Can I Polish with an Orbital Sander

Technique for spray painting a car

Sometimes minor damage appears on the paintwork of a car (scuffs, shallow scratches, chips). The reasons for their occurrence can be very diverse, from minor accidents and the actions of hooligans to falling hail or small stones from under the wheels.

Contacting a service center with such minor defects is sometimes unprofitable. A much simpler and cheaper option is the hand-painting of a car with a spray can.

Benefits of aerosol staining

This method of repairing the damaged area of the paintwork is very popular. It has the following advantages:

simplicity of the process at all stages: for applying paint does not require the possession of any special skills;
high quality coating obtained by painting the machine;
spray easily fits on any surface, including curved;
the use of spray can eliminates the need to look for additional equipment: roller, spray gun, etc.;
even a beginner painter can apply even coverage;
this painting method is the most economical.

Sequencing

The process of recovering paintwork depends on the degree of damage. Therefore, at the first stage, you need to carefully inspect the body. If the integrity of the soil and putty layers is not compromised, the work on eliminating defects can be limited to simple polishing. True, this is only possible if the paintwork around the problem area remains strong enough and does not begin to exfoliate.

If the damage has reached the primer or even the metal, it can only be repaired by tinting. The cheapest and easiest to use material for this is spray paint.

The shade is indicated by the number on the package, which greatly facilitates the selection procedure. Depending on the type of the original paintwork of the car, glossy or matte paint in cans is purchased.

We must not forget that it is necessary to start the elimination of defects as quickly as possible, since if the damage has reached the metal, the oxidation process will begin, which will lead to corrosion. When repairing this kind of damage, a preliminary primer with an anti-corrosion material is required followed by putty, otherwise the body will rust under the paint.

List of materials

Before you paint a car from a spray can, you must purchase the following:

primer;
putty for cars;
sand paper;
containers with paint of the desired color;
base enamel;
polymer varnish;
protective film (it can also be replaced with plain paper, for example, newspapers);
work clothes and protective equipment (gloves, respirator, etc.).

Before painting, preparation is carried out. First, the car is thoroughly washed with warm water and detergents, then let it dry.

The car body section for spray painting needs to be degreased. This is done with two napkins. One of them is impregnated with a solvent and rubbed at the place of damage, the other is used for subsequent wiping of the surface.

If the defect reaches the metal, then, having cleaned this area from the old paintwork, a primer layer should be applied to it. When the soil dries, degreasing is done again. Then put an acrylic putty.

To protect the surrounding surfaces, a protective film or paper stencils are used, which are glued with masking tape or soft plasticine. Sometimes a special composition is applied to areas that are not subject to staining, which are washed off at the end of the work.

Putty and soil require about half an hour at room temperature to dry. Grinding the hardened putty layer is done with sandpaper with a gradual increase in abrasiveness (up to 320-400 units. for grinding the damaged area and up to 500 units. for its edges). Processing continues until the original geometric shape of the part is restored.

To improve adhesion, before you start painting the machine with a spray can, the surface is matted. This is done with adhesive tape and special paste or a fine-grained skin with an abrasiveness of up to 1200 units. Then degreasing is again performed as described above.

Nuances in preparation

Paint spraying should only be done on the area that has been pre-treated, without going beyond its borders. The varnish should completely cover the area of enamel spraying.

It is also necessary that the surface treatment area be slightly larger than the damage itself. Only in this case can high-quality polishing of the transition lines be ensured.

Shake the can vigorously for about 3 minutes before use. After that, it is recommended to test it on some unnecessary old body element (in its absence, any other metal surface will do). This test painting is carried out in compliance with all the requirements contained in the instructions.

Close attention should be paid to the preparation of the room: temperature, humidity and other factors. It is desirable that there is no dust and flying insects in it: both that and another can negatively affect the result of all work.

In a warm room, drying takes much less time. Nevertheless, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the drying time, since even if the top layer looks dried out, this does not mean that the composition also managed to dry inside. The process can be accelerated by using a building hair dryer (especially with partial body painting).

