How Do You Buff New Paint on a Car?

It takes a lot of hard labor to get your car's new paint job smooth and shiny. New paint can run, drip or get an "orange peel" look, when paint dries in a clumpy, uneven texture. To buff that grit off of your car and get the new paint looking good, you will need to wet-sand the car and then buff the car with a rubbing compound. This is a good weekend project, not something you can finish in a couple of hours.

Instructions

1

Fill a bucket with water. Immerse your 1500-grit wet sandpaper in the bucket of water, then remove it.

2

Work the wet sandpaper back and forth along the car. Don't use jerky motions, circular motions or short movements; long, lean strokes work best. Whenever the sandpaper gets clogged with paint chips or dries out, re-wet it. Work over the entire car in this fashion.

3

Switch to the 2000-grit sandpaper and repeat the wet-sanding process. The finer 2000-grit wet sandpaper will remove the scratch marks left by the 1500-grit sandpaper.

4

Rinse your car when you've finished the wet sanding. Dry it with microfiber towels. These towels won't scratch your car's paint job. At this point, the car will look mostly smooth but dull.

5

Squirt a small amount of rubbing compound on a foam pad. Bring the foam pad up to the car, then work the rubbing compound into the car paint in concentric circles. Work on only one panel at a time. When you've finished applying rubbing compound to the panel, wait a couple of minutes for the compound to haze over.

6

Wipe away the rubbing compound with a clean microfiber towel. Wipe in a back-and-forth motion. Then work the rest of the car in the manner.

7

Rinse your car again. Prepare a soapy solution from car soap and water and wash the car thoroughly to remove any traces of rubbing compound. Dry it again with microfiber towels. Your new paint job will at last be smooth.