Polishing tutorial

[dada man]

http://12-twentyfour.com/2014/09/23/polishing-a-car/

Hey guys. I did a polishing tutorial on the mini. This is just my way which may have its flaws but so far has worked for me. If anyone has any tips to add please let me know. thanks

[Hemi Killer]

You saved my life. I never even thought of using a Dremel to polish. I bought one a few weeks ago for heavy mods, I'll have to get these soft wheels and try it out. Thanks for taking the time to make this.

[pharr7226]

Beautiful finish. A guy named Cesar Bossolani posted a youtube video a couple of years ago showing a method similar to yours. I've wanted to try this for a while but I could not find a polishing wheel that was soft enough. Where did you find your?

[nugundam93]

whatever you do, if your dremel/router can be "overclocked" by giving it more voltage, resist the urge to do so, even if in just small increments (ex: stock voltage is 4.5v, you go 6v). you might get to polish things faster, but it's also easier to burn through all the paint layers (yes i managed to do so, burning through 5 2k urethane clear, 5 acrylic clear red, 3 urethane silver and 5 urethane primer layers) in short notice. ^_^

[racer93]

Great write up!

I noticed you said that orange peel is caused by a change in temperature and not in a controlled environment. I tend to get a bit of orange peel but I always spray inside (I have a spray booth) and once finished, I put it into a food dehydrator to cure. Do you think it would help to cure in the ambient air and then put it into the dehydrator after a few hours? I've always been rather puzzled at this problem...

Daniel

[dada man]

@ racer 93.

Well one of the reasons is change in temperature. Other reasons can be the layers underneath were not 100% prepped ( i.e. primer and colour layers arent smooth) or it can also be the way the paint was sprayed or mixed. Theres lots of different reasons why it could happen. There will always be a bit of orange peel however if you put your first layer of clear down and let it cure, flat and then reclear it wil come out better. IT is a longer process but is just as effective and sometimes even bettter

[Cliff71]

Originally Posted by pharr7226

Beautiful finish. A guy named Cesar Bossolani posted a youtube video a couple of years ago showing a method similar to yours. I've wanted to try this for a while but I could not find a polishing wheel that was soft enough. Where did you find your?

Cesar is a really good mate of mine & showed me his technique for polishing several years ago. There are certain things needed to get a great finish, using a Dremel & jewelers cotton mops. ( these can bbe foundon ebay under jewelery/ jewelers tools & can be purchased in bulk.) As for the speed of your drill, it should be used with no more than 800-1000 rpms, just like 1:1 polishers. You will need a voltage dimmer, which allows you to slow down the rpms on your drill/Dremel. I got mine from Cesar, as there is a guy in Brazil who makes them, &I couldn't source one anywhere else.

[racer93]

For the voltage dimmer, you can just use a dimmer switch set up for a normal light dimmer wall switch. I use it on mine and it works great!

Originally Posted by Cliff71

Cesar is a really good mate of mine & showed me his technique for polishing several years ago. There are certain things needed to get a great finish, using a Dremel & jewelers cotton mops. ( these can bbe foundon ebay under jewelery/ jewelers tools & can be purchased in bulk.) As for the speed of your drill, it should be used with no more than 800-1000 rpms, just like 1:1 polishers. You will need a voltage dimmer, which allows you to slow down the rpms on your drill/Dremel. I got mine from Cesar, as there is a guy in Brazil who makes them, &I couldn't source one anywhere else.

[CFarias]

This is a great way to polish models, but let me add some things...

You must use the jewelers mops only. There are other polishing mops made of densely packed felt. Do not use these as they will burn through the paint. They can easily be identified by their rigid shape -- disk, barrel, or bullet shaped.

Try to keep as much of the stem of the jewelers mop out of the dremel tool as much as possible. The further away you keep the dremel's mandrel away from the model the less likely you are to accidently nick it with the tool. Keeping the stem out of the tool helps keep the tool away from the model.

Be careful when you are using the dremel near the edges of your model. In these areas the tool will want to grab the model and the model might slip out of your hands or the tool might try to gouge the model. Care must be taken around the pillars of the windshield.

[Cliff71]

Originally Posted by CFarias

This is a great way to polish models, but let me add some things...

You must use the jewelers mops only. There are other polishing mops made of densely packed felt. Do not use these as they will burn through the paint. They can easily be identified by their rigid shape -- disk, barrel, or bullet shaped.

Try to keep as much of the stem of the jewelers mop out of the dremel tool as much as possible. The further away you keep the dremel's mandrel away from the model the less likely you are to accidently nick it with the tool. Keeping the stem out of the tool helps keep the tool away from the model.

Be careful when you are using the dremel near the edges of your model. In these areas the tool will want to grab the model and the model might slip out of your hands or the tool might try to gouge the model. Care must be taken around the pillars of the windshield.

Everything you've mentioned is absolutely correct. Although myself I have fabricated some foam pads to fit my Dremel tool, to use as you would with 1:1 cars. I use this first, after all wet sanding is completed, using the harsher polish compounds. Then I use the "mops" for softer compounds.
Here's some pics of the mops, dimmer & my miniature foam pads.





Cheers Cliff