Note: This protocol has changed because of changes in paint care technology. The procedures outlined below are the current methodology for paint care. Please disregard the old Buffing Protocol that uses abrasives to polish paint.
This buffing protocol now covers modern headlamps with plastic lenses.
This procedure uses 3M brand Perfect-It products. Prior to reading this protocol, please familiarize yourself with the technical data and training resources at the 3M website.
Additionally, please read the following technical data and material safety data sheets:
3M Perfect-It Paint Finishing Brochure
3M Purple Clean Sanding Discs Brochure
3M Headlight Lens Restoration Directions
3M Headlight Lens Restoration Flyer
3M Perfect-It Foam Buffing Pads Brochure
3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound MSDS
3M Perfect-It Machine Polish MSDS
3M Perfect-It 3000 Glaze MSDS
3M Perfect-It 3000 Compound MSDS
3M Perfect-It Clean and Shine MSDS
3M Detail Cloth MSDS
3M Perfect-It Liquid Wax MSDS
Paint care is an important and often overlooked part of good car maintenance. Most of our clients wash their cars on a regular basis, but environmental factors damage paint that regular washing cannot clean. These environmental factors include acid rain, road dust, sunlight, and assorted other debris that can stain, sandblast, fade or chip paint.
In many cases where the paint damage is not compromised beyond the clear coat it is possible to restore paint quality to a nearly new finish by carefully buffing and polishing.
Below are the basic steps in buffing, polishing and sealing paint. Note that great care must be taken when buffing with the high speed buffer as paint can be removed to the metal due to operator error. All buffing and polishing involves removing a very thin layer of clear coat (or in older cars, the highest level of single stage paint). To determine the thickness of the paint, use a paint gauge to take numerous sample of both horizontal and vertical panels.
Before beginning, the car must be pressure washed, hand washed and then pressure washed a second time. Also note: mask off any areas where buffing compound is unwanted or would be hard to clean later. The entire paint care process takes four to twenty hours depending on paint damage.
1. large contaminate removal
a. bug and tar removal
b. inspect for damaged trim or other sharp area that could damage the buffer or the operator
c. inspect/note for badly damaged acid rain or tree sap stains that might require wet sanding with 1200, 1500, or 2000 grit sandpaper OR use 3M Trizact damp sanding disc and pnuematic DA sander
d. rewash car by hand if large areas of paint needed to be degreased/detarred
e. rewash car by hand if wet sanding was required
2. determine the condition of the paint by carefully examing for swirl marks, scratches, chips and other defects and if the paint has Level 3 coarse scratches, pits or other defects follow steps a through d of this section, otherwise if the paint condition is Level 1 or Level 2 then go to step three.
a. if paint is too badly damaged to be buffed, advise client and discuss possible body work and re-paint options
b. if paint is acceptable to buff, but badly scratched and/or badly oxided and/or has substantial swirl marks, then select the appropriate grit sandpaper to sand the clear coat
c. if wet sanding by hand, then sand in a one way direction with the coarser grit paper first followed by the finer grit paper in the other direction
d. if using the 3M Trizact damp sanding system, then select the appropriate grit disc and soft interface pad. A DA with a larger orbit may be used. Use moderate air pressure.
e. rewash car by hand and rinse with pressure wash to remove all clear coat residue
3. after sanding has been completed, begin the compounding of the paint (the bottle is labeled with the number 1 as this is step 1 of the buffing system):
a. use 3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound and appropriate pad (wool or foam)
b. use 3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound only
c. maintain buffer speed between 1200 - 2000 RPM (1400 is ideal)
d. work no more than a 2'x2' area at a time
e. any excess compound may be remove with a paper towel at this stage
f. it is crucial to not skip any steps in the Perfect-It process as each step is required if the next step is to be successful
g. swirls marks will be present after this step
h. use the high intensity light to make sure all sanding scratches have been removed
4. after compounding has been completed, begin the polishing of the paint (the bottle is labeled with the number 2):
a. use 3M Perfect-It Machine Polish and appropriate black foam pad
b. use 3M Perfect-It Machine Polish only
c. maintain buffer speed between 1200 - 2000 RPM (1400 is ideal)
d. work no more than a 2'x2' area at a time
e. remove excess compound with the buffing cloth only
f. some light swirl marks will likely remain after this step, and step 3 will remvoe them
g. use the high intensity light to better see any remaining swirl marks
h. it is crucial to not skip any steps in the Perfect-It process as each step is required if the next step is to be successful--step 2 will only work if step 1 has been completed
5. after step 2 polishing has been completed, begin the final step of polishing to remove the incidental remaining swirl marks (the bottle is labled with the number 3):
a. use 3M Perfect-It Ultra-fine Machine Polish
b. use 3M Perfect-It Ultra-fine Machine Polish only
c. maintain buffer speed between 1200 - 2000 RPM (1400 is ideal)
d. work no more than a 2'x2' area at a time
e. remove excess compound with the buffing cloth only
f. no swirl marks will remain after this step--use the hgh intensity light to examine paint
g. it is critical to not skip steps 1 and 2 of the Perfect-It process in order to acheive proper results on step 3
6. clean all compound residue from the car, glass, trim, and jambs
a. use soap and water followed by a good pressure washing
b. use 3M Perfect-It Clean and Shine on the trim, jambs, under hood, and related
c. use glass cleaner on the exterior glass
d. wash car carefully and pressure wash again
e. use a chamois to dry the car
f. inspect the condition of the paint and inspect for compounding residue--if any areas need additional work, repeat the above steps until the paint is fully cleaned
7. after the paint has been properly buffed and all compounding/polishing redidue has been removed finish the paint by sealing it with 3M liquid wax
8. with the car waxed, complete the detailing process by carrying out the following:
a. restore all trim with Mother's brand Back to Black
b. make sure all exterior glass is cleaned and apply RAIN-X to the front windshield and rear window
c. examine the headlamps for pitting and/or hazing--use 3M headlight restoration products if needed
d. clean the wheels and tires
9. rewash entire car and chamois dry
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