Application of paint and varnish

Some car owners doubt whether it is possible to paint a car using an aerosol spray can without painting skills. There is nothing too complicated about it. The main thing is adherence to technology.

When painting, maintain a distance between the surface and the spray can of about 30 cm. The temperature in the garage should be room temperature. First, 2-3 layers of base enamel are sprayed, after which the paint itself is applied (also in several layers with a break between them for at least 10 minutes, the area of each subsequent one should be larger than the previous one).

Transparent varnish is applied to the painted surface. The technology is the same as when spraying paint. It is recommended to use materials of the same brand. After applying the last layer, you need to immediately process the transition border: it should become as invisible as possible.

This is done using a special solvent designed specifically for such purposes. It is important to remember that it should be applied strictly along the border of the transition, without affecting neighboring areas.

Polishing

After the varnish has completely dried, you can start polishing the machine. There are two ways to do this: abrasive and protective. The first option is performed in the following order:

the damaged area is treated with an abrasive;
polish the surface using abrasive paste;
inspect the repaired area, if necessary, correct defects.

To grind parts of dark shades, a small skin (from 2500 units) and a soft grinding disc are used.

Abrasive paste is applied to the disc. After that, the grinder is turned on at low speeds, and the grinding process begins. After some time, the speed is increased to 1500 rpm. Polishing is continued until a glossy surface is formed. Processing should be done with leisurely movements without pressing the tool. It is important to ensure that the part and the paste do not overheat.

Protective polishing is carried out by special compositions, as a rule. wax or teflon. If the procedure is performed on the street, the car must be put in the shade. The polish is applied to the surface and rubbed with a suede cloth. This should be done in a circular motion.

The use of aerosol cans for painting damaged areas of the car is the best way to eliminate minor defects. It is attractive from the point of view of economy, does not require high professionalism of performers and can be completed in a short time. Subject to compliance with the technology, the quality of the resulting coating will be as high as if the work was carried out in the service center by qualified specialists.

Expert: Andrey Volkov

All rules for polishing the body after painting the car

Polishing a car after painting is a mandatory procedure if the owner of the car wants to maintain a uniform color and iridescent gloss on the back of his car for a long time (at least 3 years). This is a necessary work, regardless of whether the car was completely painted or local.

Defects after painting

Polishing the car body after painting eliminates the following defects:

Defects of the paintwork due to adhering dust, suspended matter, debris. Often not visible to the naked eye, but will appear after drying.
The inconsistent density of varnish or paint leads to the formation of shagreen leather (“cellulite” or “orange skin” on the body).
The appearance of a dull surface, although the paintwork should shine.
Breakthrough of the coating by outgoing air bubbles.

Causes of defects after painting

There are several main reasons for which these or other shortcomings appear after painting the car.

Dusty room

Among all defects of a paint and varnish covering, sticking of garbage in the course of work occurs in 70% of cases. The reason for this: dust in the garage, a poorly washed car, insufficient ventilation of the room. The defect of painting is eliminated by “wet” or “dry” polishing. Emery paper with a degree of abrasion of at least 2,000 grit is used if grinding is done manually. You can use a grinder. Polishing the polished surface is required.

Shagreen

The reason for the appearance of the "orange skin" on the body, instead of a beautiful shiny surface, is simple:

Use too thick varnish or paint. Often a defect occurs due to the carelessness of the driver, each paintwork has an individual application technology, the number of layers, and the dilution parameters.
Wrong choice of spray gun for painting. At low air pressure in the nozzle of the gun, the paint is sprayed on the surface of the body unevenly, the density and thickness of the coating are not maintained.

The defect can be eliminated if the body is sanded and polished correctly after the paintwork has completely hardened.

Dull

A defect in the matte surface instead of gloss will be noticeable only on the fifth day after painting. If you wet the body with water, it will shine in the sun, showing the color that the driver would always like to see on his car. A defect appears if:

High humidity with a complete lack of ventilation. If painting is carried out in winter, the garage should be well warmed up, the temperature should not fluctuate, dropping below 15 degrees and not rising over 25.
High pressure in the nozzle of the gun if painting is carried out with a spray gun (not a production spray bottle).
Incorrectly selected thinner with high cooling parameters and low drying class.

