How To: DIY Paint and Body work

[burnsauto]

I usually sit at around 1000-1200 no matter what I'm polishing, I just vary the amount of pressure (if any at all) that I apply. Keep in mind I also buff on the slower side of speeds compared to some.

[Almighty So]

ah yes heavier pressure is usually intended for more of a buff than polish. good point

[Mitsubayati]

I ended up doing some tests on parts of the wheel but what worked best was a a light 1000 grit wet sand then buffing by hand with an applicator pad and meguiar's ultimate compound. Then I just c"waxed off" with a microfiber towel. Came out really smooth. I repeated the buff 2-3 times and the more I went at it, the glossier it became.

Would a polishing compound make it glossier?

Would it be a bad idea to keep going at it with the rubbing compound?

[Almighty So]

ah yeah the 1000 probably wasn't as severe if it was wet.
a polishing wax would remove the wave/swirl marks from the compound. (can't imagine too much on a wheel but i guess it depends what kind)

Keeping at it with the rubbing compound probably won't do much. It's likely already done it's job and the 2-3 extra buffs took care of all the minors it may have missed. anymore is probably just a waste.

i actually know/have used a meguiars rubbing compound with a polish that works with it. you apply the compound to "restore" and, without removing, apply the polish to "finish and protect" right on top.
two layers, one removal. would recommend. (sorry can't remember actually product names but i'm sure a quick google would suffice.)

-

..is there a paint detail thread or is this it?

[Mitsubayati]

I also bought mequiar's clean and protecting wax. I plan to use that to finish off the wheel. will that polish it? Main purpose of the wax is to make cleaning the wheels easy and protecting from stuff sticking to them.

[burnsauto]

depends on how fresh the paint is. Don't wax fresh paint for 30 days, after that, wax until you're heart's content.

Think of buffing compounds like sandpaper, because they basically are just that, Micro abrasives.

rubbing compound - roughest
polish - less rough. Takes the compound scratches out
glaze - finisher, lessens polish scatches


Glazes are applied by hand, and may need to be gone over multiple times to get the desired finish.

They make another compound that can go in between polishing and glaze, basically a finer polish to apply after the first polishing compound. It's basically meant for buffing a black car.

[Mitsubayati]

So basically, buffing should bring out the shine, polishing and glaze get the finish smoother looking but not necessarily shinier.

I waited like 2 weeks before doing this step. Are you telling me not to wax because of out-gassing? Aren't there waxes that let the paint breath through them?

[Almighty So]

Compound will have a deep cut and take care of the light scratches and swirl marks and enhance clear coat.
Polish will clear up the buff marks from the compound and protect/enhance clear coat.
Glaze will shine and protect/enhance clear coat.

Like burns said they are in order of "roughness" technically.
He mentions not waxing right away because you shouldn't buff and/or polish a brand new paint job that is still curing.

[burnsauto]

yeah it takes a month for paint to fully cure. you may want to, but no wax. NO! If I could slap the wax out of your hand while saying no, I would.

each step of buffing/polishing is an abrasive. Even the glaze. You are still getting out scratches even at the glazing stage, just very fine ones. The polish will bring out more shine, but by the time you get to the glazing step, you won't bring out more shine, just less residual scratches from the previous steps.

[Mitsubayati]

Thanks for your help guys. I will wait a month to wax.

[spooled240]

I've begun sanding my car down for a paint job and discovered these cracks in the pillars. I sanded these cracks down to the metal and it looks like the actual pillar is cracked underneath 1/16" of body filler. Have any of you guys encountered something like this on your s13 or s14's?

[crzsteveo]

Holy tits dude you better check the underside.... I found similar issues but just cracks in the body work from previous owner accident... In that case you gotta sand it all the way to metal and repair it

[burnsauto]

there are these kinds of panel overlays at every pillar? Looks like someone put a roof skin on your car. Check under the headliner for further evidence.

...or if its only there, someone did a VERY shitty job at putting a quarter panel in.

[spooled240]

Yeah every pillar has a small crack with body filler underneath. I heard that most cars have the roof welded to the pillars during production where the factory would use body filler to smoothen out the seam. I'm starting to think this is just that since this car was an unmolested virgin when I first got it and to think all the pillars were repaired seems hard to believe. The daily drive on stiff suspension may have put more stress on these pillars where the 18 year old body filler underneath began to crack.

What kind of body filler would you guys recommend I use to repair these areas? Something that would adhere to metal with great durability would be great. I was thinking of the Evercoat Rage: http://www.amazon.com/Evercoat-105-P.../dp/B000P6WQB0

[blueshark123]

Evercoat rage is what I like to use. I highly doubt those cracks are from stress someone did something at one point to that car. I know older 240z this is common from the factory where they would use lead to fill in the pillar seams.

[inuyasha3466]

Ive seen a 89 S13 coupe that had the paint stripped in those areas and there is no body filler. The QP looked welded to the roof and ground down so it is completely smooth or fused together somehow. Probably done by machine by how flawless it looked. There was only discoloration of the metal. No filler needed.

[spooled240]

I found this picture of a s14 sanded down to the bare metal. The C pillar looks smooth without any seams...ugh I'm so confused why my car isn't like this.


I guess I'll start ripping out interior pieces to see what's behind it.

[blueshark123]

Take a zoomed out pic of where seam is, so I can see exactly where its at.

[spooled240]

I'm not around my car at the moment, but this is where the crack is on that photo I posted earlier for reference. You can see it's right where the top of the back window begins to curve.

[inuyasha3466]

I could see someone replacing the roof skin. That would cause an overlap like that if it wasn't butted up.

[blueshark123]

Yup if its on all 4 corners it has to be new roof skin. Could be crushed roof or someone didn't want sunroof which is common now, or they wanted a sunroof which is gay.

[KAT-PWR]

Does everyone start with 36 grit when sanding filler? I've always started with 80 but i feel like this area is always the most time consuming for me.
If you do start with 36, do you hit it with 80 before 180?

[blueshark123]

36 grit is way to rough unless your taking out a 1/2in of filler or more. 60 would be the lowest i would go. 80 grit to 180 grit is still even a big jump.


I normally do the following-

80-100 to shape and repair dents dings etc

220 - before primer

400-600 before paint

1500-2000 to wet sand then buff

[ManoNegra]

@spooled240 - The pillars on my old red s14 were smooth when I prepped it for paint. No filler or cracks.

[KAT-PWR]

Wasn't happy with overall finish of my fenders so I put some more work in got them primed today. Plan to block and paint tomorrow

Really loving this devilbiss start line gun set

[Frank_Jaeger]

Originally Posted by ManoNegra

@spooled240 - The pillars on my old red s14 were smooth when I prepped it for paint. No filler or cracks.

From the factory the roof skin is... brazed on? Or something. The metal is joined by some kind of yellow metal.

[spooled240]

I believe so. This guy swapped his roof skin and he specified that part of the process is to cut the brazing on the roof posts. You can see the seam in the pic:

Originally Posted by vaughn4

First started by drilling all the spot welds and cutting the skin off where it was brazed at the posts.

Here he has it all welded up at the spot welds with some body filler at the posts.

Originally Posted by vaughn4

Here it is all welded in place and some filler on the posts. It was welded in all of the original spot weld holes. Notice a little POR15 in the windshield and back glass frames. Water can run off the roof and get in there, rusting this area over time.

Build thread: http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=334132&page=2

[KAT-PWR]

body work wise I nailed it. Paint wise I got to concerned that I went over the piece too fast made it run a little on the re-pass, luckily it will hide behind the side skirt. Valances came out great.

[AllThingsGravy]

Can't wait to try this, thanks for this write up