2, Porter Cable 7424, etc) with all the safety and ease of operation that a DA offers. Rotary buffers are fantastic, but in the hands of a novice they can be downright dangerous, and on soft paint it can be darn near impossible to finish out swirl free with one.

If you're concerned that additional sanding will remove more paint than you want to remove, think again. Very fine wet (in this case, damp) sanding is far less invasive to the paint than just grinding away with a buffer to flatten out your 1000 grit sanding marks. Damp sanding introduces zero heat to the paint, it gives a much more uniform finish (especially when done via DA), and it's a highly controlled process. You can even use the same tool for damp sanding and final buffing if you go with a DA. Just change to the appropriate backing plates when sanding versus buffing, and make sure to have a foam interface between the backing plate and abrasive disc when sanding, and you can get a level of gloss from that Rustoleum paint job that will blow people's minds!

Your final comments about refining to 3000 grit and then at least attempting to polish by hand is a smart move, no doubt about it. But a good DA buffer will make life so much easier in the long run.

And finally, especially since it hasn't been said yet - Welcome to Meguiarsonline!

[RDVT4ME]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

Post pictures of the process....this should be interesting to see how it turns out.

[DaveS]

Re: DA or Rotary for newbie polishing out sanding marks in rustoleum enamel

Thanks for the detailed reply Michael Stoops, that's really useful.

And, yes, I'll try to get some photos of each step of the process