Denim and compound too slow... Next step up??

[shadwell]

Thanks all....
My plan of using old style non diminishing Deffo helps...
Mike your guess proves correct, it works longer and importantly for feel runs consistently as the pads loads up.. The DAT cuts and runs smoothly then drops off as the pads loads up and the feel changes...
I have found the consistent feel helps with smoother passes and hence a more consistent level of removal..

Just finished the front wing... Hardest bit is conforming to the panel profile
With such a firm pad face. Plenty of styling it with the rotary... And judicious use of the 3" pads...

Thanks again for the suggestions it's been a great learning journey with great results as well..
Just hard yakka....

[chet31]

I had a panel repainted and used CarPro denim pads with Meg's M105 and a Flex 3401 to knock out some of the orange peel. I worked the panel (bottom half of a door, E46 BMW vert) for 5 minutes max and there was already noticeable improvement, to the point where I decided to back off because I started to worry about clear coat thickness. It finished out well, I just left it as is because on another day I knew I was going to hit everything with M205. I don't recall the speed I was working at, but it was probably 80% of WOT because I rarely go max speed. So I'm absolutely baffled that you worked a panel for three hours with minimal results. And it seems like you are using good products. I can only think you must have some incredibly hard clear coat.

[shadwell]

I had a panel repainted and used CarPro denim pads with Meg's M105 and a Flex 3401 to knock out some of the orange peel. I worked the panel (bottom half of a door, E46 BMW vert) for 5 minutes max and there was already noticeable improvement, to the point where I decided to back off because I started to worry about clear coat thickness. It finished out well, I just left it as is because on another day I knew I was going to hit everything with M205. I don't recall the speed I was working at, but it was probably 80% of WOT because I rarely go max speed. So I'm absolutely baffled that you worked a panel for three hours with minimal results. And it seems like you are using good products. I can only think you must have some incredibly hard clear coat.

Huge difference between shop paint on a door lower and bloody Merc white single stage factory paint... It seems 😳
lit is "resilient" that's for sure...
Also the panel form means a lot of careful polisher work (convex / concave), not just ploughing through it...
cleaning the pads after every pass is also time consuming..... But yeah it's safe and it's getting results...
I'm looking forward to the hood cos it's a flat canvas relative to the side of this car..

we'll get there.... 👍🏻

[Calendyr]

No idea re paint thickness... As this process is so very slow and I check the condition after every pass I am removing 90% of the crest of the peel... It's bugger all... Knowing my luck some clown will smack into me a week after I'm done anyway..... ��

Ya, his name is Murphy and he is an a hole

[Paul A.]

Looks like tedious work, Shadwell, but the difference in pics 2 and 3 above are significant!

[shadwell]

Thanks.... It's a mix of tedious... Frustrating and rewarding...
Spent another 5 hours on one side of the hood... Got a lower rate of reduction... Which is a little disappointing.. Lots of surface though... Gonna hit it again...
Half way through now...

[shadwell]

OK, pretty much at the end of this journey now.. so i thought i'd summarise..

1./ Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions and support, wouldn't have embarked on this without the information available on AG.. so yes, you are all to blame..
2./ Reducing orange peel is absolutely accessible to anyone who is prepared to learn, be patient and logical and adapt depending on what they are experienceing as they progress... there is nothing to be afraid of here... modern products make this process far safer and controllable than in years gone by.. good technique as instructed by folks like Mike also raise the safety level massivley.. BUT heed the warnings and understand the areas of greatest risk so you don't create an issue..
3./ Think long and hard about your paint and what wil be involved BEFORE you do a test pacth.. cos once you do a test patch you will be inclined to match the rest of the car.. and then your screwed..
4./ Mercedes Polar white single stage paint from factory is ridiculously hard.. you can forget denim pads making headway at anything close to a reasonable rate... BUT denim pads are great.. if you have normal hardness paint try them first as the finish level as you go is good.. and recovering to gloss is easier than from sanding...
5./ This is the process I ended up at (after tweaking it panel by panel)
2k wet sand, follow with 3k & 5k DA damp sand,
Rotary wool with SMAT compound,
Rotary LC purple wool with SMAT compound,
LC wool with Scholl S3 compound
Scholl s3 compound on Scholl blue spider pad on the DA
Scholl s20black on blue spider pad DA
Rotary with car Pro reflect on finishing pad (600rpm)
Poor boys white Diamond glaze, rotary applied
Collinite 845 hand applied and buffed off
6./ We do these things so you don't have too..

All the best...

[shadwell]

Single stage white.. "no clear here.."

[Crispy]

Too bad you didn't say it was single stage at the start. Could have saved you days of work. Mike has a great article about restoring single stage paints and it works for him.

[Rsurfer]

Too bad you didn't say it was single stage at the start. Could have saved you days of work. Mike has a great article about restoring single stage paints and it works for him.

Senior Member
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Join Date:Feb 2016Location:Gold Coast OzPosts:142




Denim and compound too slow... Next step up??



Hi mike,
Have been working to reduce the orange peel on
My 2015 c class, polar white, single stage...