polsihing problesm

tried to polish my skyline,but still had orange peal, so i sanded the roof to test it out, (3m 2000 grit) and then i tamiya compounded, and meguiars Step 2 Polish... AND I CAN STILL SEE SCRATCHES!!!!!!!!!!!im very pissed off.... Now i want to clearcoat, but im afraid the scratches will still show!!!11

it looks horrible and im panicking!@

You still have orange peel around the edges that needs further sanding. Once you get that done, rub the compound on in a circular motion and put some pressure on it. Friction is necessary for the compound to work, it kind of burnishes the paint so it can then be smoothed. It looks like you're on the right track, a litle more practice and you'll have it. :)

yeah, you need more sanding. continue with the 2000

i know i have plenty more orange peal, but i was focussing on just the center, i can't get the scratches out,

and also...'

can i still clearcoat? if i compound/polsih?

now i see, it looks like your just polishing in straight lines. try going in a circular motion like mentioned above. the scratches whould dissappear that way.;)

If you really want a better paintjob that takes less rubbing out do what I always do. Prime then sand. Spray on 2-3 coats of paint and sand that down(after drying 1-2 days) and put on a final coat or two. These last coats will always be better than the first. I would sand that coat down and put one final color coat. Clear is not really necessary unless you use a metallic color. Wait a couple weeks to final polish as some of the scratches come from paint that isn't fully cured yet.

No need to get pissed. That's how it's supposed to look more or less.
You need either higher grit sand paper, such as 3600 - 12000, or polishing more.
Try one direction, then perpendicular to it, and finally circular. That should take care of it.

I think it the sand paper is giving more scratches than expected, try apply plenty of water and sand very lightly when you are finnishing the sand ant turnning to compond.

not to hijack your thread but could I use a 1500 to sand down the orange peal look. I can't find nothing higher than 1500 around here.

Are you "WET" sanding it???

After the paint coats have dried, I sand my model car with Tamiya Finishing Abrasive No.2000 in a basin of water. I would sand and dip the kit into water regularly, to ensure the sanding process is always wet but not totally immensed in water while sanding. The regular dipping also helps to remove clogged "sand dust" on the surface of the kit. And I got a nice smooth finish to it.

Also, I sand it lightly and in circular motion. As such, I would do this while half-watching the TV since it easily takes me 2 to 4 hours. (this is one of the model building steps which I currently enjoy.)

I hope this helps. :)

I'd be panicking too... that's the finish you have before finishing ?? All of you ?? Man, when I have something like that to finish, I sand back to the plastic (with the water processus) and redo it.