I'm doing a paint / polish finish on my 7A

frazitl · #1 02-02-2010, 10:13 AM

and am having problems with the final polish. I'm using the PerfectPolish process compounding with Nuvite F7 or C and Cycloing with S. In the hangar it looks great. If I look up close with a bright flashlight or take it out in the sun, I see a network of very fine scratches in the finish. They almost look like they are deep inside the finish. Looking more or less straight on, the finish looks good, but at just the right (wrong) angle to the light the scratches appear.

I've tried lots of combinations and talked to Tom at Perfect Polish and Bob at Nuvite.

My question is: is this what I should expect? I don't have a nicely polished plane around to compare to (that I know of anyway). I need to know if there is something I'm doing wrong, or if I should just plow ahead.

Snowflake · #2 02-02-2010, 10:20 AM

I just ordered the Nuvite sampler kit from PerfectPolish, so i'll be learning about this too. My -6 came with a polished finish, it looks good but hasn't been polished in about a year so it may need some of the coarser grades to get it back to the (hoped for) mirror shine. Post some photos if you get a chance.

I understand that the first time, polishing takes what seems like forever to get the bare alclad finish down to the final mirror. Is it possible that you have switched to the next finer grade too soon after one of the earlier grades?

hydroguy2 · #3 02-02-2010, 10:51 AM

Biggest fault is going for the mirror finish too soon. Gotta let the process work, short-cutting steps early will show up later.

agough277 · #4 02-02-2010, 10:52 AM

Terry: Bring you 7A to Sky Ranch, Sandy Valley for our regular Saturday morning coffee 8AM and we'll judge whether its polished enough. If it looks good while in motion it will be OK with us.

Rick6a · #5 02-02-2010, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazitl

....I need to know if there is something I'm doing wrong, or if I should just plow ahead.

I'm guessing you already know to put away the wool bonnets for the final polishing phase and also know not to mix different polishing grades on the same cloth. Have you tried using 95-5 virgin cotton flannel? Some people forgo the Cyclo altogether and swear microfiber polishing cloth is optimium for producing that ultimate final scratch free surface. One way or another you can eliminate those very fine scratches. Keep experimenting and find the materials and technique that work best for you.

tinman · #6 02-02-2010, 03:04 PM

Something that I have been experimenting with thanks to a brilliant suggestion from Dago is using corn starch on a flannel cloth to "buff" after polish. It is amazing how much black it will remove. I thought that he was pulling my leg...sort of like telling someone that they need to change out the old air in their tires or polish out those spiral groves in their rifle bore...
Try it...it works!

mannanj · #7 02-02-2010, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydroguy2

Biggest fault is going for the mirror finish too soon. Gotta let the process work, short-cutting steps early will show up later.

This would be my guess too. Do another compounding with "F7" then final Cyclo the "S" with the microfiber towels.

Bruce · #8 02-02-2010, 05:02 PM

Terry,

I know what you are talking about.
I use the following methods:
Cut with G6 if bad metal first

Good metal I start with
6-8 passes with F7
1 pass with C
Cyclo with S
Use cornstarch and buff.

Your metal may vary. That is what
the problem is.

It WILL look great when you get it
done.
You can see the clearness after the F7 and
then start the c and s process.

If the clearness or crispness is not there don't
move on to the c or s.

Boomer

frazitl · #9 02-02-2010, 09:20 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try the flannel, and the Cyclo with micro- fiber. I'm assuming this is during the process of removing the patina of S polish. I did find that the small balls that develop in the Perfect Polish sweatshirt material (while cycloing) can cause some swirlies in the finish. Today, I've had better luck applying the S polish just to the "patina" stage, and then switching to a new area of the cloth to polish it out. No more swirlies, but I still have the micro scratches under intense light. I then applied the S to the next area with the same cloth use in the previous buff out process. Wow. This is sure a picky process.

I've tried cornstarch on microfiber to remove the small dots of black. Works pretty well. Tried the Nuvite Nu-Image and it works REALLY well. However, I found out today that is DOES have silicone in it, so be careful if you ever intend to paint...

Based on your collective feedback, it looks like I need more compounding. I've done 8 to 12 passes of F7 and /or C over various parts, but I can still see the mill grain in the aluminum in most places. Looks like I need to stay with it a little (maybe a LOT) longer.

I'll try to make it to Sandy Valley this Saturday for the coffee session. Will take some negotiation with the better half, but she's been supportive throughout this whole experience. Flowers or Coffee and Baileys usually works...

cattflight · #10 02-04-2010, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agough277

Terry: Bring you 7A to Sky Ranch, Sandy Valley for our regular Saturday morning coffee 8AM and we'll judge whether its polished enough. If it looks good while in motion it will be OK with us.

Ha! I've always used the "80/80" rule in my motorcycle racing paint scheme. If it looks good from 80 feet, going 80 mpg, it's good enough. Though I think when I build my RV, I too will adopt a more showroom finish mentality...mostly because I don't expect to crash and fix my RV as frequently as my race bike!