Polishing with a rotary buffer

[Echo]

I had never used a rotary (corded electric Harbor Freight 6" orange pad with MaGurire's Polish), but after watching a few videos on YouTube, took the plunge.  I did the whole plane in 3 hours.  The difference is amazing (effort required and results) compared to traditional waxing with paste polish.  I did this dry.  I would do about an 18" square section at a time.  I would put five pea size dots of product directly on pad and tap area I was going to work.  I would do five passes with the wheel only on poser setting 2.  I have a debugging surface prep product that I would spray and wipe with a micro cloth to remove any remaining polish.  I didn't want a LOT of cutting of paint, but the wheel and clother did have some blue from the buffing.  The shine was great.  I attached a couple of photos.  VERY pleased that I tried the technique.  I had ZERO issues with any "removal of paint from rivets or swirling".  The waffle pads work excellent.  I used same pad for entire plane.  I only did top and side surfaces.  NO BELLY  .  I will do this a couple times a year going forward.

[Echo]

Wheel/Buffer Photo

[M20F]

Don’t use an orange pad  it’s too aggressive.

 

[Fly Boomer]

16 minutes ago, M20F said:

Don’t use an orange pad  it’s too aggressive.

 

Megs "polish" is pretty tame.  The pad may not make much difference.

[Echo]

2 hours ago, M20F said:

Don’t use an orange pad  it’s too aggressive.

 

Not trying to be disrespectful, but you're wrong.  The orange pad is what was recommended and it worked very very well.

[M20F]

11 hours ago, Echo said:

Not trying to be disrespectful, but you're wrong.  The orange pad is what was recommended and it worked very very well.

I don’t take it as disrespectful, I linked a source and you are using a very aggressive pad and removing paint.  You do that a couple of times a year you won’t have paint left.  

Cutting which is what you did isn’t polishing. 
 
It is your airplane you do you, the fact you got paint on the pad indicates your clear coat is already gone if you have two stage. 

[Echo]

4 hours ago, M20F said:

I don’t take it as disrespectful, I linked a source and you are using a very aggressive pad and removing paint.  You do that a couple of times a year you won’t have paint left.  

Cutting which is what you did isn’t polishing. 
 
It is your airplane you do you, the fact you got paint on the pad indicates your clear coat is already gone if you have two stage. 

Noted.  Paint had imperfections.  I wated to cut a bit.  I will use a less aggressive pad and true polish going forward.

[A64Pilot]

I’ve been using a good Makita soft start 7” I think buffer for years, bought it for a boat in 2013, since then I’ve used it on several cars and aircraft.

My advice is buy a good buffer first as it’s likely you will use it like I do, that is often, buy a quality tool once, and start with something less expensive than your airplane like a boat or old car. Gel coated boat is good to learn on as Gel coat is thick and tougher than paint, harder to screw up.

Buy good polish, I like 3M machine glaze, it’s meant to remove the swirls left by machine polishing so it’s very gentle polish. Do not use any polish that has silicone in it, most do and it’s often not on the label, but pretty much any polish that claims to “rejuvenate” paint likely has silicone, silicone does look pretty, brings out the shine, but does not last and keeps waxes and I’m sure polymers like ceramic coat from adhering to the paint correctly, because after polishing ideally you want to wax it, my go to used to be Carnauba, but lately I’ve been using Rejex and am happy with it. I think polishes that say they are paint shop safe or similar are saying they don’t contain silicone, but am not sure on that.

I use a grey waffle pad, but also will on occasion use wool pads, they are aggressive, and there are also very soft pads that will really put a nice shine on wax just as a final shine after you have removed the wax. I have polish compounds but rarely use them I’m a little afraid of them to be honest as I have damaged my old Miata’s paint. (it’s been repainted since)

Be very careful with higher speeds you can put down an amazing amount of heat in a very short time and actually burn the paint.

[bonal]

Looks real nice, but more importantly did you do a three course speed check before so you ca quantify any speed gains.  If so please file a full report. 

[M20F]

4 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

I use a grey waffle pad

Appreciate a link to the grey waffle pad you use, thanks. 

[Schllc]

Plane perfect is an excellent cheap ceramic that is dummy proof, easy to apply and lasts between 6 months to a year depending in your usage. 
it is wipe on and wipe off. No elbow  grease and it’s under $50. 
One bottle will do a plane and a car. 
You definitely want to put something on the paint after cutting.  
if you don’t put something on top it will dull and chalk very quickly. 

