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Liquid_G · 08-10-2010, 04:06 PM

I'm not an expert by any means so feel free to chime in here folks... but in my opinion...

I'm thinking you may want more than one coat of clear on those.. because to get a really good shiny finish on the clear coat, you are going to want to lightly wetsand the clear coat and then polish it up with the rubbing / polishing compound.. I'd shoot for 3 coats total. If you already have one coat on there I think you'll need to rough up the surface lightly with some 1000 grit wetsand paper.

After it cures lightly wetsand it with some 1500-2000 grit paper to knock down any rough spots or dust or orangepeel.

The rubbing vs polishing compound question.. Rubbing compound is more aggressive than polish compound. So after sanding you can do rubbing compound first, then hit it with polish compound..

Get your self a small buffer, even a cheapo one from harbor freight or home depot.. it will save your hands and really bring out the shine when you get to polishing it.. use a foam pad to apply each compound and remove the polish with microfiber.

I painted my engine cover pieces using this method on my old Maxima about a year ago. turned out like glass after polishing.. even using rattle cans for paint and clear. Good luck!

08-10-2010, 04:06 PM	#5 (permalink)
Liquid_G A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago Burbs Posts: 1,439 Drives: 09 370z Supercharged Rep Power: 44	I'm not an expert by any means so feel free to chime in here folks... but in my opinion... I'm thinking you may want more than one coat of clear on those.. because to get a really good shiny finish on the clear coat, you are going to want to lightly wetsand the clear coat and then polish it up with the rubbing / polishing compound.. I'd shoot for 3 coats total. If you already have one coat on there I think you'll need to rough up the surface lightly with some 1000 grit wetsand paper. After it cures lightly wetsand it with some 1500-2000 grit paper to knock down any rough spots or dust or orangepeel. The rubbing vs polishing compound question.. Rubbing compound is more aggressive than polish compound. So after sanding you can do rubbing compound first, then hit it with polish compound.. Get your self a small buffer, even a cheapo one from harbor freight or home depot.. it will save your hands and really bring out the shine when you get to polishing it.. use a foam pad to apply each compound and remove the polish with microfiber. I painted my engine cover pieces using this method on my old Maxima about a year ago. turned out like glass after polishing.. even using rattle cans for paint and clear. Good luck! __________________ Last edited by Liquid_G; 08-10-2010 at 04:10 PM.