See also: New mainstream. car rust paint

Video: Can I Polish with an Orbital Sander

The defect is eliminated by deep polishing the body.

Breakthrough air drops

The defect appears a few days after painting. Causes:

Unsuitable brand of diluent that evaporates quickly;
Drawing thick layers of paint;
Painting with a second or third layer occurs on an insufficiently dried first layer;
High temperature drying or using a hot fan.

The defect is completely eliminated after grinding and deep polishing.

Preparatory stage

Grinding and polishing is carried out not earlier than on the 20th day after painting. This is the optimal time when even a thick layer of LCP dries. In addition, in the third week, all possible surface defects become noticeable.

The preparatory phase before polishing after painting takes a short time. It is required to wash the car using car shampoo. The surface of the body is treated with a degreaser, all rubber bushings and auto parts are sealed with masking tape.

Necessary tools and materials

To grind the body with your own hands you will need:

Sandpaper for grinding with abrasiveness from 2000 grit.
Grinding machine, if automatic grinding is used. You can use an electric drill, fixing emery circles on it and adjusting the speed of rotation.

To polish the car after painting are used:

A set of polishes of varying degrees of abrasiveness;
Felt or leather polishing wheels;
Atomizer;
Felt napkins.

How to polish a car after painting

Work to eliminate paint defects is carried out in several stages: grinding, polishing, applying a protective coating. Depending on the type of defect (with dullness, for example), starting grinding is not used. The process begins with deep polishing. In other cases, the order of work does not change.

Grinding

Grinding is done using sandpaper. Wet method involves pre-soaking the skin, abrasive 2000 grit for 10 minutes. Then the surface of the body is polished in circular motions, while the paper is constantly wetted.

Dry grinding can be done with a machine. With a sandpaper, possible influxes are removed by conducting cruciform movements with the tool. Emery is used with abrasiveness of 3000-4000 grit.

Abrasive polishing

The second step will be polishing the car after painting, using abrasive paste. Can be polished by hand or using a polisher.

The paste is evenly applied to the surface, choose a working area of not more than 40 square meters. see. In a circular motion polish, gradually changing the composition of the paste, reaching the polishing composition without abrasive. After each change of paste, the working surface of the body must be washed.

If the car is painted with a matte paint, then in 80% of cases after polishing, gloss will appear. As part of the matte varnish, special clay should be used, which retains the matte finish after polishing, but to preserve the chosen color, it is allowed to polish the matte surface with pastes without abrasive. After the procedure, the application of protective polishing is mandatory.

If the car is painted in a metallic shade, then special abrasive pastes marked “metallic” from the manufacturer are used for polishing. Abrasive polishes are not used.

Protective polishing

Protective polishing of machines is used as the final stage. The composition of the polish includes Teflon and wax. Protective coatings are applied both manually and with a felt or leather attachment.

Before finishing polishing, choose a clean, calm place, protected from direct sunlight.

Polishing the machine after painting takes relatively little time, if you select the optimal tool and the necessary polishes. This procedure can be done independently, which will save and gain experience, since protective polishing should be carried out every 3-5 months.

Polishing a car after painting with your own hands

Well, you painted the car with your own hands. It doesn’t matter if it was a full car painting or a local painting. And then, a neighbor in the garage comes in and asks the question. what about when you are going to polish? Naturally, you are perplexed. Why polishing a car after painting?

This question is not of interest to those motorists who painted auto with matte paint, and for the rest you need to know not only about polishing a car after painting, but also about polishing. And the main reason for the need for polishing the body after painting is the "non-sterility" of the room. After all, we are talking about body painting in the garage, i.e. about the conditions "close to combat"

Defects in the paintwork that occur when painting with your own hands

Debris and dust adhering to the varnish. In this case, there is only one way to remove from the body surface everything that has stuck to fresh varnish. We are waiting for the complete hardening of the paintwork and proceed to grinding the top layer. Either the “dry” method using an orbital sander, or the “wet” one: a skin with water and hands. For the machine we use abrasive grain 1000-2000. For the manual method, the skin is taken with grain from 2000. After grinding, we polish the body.

