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Old 09-09-2002, 08:58 AM   #22
Jay!
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How do I polish the body?
When you spray a model car body, the paint is usually a bit rough, what is called orange peel, especially if automotive paint is used.

To achieve a scale shine, the paint is polished to a glass like finish, using cutting compound and car polish.

There are many grades of compound, and experience will teach you which is best. Aim for something around 5-6 for a start.

If you are new to this try it on a lacquered paint job as you can watch the cloth you are using. As soon as you see the body colour on the cloth you know you have rubbed through the lacquer and that it is time to stop. Doing so on a solid colour will reveal the primer underneath and you will have to add more paint, which is very frustrating!!!

Once the paint is smooth, you can polish out the swirl marks using a car wax, which is also a mild abrasive, or milky swirl remover around compound 9. Finish the model using a high gloss polish such as Tamiya Polish or Autoglym Gold High Gloss Shine when completed.


As an example of what you should be looking at during the polishing process:

Quote:
Originally posted by hirofkd
Here, the hood is partially sanded with 2000 grit sand paper.


Now, when the hood is thoroughly sanded, it should look like this.


After compound is used, you get a result like this.


Last edited by ales; 02-15-2003 at 12:40 AM.
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