when i had my cowl hood painted last year, we never buffed it out. the paint looks kind of shitty. i went out and got one of the big polishers, and gonna try buffing it myself. what should i use for a wax/compund? what kind of bonnet should i use? any help would be great

 

an orbital buffer like that isnt going to help much , Your going to need a high speed polisher like a dewalt or a porter cable. All you bought was a orbital machine that applies wax and removes it with bonnets.

 

He' s right, you really need a an industrial buffer, looks like a variable speed grinder. You' ll need a buffing pad, the one I use at work is single-sided, but I' m not sure how thick it is off-hand. As far as compound go, 3M "Rubbing Compound" comes in a quart sized bottle, it' s light colored and about the consistency of wax.

Does the texture (orange peel) of the hood match your fenders? Is there any trash in the paint? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you could pic up some 1200 grit wet sand paper and smooth out the trash and/or orange peel. Start slow, being careful not to slick it out too much. You can always continue sanding orange peel, but you can' t get it back if you sand too far. I don' t know, this may not even be necessary in your case, but it' s an idea if you have any irregularities in the clear.

Before you put an industrial buffer to your car, I' ll warn you about something The sharp edges and curves of the hood are very easy to burn through. First of all, put the buffer on the lowest setting, and apply an ample amount of compound. For the flat areas, keep the pad flat. When you get to the edges, you always want to angle the buffer so that you buff away from the edge, instead of toward it. For example: pass. side of hood - you' ll use the part of the pad on the right side of the buffer, buffing TOWARDS the fender...you can put some 2" masking tape on the fender to protect that edge. Don' t stay in one spot long, it takes only a second to burn through. Either try to avoid the edges, or use extreme caution, being you are a virgin to buffing.

You should also get a "waffle" foam pad and the smallest about of Glaze, 3M makes one, to glaze the hood after it' s polished. This will get any fine scratches left by the buffing. You will need the attachments for the buffing wheel and the waffle pad.

I recommend you go to an auto paint supply store for this stuff. It may cost you a little more, but you should be able to get everything in one shot, and they' ll actually know what they' re talking about. If you have any more questions feel free to contact me, and I' ll try to guide you through it.