 

https://planeperfect.us

[Echo]

You had me at "dummy proof".  Ordered.

[cliffy]

I bought an el cheapo oscillating car buffer from the jungle store with 3 foam pads, used Mothers Car Wax each year now  

for 4 years (once a year) an things look very good BUT I am in a hangar not in the sun 24/7

The el cheapo I got seems to do a good job   in about 3 hrs also. 

Just a notation point that;s all.

[bigmo]

When you have a fresh cup of coffee (or a beer I guess), this is a great watch. Spoiler alert - there's not a direct correlation between cost and quality for ceramics. There are some VERY affordable options that hold up really well.

https://youtu.be/s7PO_zGlaa4?si=9xtR8w0Kpb-HZGuV

 

[Fly Boomer]

PAINT Lake Country Pad EFFECTIVITY Chart.pdf

[bonal]

Spent about eight hours over two days using a new product for me called Skywash waterless cleaner.  Was fairly clean but just dull and lacking any shine.  Easy wipe on and wipe off. Followed with a light coat of Turtlewax spay and wipe. Very happy with results and noted an increase of FIVE mph on the IAS at my usual power level. I know it’s not precise but normally I see 130 and this latest trip was consistent at 135mph @ 5500 elevation 2400 20 inches 

 

Edited yesterday at 04:16 PM by bonal
Knots to mph

[N201MKTurbo]

I inherited a Porter Cable orbital. it was set up for sanding wood. I have used it for that many times, it works great. That's what my father in law used it for. The wife asked me to help her wax her car and I was researching which device would be best for that and most said to use an orbital polisher. It occured to me that the orbital sander I had would work, so I started taking apart the sanding pad and found a hook and loop pad on it that I didn't even know was there. So I bought a polishing pad and off we went. This thing worked great!

https://www.portercable.com/product/7424xp/6-variable-speed-random-orbit-polisher?tid=576446

[Fly Boomer]

1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Porter Cable orbital

Same

[Lax291]

Wanted to post some quick photos of the paint correction project I started last weekend and at first I was apprehensive to start cutting the paint with the polisher, but after doing it I couldn't recommend it more if your paint is looking dull and dingy like mine was.  The buffer and polishing compound made it fool-proof and results were spectacular (in my opinion).  I'll link what I used below if anyone else wants to give it a go.

Orbital Polisher: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089N83CWF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title At first I bought the Griot's Garage polisher, died on me after 30 minutes, this one is much better and much less

Extra pads: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07STT35FF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Groit's Complete Compound: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PA2LMD2?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 This not only cuts and corrects the paint, but also polishes at the same time.  All photos below are after 1 application of the compound, 4 passes with the polisher, and wiped clean.

 

Photo 1 - Upper left section polished, everything else not.  Notice how the overhead light reflection looks from polished to not.

Photo 2 - Right half of wing polished, left not, can see the line where I stopped

Photo 3 - Setup

Photo 4 - Tail section before

Photo 5 - Tail section after, I think the darker color shows better with the photos

 

I still have some watermarks/oxidation spots and maybe down the road after another light cutting that will come out, but what a different a little compound and elbow grease can make!

[Echo]

That came out great

[pirate]

Very nice!

[PeteMc]

I may have missed it, but for anyone thinking of buffing their plane, make sure you get a buffer with a slower settings.  Some of the ones you pickup have one FAST speed.  That's when you really get into buffing the paint OFF the plane. 

I'm no expert, but had a long talk with the paint guy that touched up my wings many many years ago. 

ADDED: Be VERY CAREFUL when you go over the rivets as the paint will come off quickly (another tip from him).  Buff the other parts of the plane then just lightly go over the rivets, or better yet, do those small sections by hand.

 

Edited yesterday at 08:41 PM by PeteMc

[cliffy]

Rather than just a straight "buffer" that only spins most car guys now use the oscillating orbital types now that have an infinite number of speeds to choose from. Even the "cheapo" one seem to work OK and not burn the paint although you can stillcut through on sharp edges if not careful.

[Lax291]

23 minutes ago, cliffy said:

Rather than just a straight "buffer" that only spins most car guys now use the oscillating orbital types now that have an infinite number of speeds to choose from. Even the "cheapo" one seem to work OK and not burn the paint although you can stillcut through on sharp edges if not careful.

This was my experience with the orbital buffer. Had speed settings up to 6. Spread the polish with #2 and worked it with #5, no issue going over the rivets. 

[cliffy]

YUP!