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Re: Help!!!!!!
Two issues that could be a problem beyond other input you've gotten so far:
1. You are not applying enough pressure to buff out. If you don't get enough friction to create a bit of heat, it won't buff very nicely. There's a fine line between getting the right friction to buff out nicely, and going too far and buffing through edges. Practice, practice, practice. Expect to have to do repairs while you learn. Use strips of Tamiya tape to protect edges as you polish panels w/sharp creases.
2. Your polishing cloth might be too coarse or have dirt/residue trapped in it that's also causing scratches, not polishing them out. You want the softest cloth possible. I have some that I bought for car detailing, very soft, they replaced an old flannel shirt I used for about 20 years before it was completely broken down. Modern flannel seems too coarse. I've heard some people like using synthetic chamois cloths to buff paint with.
Black is a difficult enough color. You want it to be pretty smooth before buffing it out; if it's got a lot of orange peel it's best to wetsand w/2000 grit (or 2400 grit Micromesh and respray. Looking at your photos, that's what I'd do if it were my model. Every time you wetsand and recoat, your subsequent coats will be smoother.
I love Tamiya's buffing compounds, I usually use 2400/3600/4000 micromesh and then use Tamiya coarse/fine/finish. But black seems to want more, so I go through at least 8000 grit. It's not going to hurt going past 2000 grit and worry over deeper scratches, they'd still be there if you started w/Tamiya coarse on 2000 grit sanded, or if it's 8000 grit. Or 12000 grit. The higher the grit, the faster it goes. You do the most sanding with the lower number, your first wetsanding coat is the most important, the next two you'll notice are doing more polishing than sanding. Everyone has a different method that works for them. Tamiya black looks fantastic when buffed to a high shine. It looks best without any clear. Clear will tend to make it look less black.
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