What am I doing wrong

I can't get rid of the really fine scratches on black paint, (tamiya ts29).

After wetsanding it down to a nice shine ending up with 12000 then using Novis 3,2,1 using Novis polishing pads the really fine scratches won't go away. :disappoin

Is it the....
Novis Pads :uhoh:
Only letting the paint dry for a week :uhoh:
Novis #1 polish. :uhoh:

All of the above, what do I do?

Really fine scratches = swirl marks.

I also tried waxing it with mothers car wax in the red bottle. No luck.

Isn't Tamiya TS-29 Semi Gloss Black? Why would you want to polish it?

What did you paint with it? Did you do any prep work beforehand? The scratches could be in the part you painted and not the paint itself.

Help me here. Marc

It may take several coats of wax.
Gloss black is one of the most difficult paints to rub out, patience is a major key.

I gave my black 350Z about 4 coats of wax before I was truly satisfied with the paint.

It was on a tamiya hardshell plastic body and yes its semigloss and I had some orangepeel that needed sanding
I'm thinking of using a different brand of wax and a 100% cotton shirt. I see most are using Meguiers, is that what I should get?

And, I preped it really well and primed it. These are the really fine swirl marks from the cloth that go in the direction that I polish. If I switch directions they go the other way or if I go in circles they go in circles. Know what I mean man.

You have too much paint build up on your cloth. Move to a clean section of the cloth more often.

You might not be spending enough time using each sanding cloth before moving on to the next one. If you start with 3600 grit and don't get all of the polishing scratches from that out with 4000 grit, the 6000 cloth and every one after it will have an increasingly difficult time getting the scratches out.

You may be seeing those as surface swirl marks when they may actually be deep scratches. That problem is particularly apparent with dark finishes. Backtracking a bit in the grits and running through the polishing process again should solve the problem.

I can't get rid of the really fine scratches on black paint, (tamiya ts29).
All of the above, what do I do?

The problem is that TS-29 (a SEMI-GLOSS) paint has fine particles added to the pigment to disrupt the surface reflections and give you a....uhm...a SEMI-GLOSS look.

What it sounds like you are doing is picking up those fine particles with the polishing clothes/liquids and then scratching the surface with them.

To fix your problem I suggest you remove the paint and spray with a GLOSS black paint. I believe by attempting to make your SEMI-GLOSS paintjob glossy, you are doing nothing more than wasting time and money...

hth,

Bill

Tamiyaman, please start using the edit feature, the double posts are making my head spin ;)

I used Novus #2 to buff out some X1 that I airbrushed, and got a nice shine. So, with that said, its not the compound thats giving you the problem.

Sorry about the double posts.
Would it have been better to use the TS14 black instead of the semi gloss?

.....while we're on the subject of sanding.....

where do you guys get you super fine grade (1500+ grit) papers and sanding cloths, esp the guys in the uk?
i've looked and looked but can't find any trace of anything higher than 2000 grit (halfords only has 1500)
do i have to order them online?
any good products or places to recommend?

Sorry about the double posts.
Would it have been better to use the TS14 black instead of the semi gloss?

Yes, it would be better to use gloss black, which TS14 is, as opposed to using a semi-gloss and then trying to polish it.

Yea, I kinda figured that. Oh well now I have an excuse for another project.

Thanks for all the help guys.

.....while we're on the subject of sanding.....

where do you guys get you super fine grade (1500+ grit) papers and sanding cloths, esp the guys in the uk?
i've looked and looked but can't find any trace of anything higher than 2000 grit (halfords only has 1500)
do i have to order them online?
any good products or places to recommend?

We are using a product called Micro Mesh. ranges from 3200 to 12000 though this is a little misleading as they use theyre own grit rating system. 3200 is more like 600 and 12000 is like 3600 grit but its manufactured under very strict standards and is very consistant. give it a search.

.....while we're on the subject of sanding.....

where do you guys get you super fine grade (1500+ grit) papers and sanding cloths, esp the guys in the uk?


Try Hannants. They do mail-order, or they have a shop in Colinade (up the Northern Line, just outside the station)

Other than that, you'd have to try to order from the US, which isn't too difficult, just check the prices.