Polishing... scratches ?

Hi, i've just now gotten to polishing my kit using Tamiya's compound and i dont think its doing anything but scratching. I have all these little scratches all over the area im polishing. I thought it might be my cloth, so i've been switching and i found a super soft cloth to use. I dont know what im doing wrong.

How much compound are you supposed to be using ? how fast ? and are those little scracthes what i'm supposed to be getting ? How do i get it to the be as good as the attached image ? Do i have to use Tamiya's liquid wax to "cover" the scratches and give shine ?

Please help me out.

this is what a guy from this board got after using the compound. How do i get this ?

http://home.attbi.com/~mainomega/untitled.bmp

Please help me out guys

CAn you explain exactly what you've done from start to finish?

I started by wet sanding the whole body using 1000 and finished with 2000 Tamiya finishing abrasives. I washed it down. and now i just use a soft flanen and put a bit of the compound and begin rubbing the body. at first i used a lot on 1 area and still got scratches. Then i used a small amount on a different area to the same affect. I tried wetting the stuff but still get scratches...

These are a few pics. i dunno if they are all visible.

http://home.attbi.com/~mainomega/DVC00034.JPG

http://home.attbi.com/~mainomega/DVC00035.JPG

http://home.attbi.com/~mainomega/DVC00036.JPG

http://home.attbi.com/~mainomega/DVC00037.JPG

http://home.attbi.com/~mainomega/DVC00038.JPG


on the first two you can see the scrathes good. i tried to take pics of them but they all weren't visible under my cam.

If that is a Metallic color which it looks like, you should have Clear Coated it.

I did. About 5 coats of clear a week after the paint dried. The pic make the paint look terrible but i dunno why/how the scrathes are being made

Oh ok. Hmm, usually its the compound that removes the scratches. Maybe its the sandpaper?

I have not seen Tamiya compound leave scratches on any paints I have used. Sometimes when paint is not fully cured it is mor prone to scratches. Something in the way the sanding was done had to cause the scratches. You really should wet sand with 1000 and 2000 grits, clogged sandpaper can cause unwanted scratching. After saying all that I think your real problem is checking(cracking)in the paint. Tamiya vlear must be applied wiithin 20 min. or so after painting color coat or wait 2 weeks, otherwise cracking can occur. If it's cracking you will have to strip and start over.

Thanks for the info guys. I guess i didn't wait long enough for the paint to cure. Starting now i'm gona paint everything 1 day and leave it for a couple of weeks, while i paint another one and leave that one to dry.

I decided to try and save what i had of my paint job and just brushed some Future with a soft cloth. Has the shine and the depth now, But those scratches are still visible.

Thanks

Originally posted by Mainomega
I did. About 5 coats of clear a week after the paint dried. The pic make the paint look terrible but i dunno why/how the scrathes are being made
Hi, I am... the guy. :)
Metallic color is somewhat translucent. So, if the body has small scratches, it stands out "after" body color and clear coat is applied. At that point, it's too late to fix, because you only smooth the clear layer.
For metallic colors, make sure to thoroughly smooth and polish the body part and primer (or base color), before applying body color and clear. It doesn't have to be mirror like surface, but just get rid of small scratches, because solid color can fill the screeches and work kinda like primer, but metallic can't.

Sorry for now looking up your name, but i wasn't in the mood to sit by my pc. Ya, i think after i spray i'll sand it and spray again.
Still trying to learn.

one Question, how much of the compound do you put in the rag ? a little bit ? or do you flood the whole body.

Thanks

What type of paint did you use?

Tamiya acrylic. The color was a mix of X3 (Royal Blue), X11 (Chrome Silver), and X2 (White).

What kind of clear?

Future

How long did you leave the future to cure/dry?

it was a while, like 2 weeks atleast, and then 5 days waiting for my to get the compound in the mail.

I tried using the compound on a kit i had previously done and it didn't scratch it up. So i guess i have to leave both the paint and future to dry longer. It sucks tho, because this was gona be my "perfect" model. Then revell's quality messed that up, and now this whole thing.

:(

Originally posted by Mainomega
Future

I found out years ago that if use Future over Tamiya Acrylics you can have a serious cracking problem. Those are not scratches they are cracks. You are better off stripping the whole thing. Stick it in a bowl of ammonia and it will strip in 10-15 minutes with no harm to the plastic. The cracks will contue to grow and get worse.

Bah. Can't blame revell for paint related problems.

Nonetheless, I hope you can find a cure for your polishing scratches.

If u want a good compound and polish buy the hasegawa tri-tool series stuff, works 100 times better than the tamiya compound and polish.

Originally posted by TheSyndicate
Bah. Can't blame revell for paint related problems.

Nonetheless, I hope you can find a cure for your polishing scratches.


Oh no, hehehe i know that. The plastic itself had big mess ups. I started a post about it, I should have linked to it.

Did u ever get a chance to Clear Coat the car? Cuz if u did that wouldnt have happend.

future is clear coat. an acrylic one.

I applied 7 heavy coats of future on top of Model Master Acryl 4 days ago, and theres no cracks at all. I think the reason for this is that Testors acrylics cure much faster than Tamiya/Gunze acrylics. Lets just hope it stays this way.

So if you want to rubbing the body with compound I have to sand to whole body that's clear for me. But do I have to apply a clear coat??
and why??

Bart

Originally posted by bart8016
So if you want to rubbing the body with compound I have to sand to whole body that's clear for me. But do I have to apply a clear coat??
and why??

Bart
It adds some depth and has a wet look of a real car at the dealer show room. Metallic color almost always require clear coat, but it's optional on solid colors.

I'd like to remind everyone that Future isn't as sandable, or as easy to work with, as a good lacquer or enamel clearcoat. Future goes on very thin, almost too thin for polishing, and you need many coats to get it to a polishable depth.

I know what u did wrong

If u want to hve no scratches or so tiny that u can only see them very close, then U NEED A HIGHER GRIT SANDPAPER!!

1000 grit is too low

I usually start with 3600 then go up to 6000
then I use compound and it gave me that mirror like and instant shine

I once tried 2000 grit then compound and it left a hell lot of scratches
so please buy some high grit sandpaper!


Just my $0.02
Cheers :)

I think the problem is the clear coating. You should at least let it dry for three days before applying another layer of clear coat. That is what I usually do. I have two kits with this same problem. I apply five layer of clear coating without waiting it to cure properly, and for the first week, it's o.k, then the next week, it starts to crack until the whole body is full of it.

I have a question. After waiting a week after painting a solid color can I just go strait to compound if theres very light orange peel?

Sure. Just be prepared to polish a little longer than usual. :)

If I did sand it, would 2000 grit sound good for sand paper.

Sure, at least 2000 and above.

Thanks, I saw some 2000 at walmart and I think ill go pick some up.:)

Originally posted by daggerlee
I'd like to remind everyone that Future isn't as sandable, or as easy to work with, as a good lacquer or enamel clearcoat. Future goes on very thin, almost too thin for polishing, and you need many coats to get it to a polishable depth.

You are absolutely right. I have used Future for years and I know it pretty well. Most polishes will just take it off. If applied properly it should not need any sanding or polishing. I only use it over decals to seal them and protect and because it's safeer than using laquer over decals. But if I just want a shine on a metallic paint I use Tamiya or Duplicor clear laquer. I would not use Future for this purpose. And I said it before those are cracks in the paint not scratches.