----- Original Message -----
From: "Tony Krzyzewski" <tonyk@kaon.co.nz>
> Does anyone know of a product which will go over a painted surface to give
it a
> super gloss look? I tried Carnauba wax as recommended by Polyfiber but
didn't
> achieve the look that I wanted - and it added a yellow tinge to the
finish.
Our airplane was painted with Dupont Chroma Base (base coat/clear coat)
paint. Wet sanding with 2000-grit paper leaves a very smooth, but dull
finish. To bring up the shine, we first buffed it with a 3M rubbing
compound, using a coarse pad on a heavy duty Hitachi buffer. This was
followed with 3M polishing compound, using a fine pad on the buffer. A
light duty buffer/polisher proved useless for this task, and hand
application of these products never comes close to achieving the results we
got with the right buffer. The Hitachi buffer costs about $250 here, and is
similar to other suitable buffers in the same price range from Dewalt, etc.
I'd recommend talking to a local automotive paint supplier or professional
painter for recommendations on tools and materials.
You have to be careful to keep the buffer moving, and run it at low speed
only. (The only use we have found for the high speed settings is to spin
the water out, after cleaning the pads.) The tool must always be held at an
angle that prevents the pad from catching on an edge of the painted surface,
or it can go through the paint in a fraction of a second. The final hand
polishing is easy, after the buffer does the hard part of the work. The
results are well worth the effort, as the final finish has such a high gloss
that you can see a mirror-like reflection of your face in the surface.
Clear coats are noted for their high, wet-look gloss, but I assume that
other paints would also benefit from this procedure. No wax is needed to
achieve the gloss, but some people feel it helps to protect the surface.
Dave DeFord
N135TD
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