Polishing... scratches ?

[Mainomega]

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 ?

[Mainomega]

Please help me out guys

[daggerlee]

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

[Mainomega]

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.












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.

[Camber]

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

[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

[Camber]

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

[935k3]

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.

[Mainomega]

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

[hirofkd]

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.

[Mainomega]

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

[daggerlee]

What type of paint did you use?

[Mainomega]

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

[daggerlee]

What kind of clear?

[Mainomega]

Future