Sandpaper

Hello.

I've been lurking and reading the forums, and there's lots of good advice about how to get down a solid paint job. I managed to get a pretty good coat of paint on my first model, which is coming along slowly, by following most of the advice I've read (though I can't imagine what possessed me to buy blue paint for a Monte Carlo).

One question I've got about sandpaper, though: where on earth does one get papers above 2000 grit? I had a hard enough time finding 2000, which I was able to get at Murray's Auto, but even then it took some work with rubbing compound and wax to get a decent shine out of the paint. Where can I find sandpaper with grits like 3200-12000, preferably not online?

And if anyone knows any good hobby shops in the Chicago area, let me know. I've only found one shop that has a decent selection of models that I actually like.

Thanks!

I found some 2500 in actual sandpaper form, but i think the Tamiya polishes are the best when you get above 2000 grit. I have never seen the actual paper version of grits as high as you mention and if you do get that high a grit, you dont want to do all that polishing with a paper as you would never get all of the nooks and crannies you are able to get with the polish on a cloth, as the cloth is much more flexible if you think about it.

I did the polishing "swabs" from micromark once and got great results, but the three stage polish from Tamiya will get you some killer results: Corse, Fine, Finish.

SHINY:
http://images34.fotki.com/v1150/photos/1/1044538/5945314/d-vi.jpg

Micromesh is the brand of polishing cloths that go from 1500 to 12000. That's what the Micro Mark polishing kit uses, and that's what people here use. Some plastic supply companies carry it, Rockler (woodworking store) carries it. Not sure if you can find it locally, if you live in a major metropolitan area you should be able to find it. I only tend to use 2400/3600/4000 before moving to compound, and most of my polish jobs are on Tamiya paint, I use their clear on most every model, and their 3 grades of polish on their paint is a dream. Sometimes I can get by w/o much if any wetsanding.

I wolud do what Bob says.
He makes shiny models.
No joke.
Andy

http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/mmr_sheets.htm

This is where I got a set a while back. The set I got seems they dont carry anymore. Was 3200-12000 and was about 18$ +s/h.

Check out the Craftsman Kits too on here. they have a few sets at OK prices. May also want to look on ebay time to time. Some people sell the sets at an OK price.

Venture Hobbies or Al's. Those are the two best in Chicago.

Rockler in Schaumburg will have the micromesh sheets; they sell them separately. You don't need a whole kit, and the separate sheets are larger than what are sold w/hobby kits. If you shoot Tamiya sprays, you can get by with 2400/3600/4000 grit and then the three compounds. Lower and higher grits work well too, but those are the three I use 95% of the time.

Al's in Elmhurst had it all, but it's expensive. I bought both the Tamiya compund and the Micromesh kit so I wouldn't have to go back; it was something like a half-hour's drive to get there.

Al's is clean and well-organized, but everything costs so much, and they don't have such a great selection of kits. I think I prefer Ed's Hobby Warehouse in Elmhurst, but they haven't got many paints, supplies, etc. And I would try out the Tamiya paints, except that if I bought the ones I see all my models would have to be olive drab green and pale sunburst yellow. I have never found good Tamiya colors in stock.

Oh, what a troubled state of affairs...I'll try the Micro Mesh on the trunk of my Monte, which is a little duller than I'd like, and the Tamiya compund on the doors where I've got some bad orange peel, and let you know how it turns out.

Well, I used the Micro Mesh on the trunk, and it turned out decent, but it was still a bit dull. I decided to experiment: I stopped wet-sanding one half of the trunk at 6000 grit and took the other all the way to 12000. The driver's side, which I sanded to 12000, was smoother and shinier than the passenger's side when I stopped sanding...but then I tried the "finish" rubbing compound and when I was done, I couldn't tell the difference between the two sides. The trunk is looking pretty killer apart from a biggish scratch from my cloth--I wasn't being super careful. My main problem is that I didn't have enough paint on the car to begin with and I was sanding too hard, so when I started sanding I went straight through to the plastic on a few raised details.

The "coarse" compound didn't do much for my relatively minor orange peel on the doors, but I dind't put much effort into it. I will probably try again later.

just so you don't get confused;
you can make bumpy/orange peely paint shiney.

the point of sanding is so you can get the paint flat so that when it is polished, you end up with a near as much perfect flat reflection free from distortion.
As you will/might have noticed, paint fresh from the can, will sometimes be shinier than a polished paint job. The difference is that the fresh from the can paint might not be as smooth (and bump free) as a sanded paint job. If that doesn't make sense now, it will after a few bodies later.

I would sand the little orange peel I've got, but the paint is so thin that much more will take it all off.

You're right about the polished paint vs the fresh paint, though. I've been avoiding touching the roof since I thought I got it "right," but I'm thinking of touching it up a bit for the same reason you mention--it's shinier, but not as smooth.