Orange peel (shagreen leather). The cause of such a defect may be the use of too thick paint or varnish. So that the defect does not occur, before painting, you need to carefully study the recommendations for the use of paint and varnish. Another reason is the incorrect selection of the nozzle for the “gun” and low air pressure. This defect is also eliminated by grinding and polishing the car body after painting.

Matte coating. The causes of this defect, which you, by the way, will see only in the morning of the next day: high air humidity in the garage, increased air pressure when applying paint or varnish, or a quick thinner was used, leading to rapid cooling and moisture condensation on the freshly painted body surface. To eliminate this defect will require deep polishing of the body after painting.

Bubble breakthrough. The injection effect. Appears some time after drying. This defect is associated with the wrong type of diluent (fast for the existing temperature), applying too thick layers after a short intermediate drying, drying temperature too high. It is eliminated by grinding and subsequent polishing.

The phrase "after painting" does not mean at all that you should start polishing the body the next day. After painting the car with your own hands, it should take about 3-4 weeks i.e. month.

Grinding. It is carried out wet or dry. For the wet method, waterproof sandpaper is needed, the beginning of the grain size from 2000 to 4000. With dry grinding with a grinder with an abrasive from 1000 to 4000.

Abrasive polishing using abrasive pastes. It is carried out either manually or using a polishing machine. At the same time, the treated area is approximately 40×40 cm. We apply the paste and process it in a circular motion, if manually, and crosswise, if using a polishing machine.

Pastes are applied in the following order: coarse. abrasive, finely. abrasive, without abrasive. After passing 4-5 sections, we wash the circle in water to remove residual paste and continue polishing the body.

Protective polishing of the body. It is made by pastes for protection and gloss of LKP. As a rule, these are auto polishes with teflon or wax. The method of applying and polishing the body after painting is described in the instructions for each type of polish. After polishing, polishing is best done with a machine with a gradual increase in speed.

It is not recommended to polish a car body in the sun, as the polish dries quickly and is difficult to polish, especially if you polish manually. You also need to choose a place where there is no dust, as it will serve as an abrasive, and the effect will not be achieved.

All. We move aside, weary away the sweat from the forehead with a tired movement of the hand and rejoice at the result. a brightly shiny car.

Good luck, lovers of your car.

What polish to polish the car after painting, types of polish

The answer to the question of what kind of polish to polish the machine should begin with a listing of the types of treatment of the paintwork.

Types of polishing

Polishing can be just a few types:

polishing as a way to remove defects after painting. Even painting in a professional spray booth cannot guarantee 100% lack of dust adherence;
cosmetic polish to give shine, remove the small "web" that appears after contact washing;
restoring polishing is used if there are noticeable scratches on the car, the dullness of the varnish due to burning out in the sun, exposure to chemicals;
deep polishing. Used for old paintwork or cars that have many deep scratches;
protective treatment with cosmetic compounds. In the process of polishing the paintwork of the car receives an additional protective layer. It can be either a regular wax composition or a special durable quartz-based coating that repels water and prevents mechanical damage. It is advisable to apply after painting.

Today, we will consider the most detailed polishing after painting. For other types of processing, see the “Painting” section.

LCP condition

It is the amount of damage and their degree that determines which type of polishing is best applied. Particular attention should be paid to the depth of scratches, since the degree of abrasiveness of the polishing compounds used depends on this.

Scratches may be:

barely noticeable, but in very large numbers. You can even hide such defects manually. For removal, fine-grained paste and a medium hardness circle are used;
shallow scratches on the varnish (visible to the eye, but practically invisible tactilely). You can remove the medium-grained paste with a hard circle;
felt scratches that almost destroyed the varnish layer. For deep polishing, you will need fine-grained sandpaper, a hard circle, and coarse-grained paste. After the initial passage, a medium-grained paste and a medium hardness circle are used;
deep scratches through which a layer of base coat, soil or even metal is visible. It is not possible to completely remove such defects. You can apply deep polishing technology, but this will only slightly hide the defect. If desired, the defect can be masked by means of local removal of damage to the paintwork.

