Micro Mesh Life

[mickbench]

I brought some Micro Mesh (polishing kit) and I have been trying it out on a test bit of plastic I used to pratice spraying with.. It's bloody good stuff. Cost a lot more then sandpaper, but after I got to the 12000 I could almost see my face.. It was sooooo smooth.. And the 3200 removed the orange peel look with just a few rubs.. Took a bit of getting used to how to rub, but I got better and I'm in awe of what this stuff can do..!!! If only I had known about that years ago.. I wouldn't have give up 15 years ago and learnt to use a spray can/gun and carried on, instead of brush painting body shells..!!

Problem is, I have some spots of red colour on the mirco mesh sheet.. Is this OK to keep re-using, even on different colour car body shells? This stuff is not cheap, therefore I want to max out the life if I can..!!

Many Thanks.

[RallyRaider]

Can you wash the pad to get most of the colour off? At a guess I'd avoid using the red marked one on light clours like white and yellow, but shouldn't be an issue on darker ones.

[freakmech]

Micro Mesh is great but if you want to make it last you must use it under running water and very dry paint. when you see color on the strip of Micro Mesh it means its clogged up. so the grit wont bite. do not dry sand with it. always use it under water to prevent clogging and let your paint set up for at least 2 weeks. this stuff is great though but i wasted the first pack i got learning to use it.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

As the others have stated, it's far better to wetsand w/Micro Mesh, it smooths the process and keeps the cloths cleaner-the little bits of dry paint that have been sanded off won't be stuck in the cloths, and won't harm the surface you're trying to wetsand. In fact, it's a good thing to have a container of water to dip the cloths into while you're wetsanding, and to put a couple drops of detergent into the water-this further protects the surface of the model and the cloths themselves. After you are done you clean the cloths thoroughly w/soap and water to remove any paint residue, and let them dry before putting them away. Take care of them, and they will literally last for years and many, many paint jobs. The 6000/8000/12000 really don't wear out like the coarser grits that cut more paint. The only ones I've had to replace are the 1800/2400/3200/3600/4000 grit.

[Amazon]

One tip is to cut he coarser cloths into smaller, more easy-to-handle pieces, ecspecially when polishing tight and awkward spots. And as "the rotating MX5" above me says, only the coarser cloths need replacing,as the finer ones only bring out the shine. My 12000 looks almost new despite it`s worked on 5-6 paintjobs.

[mickbench]

Well, thanks to the advice from you guys I washed them in warm soapy water, and they now look like they haven't been used.

Amazing stuff..!! I cannot even explain how shocked I am that some sandpaper can actaully polish paint.. I've heard of paper that can polish metal etc.. But not paint..! I always thought it was a case of rubbing polish into the paint after using very fine snadpaper.

OK - It takes some rubbing, as you have to sit there just slowly and gently rubbing in a circle, but the results are really smooth.

Thanks guys.. Yet another save from the good advice from this board.

[Tamiyaman]

Yea its good stuff. One thing I noticed is it comes packaged under different names such as Hobbico. Is it all the same stuff?

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

It's probably all the same stuff.

Micro Mesh instructions recommend to rub it back and forth vs. in circles, alternating the direction for each successive grit. So if you start wetsanding the roof from side to side w/3600, when you switch to 4000 you sand from front to back, and so on until it's finished. The final buffing w/compound after 12000 you can polish in a circular motion or back and forth. The biggest thing to watch out for is wetsanding through a high spot through the paint. Use small pieces of tape to mask any spots that are susceptible to burning through w/the cloths or compound...though I almost always have a couple small spots that need a touch-up after polishing...save some of the paint for doing minor touch-ups. You'll spend twice as long on a black car, as you'll see every tiny flaw in the paint that you don't see in lighter colors.

[mickbench]

Ah right, so circle rubbing isn't recommended.. OK will remember that. Couldn't see any circle marks with the test peice I micro meshed. And it's pretty smooth..