polish making my paint dull

i need some help, not sure whats wrong, but after applying rubbing compound, my paint became duller (it is smoother however). im using 3M rubbing compound on testors enamel. i've waited 9 days to dry. could the problem be the rubbing compound? or should i have waited longer for the paint to cure? please help asap. i would like to know what im doing wrong. here is a picture:

http://img30.exs.cx/img30/6277/dscn48086ga.jpg

go and pick up some KIT scratch out. i swear by that stuff. follow the compoud with that and you should have a marvelous shine....are you sure you pulled all the polish off>?

Enamels do that from time to time...one of the reasons I hate enamels.

Try throwing some wax on and see how it looks.

Same thing happened to me with Tamiya Super White. I let it dry for 2 weeks and when I polished it, the polished surface became more dull than the unpolished one. Anyone have an explanation?

Shit, I've dulled out soo many paintjobs, the conclusion thought up by Ales and me is that the surface was not dry enough, once I got away with it after the fifth day, usually you need it to dry over a week. And don't start with the polishing compound.
1)wetsand it with no less than 2000grit
2)polish it
3)wax it
4)take your time
5)be really cautious with the first 2 parts.
HTH

And for the record, Testors suck! they need to dry, I don't know 3 weeks atleast. Use humbrol or tamiya ;)

Seems to me that it's a metallic paint? If so did you clear coat it? If not that's why it got dull for you. But like many others I to have had my share of dull paintworks without knowing why!?

Niclas

Niclas

It's definetly cleared, polishing bare metallic aint a good thing to do ;)

this looks like a Metallic paint to me. if so you must clear coat it first. also was it cold? did you warm the paint in warm water first? what kind of cloth are you using to polish with? i mean it could be a million things. I use Lacquer only these days as i find it much more consistent (Tamiya, Dupli-color, etc....). Enamel just isnt that good. the only thing i can say is clear coat the thing then polish but if that is a Metallic color and you polished it with out clear coating it, its f'ed.

3 weeks for testors enamel to dry? patience is key with building these things huh?

3M rubbing compound is designed for automotive paint finishes. Hobby enamels aren't usually durable enough to be polished by it, and it's probably also absorbing materials from the rubbing compound.

If it's clearcoated and dry, I'd say you've only just begun to polish the surface. You have to use a very soft cloth, and you have to buff the finish...you have to apply enough pressure to generate some heat/friction for the paint to gloss up. Merely rubbing over the surface a few times isn't going to get the gloss up. And you don't need wax! With a good polish, the surface is so smooth and glossy after polishing that wax isn't necessary to bring up the gloss, it's merely a protectant.

And for a glass-smooth finish, you'll have to resort to wetsanding w/either 800-1500 wet or dry automotive, or 2400-12000 grit micromesh sheets. A combination of wetsanding w/the micromesh sheets and then liquid compound is what gives the kind of shine you see on the best models here. Anything less isn't going to get the same attention.

I polish out Tamiya sprays in as little as a few hours after sitting in a dehydrator, and it can be buffed out after about a day or two if it's not force-dried. So anyone who's getting duller surfaces after polishing is either using the wrong polish, or isn't buffing the polish into the paint with enough effort.

3M Light Duty polishing compound is good stuff. If it's just regular polishing ior rubbing compound it's probably too strong for the paint. Meguiars Scratch X is the BEST. It's available almost everywhere, it's perfectly suited to model finishes, including Testors enamels. Tamiya compound is nice too, but I don't know what's the right compound these days...I have a tube of the compound from before they decided to make three levels of compound. Do yourselves a favor and get Meguiars Scratch X and you'll have plenty for you models for a LONG time for about $8.00. :)

I polish out Tamiya sprays in as little as a few hours after sitting in a dehydrator, and it can be buffed out after about a day or two if it's not force-dried. So anyone who's getting duller surfaces after polishing is either using the wrong polish, or isn't buffing the polish into the paint with enough effort.


I'd to see you pull that off with enamels. Tamiya sprays are laquers ain't they?

Try Mcguire's Deap crystal Wax.

This stuff can give good shine to a flat color :D

Enamels curetime is forever. They are forever curing, always. Acrylics curetime is about 14hours.

I'd to see you pull that off with enamels. Tamiya sprays are laquers ain't they?

I can wetsand/buff out Testors gloss enamels or clear after overnight in the dehydrator (8-12 hours). I've done it many times with zero problems. Tamiya sprays are mild synthetic lacquers, they cure faster. Some gloss acrylics never dry, flats dry nicely. Some gloss acrylic finishes (Tamiya/Gunze/old Testors (not Acryl) are susceptible to damage from anything being in contact w/them for too long, in storage or shipping. I do not trust them at all after having it happen.

If you don't have a way to force dry enamels, it takes much longer to dry.

thanks for all the replies. im using an old tshirt to polish, but i forgot to mention that i was using pearl black paint (not clearcoated yet), and i think thats probably another factor.

You must clear a pearl or metallic paint before you can polish it, if you polish the paint directly, it will do exactly what you've experienced and go dull.

Polishing paint removes a thin layer of paint and in the case of pearls and metallics removes the particles in the paint which give it the metallic or pearl finish.
Removing these particles will leave the paint with a dull appearance.

thanks for the help everyone, yea, i learned my lesson. anyway, i found a quick fix; i applied a couple coats of future, and the shine came right back.

http://img155.exs.cx/img155/5831/dscn48100cz.jpg

And for the record, Testors suck! they need to dry, I don't know 3 weeks atleast. Use humbrol or tamiya ;)

yeh i agree with fwdfreak, enamals take much longer to set. Next time i suggest going with laquers.