There are separate scratch removal methods for each type.

Swipe the nail perpendicular to the direction of the scratch. So you can determine the depth. If the damage is not felt. you will be able to remove it even manually. All that is deeper. "leave" only after polishing with a special machine. Of course, removing too deep damage completely will not work.

Polishing compounds

The composition of the polish for the body depends on the purpose. The following types are distinguished:

coarse-grained. Large abrasive allows you to quickly grind paintwork;
medium abrasive. It has a lower grit compared to a highly abrasive polish. It is used after the initial treatment with a composition with large grains or to remove shallow scratches;
fine-grained. It is used to give the final treatment, refreshing completely new bodies. Paired with a soft circle can be used to give the final shine and depth;
non-abrasive. It is used exclusively for the final processing of the coating. Gives additional color depth and does not reduce its thickness. For application, it is best to use a soft (black) circle. It can be used as a protective treatment of paintwork;
anti-hologram. It is used exclusively for dark colors. Removes small scratches that remain after polishing. Due to certain features, they are visible only on dark colors (mainly black).

The best manufacturers, in the assortment of which there is a polish for the car body:

It is difficult to state unequivocally which polish is better. Each of these manufacturers has fans among experienced body repair professionals. All of them have recommendations for the use of their products. Perhaps the difference in technology will help you make the choice.

How to choose

Each manufacturer uses a unique gradation system for abrasive polishes for automobiles. Before polishing a car or buying a composition, be sure to refer to the technical documentation, which will indicate the name of each type, the degree of abrasion and the way it is better to polish the car. For example, 3M divides its compositions, assigning them a special number:

09374 Fast cut, Compaund No.
09375 Fine Compaund No.
09376 Perfect-lt Machine Polish No. 3.
80349 Extra Fine Compaund.
50383 Ultra Fine (anti-hologram).

For greater convenience, the grain ratio is visually presented on the label. Also, each container has an individual cap color. Many manufacturers produce their own polishing wheels, abrasives, which help not only to update the machine with polishing, but also to remove paint defects.

It is possible to polish a freshly painted machine only after the final drying of the varnish. Drying time depends on the characteristics of the medium (temperature, humidity), the drying method (normal operation of the car after the initial setting of the varnish, thermal in a special warm chamber, infrared) and the type of varnish. Consider these points if you are going to paint your own car.

If you start polishing, for example, “raw” acrylic, then you can observe the paint roll into small lumps, and in such conditions it is very easy to wipe the coat of paint and varnish.

We remove painting errors

Whatever your experience, no one is safe from mistakes in the painting business. Consider the most common errors that can be polished. These include:

smudges;
the presence of specks;
lack of glossy gloss, desire to achieve a mirror, which involves the complete grinding of shagreen;
too large shagreen;
the large rubbish that you managed to remove, the bay subsequently place a thicker layer of varnish. In this case, the additional thickness will remove the consequences.

We will polish a car with paint defects using 3M technology.

How to remove dust and smudges

Let’s consider how to polish a surface on which specks got in the course of painting:

abrasives Р1500-Р2000, previously soaked for 5 minutes in water, grind the area where the defect is located (only a small hump should remain from the dust);
Using the so-called "tricac" of gradation 3000, almost completely grind a speck of dust. With a Trizac 6000 remove the dust particle completely. Abrasive is used in tandem with water;
with a green circle from 3M and paste with a green cap you can start polishing the surface;
if the quality of the surface suits you completely, go to the paste with a blue cap and a blue circle. This will create a glossy sheen and color depth.

In a similar way, you can polish a car if, for example, you are not comfortable with shagreen leather. If you need to remove smudges, be sure to use a solid bar. In terms of abrasives, you can start with the P1000. For control, you can put a little putty around the leak. So you reduce the chances of making a rub to the base coat of paint. To remove haze, start with a medium abrasive polish. After painting, it is advisable to apply a protective composition.

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