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Polishing Technique--Long

mlwynn

Well Known Member
Hi all,

I have been planning to polish some or most of my RV since I started building nearly ten years ago. I found the nuvite site and ordered all their standard stuff. I polished the HS a couple years ago with very satisfying results.

I am about to do my final assembly so I was polishing my wings, especially the bottoms as it did not look like polishing from a creeper would be good for anything but my triceps. When prepping for riveting the wing skins, I carefully removed strips of the blue plastic over the rivet lines using a hot soldering iron. I thought I was more careful that it turned out as I have a number of fine scratches running parallel to the rivet lines. As a note to those of you thinking about this, be REALLY careful removing plastic over the rivet lines because the scratches are a real challenge to remove.

I recently discovered the perfect polish website (http://www.perfectpolish.com/index.html). Both Nuvite and Perfect polish have a fair amount of written and some video information on polishing technique. There are some fairly significant differences in their recommendations so I thought I would float a few questions to others and share my experience.

Compounding: Nuvite says to use the buffing pad, up and down, left and right. Avoid figure of eights, as it tends to increase the swirl marks. Perfect polish says to go one directing only, e.g. top to bottom. Pick up the buffing wheel and put it down again to continue parallel strokes. I spoke to Tom there who said that the pattern is not that important, their technique helps address large areas (like trailers) without missing spots. Both agree that figure of eights is a bad idea.

Both places suggest starting with G6 if there are any scratches and progressing to C and then S. Nuvite says G6 and C with the buffer, S with the cyclo. Perfect Polish says use the cyclo for the C and the S.

In trying to get these scratches out, I started with C. Didn't see much progress after several applications. Tried G6 with not significantly better results and finally settled on F9. F9 is supposed to be for really corroded and pitted surfaces but I have found leaves a better initial shine than the G6. The G-6 tends to leave the surface fairly cloudy. That comes out with the C and S, but there is more work to do.

I was concerned that too many applications of the F9 might damage the surface but Tom at Perfect Polish said not to worry about it. I wouldn't really be removing metal as much as shifting it around. Still, after several passes, some of the scratches remain. I cannot feel them or catch a fingernail on them. They are visible in the right light.

Questions:
Anyone else have issues with these scratches or have any good tricks for getting rid of them?
Experience with the grades of nuvite?
Thoughts on the cyclo vs buffer for the intermediate grades?
Anyone with really good luck with the G6 grade?

Regards,

Michael Wynn
RV 8 Finishing
San Ramon, CA
 
Michael,

I would still use the G6. 5 passes
then 5 passes with F9, then 1 pass of C on buffer
then the S with cyclo.

That will do it. It takes a lot of time but it just
takes the edges off of scratches. If they are too deep
might use the 1000 grit then the above starting
with the G6.

Hope it helps.
 
Passes and polishing technique

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I was watching the video on the PerfectPolish website and wondering if I am doing the compounding correctly. I have been applying the polish sparingly to the metal, smearing it around with the pad and then polishing back and forth, several times over the 18" by 18" area on which I am working. Wipe the excess off and start over.

His video cuts off part way through the process but I wonder if they mean to apply the polish and go over the area only a single time before moving over a few inches--and that constituting a "pass".

When you say six passes, do you mean to polish the area for while on six occasions or do you properly mean that buffing pad goes over an area once and the next time you return to that area is with fresh polish and is a second "pass'? Sounds like a dumb question but this is not entirely clear to me.

With the technique I have been using, F7 and F9 leave me with a pretty shiney surface. G6 starts shiney but then seems to get cloudy as I continue buffing. Maybe the problem is that I am supposed to stop after the first movement over the metal and that I am grinding some of the G6 breakdown products into the metal surface.

Thoughts?

Regards,

Michael Wynn
RV 8 Finishing
San Ramon, CA
 
Michael,

6 passes same area.

Use less G6. It should buff out just like the others.

You can see the changes. I used a Diet Coke can. If you can read
the small writing it is good to move on.

It takes time but you will love the look.

Good luck,
 
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