# What to use after flatting back?



## har-2109 (Sep 23, 2014)

Bit of background first, Im roller painting a Mini with Rustoleum, the roof is now finished and the body has its first coat on (hence the patchiness).










Heres a close up of the roof:










And heres one of the orangepeel:










Theres a lovely gloss from the Rustoleum at the moment, but obviously this goes when I flat it back.

I've got a DAS 6 pro to polish it up with but Im completely lost when it comes to polishing as Ive never done it before.

Heres a pic of an area of the bonnet:










Just a small area to see whats possible with the paint. I went over it with 1000, then 2000, then Meguires Ultimate compound (just what I had lying round), all done by hand.

The paint is shiny, but there doesnt seem to be any depth to it. it looks clean but almost like its 10 years old and slightly bleached by the sun. The photo makes it look better than it is I think.

Whats the best stuff to use to bring the paint up to a good shine, and with what pads?


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## Focusaddict (May 31, 2010)

Deffo subscribed, gonna be interested in the outcome.


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## mr paint (Jul 11, 2009)

is the reason for depth not the paint that you have opted for ?


Normal 2k I would 1500 wet 2000g wet then use 3m fast cut on rotary polisher 

Then perfect it then glaze 

3m polishing system 


Tommy


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## Mini devil (May 4, 2014)

Maybe try 3000 and 4000 grit too this should make the polishing stage easier. I would also buy meguiars 105 and 205 if you can :thumb:


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

As mini devil has said, refine your flatting with a very fine wet and dry paper, such as 3000 grit. This will Def make the polishing process much easier. Megs 105 and 205 are excellent. Also consider the meguiars microfiber pads as they will give excellent degrees of improvement much quicker than foam pads. 

Fabulous finish so far though. Can't wait for more pics!!!

Cooks


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## Mini devil (May 4, 2014)

Cookies said:


> As mini devil has said, refine your flatting with a very fine wet and dry paper, such as 3000 grit. This will Def make the polishing process much easier. Megs 105 and 205 are excellent. Also consider the meguiars microfiber pads as they will give excellent degrees of improvement much quicker than foam pads.
> 
> Fabulous finish so far though. Can't wait for more pics!!!
> 
> Cooks


Oh yes get the Meg's da system :thumb:

What engine will the mini have? I too have a old mini :car:


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## har-2109 (Sep 23, 2014)

Mini devil said:


> Oh yes get the Meg's da system :thumb:
> 
> What engine will the mini have? I too have a old mini :car:


Engine talk, this is my sort of thing haha.

This ones just a standard 1275 engine, but Ive got another Mini that Im doing some welding on at the moment, I'm putting a clubby front on a roundnose so I can squeeze a 1.8 Rover VVC engine underneath :driver:

To be honest this car is just a daily driver that wanted a bit of tarting up which is why I was reluctant to spend money on a professional respray, but Im using it as a test now to see how well I can get a rollered finish. If it works then I'll paint the other car like this too.


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## har-2109 (Sep 23, 2014)

mr paint said:


> is the reason for depth not the paint that you have opted for ?
> 
> Normal 2k I would 1500 wet 2000g wet then use 3m fast cut on rotary polisher
> 
> ...


You get a lovely gloss straight from the tin, but after sanding it and polishing with ultimate compound it didn't come back, the blue isn't as glossy as in the picture.

One thing I did realise a few minutes ago though is that I was told to leave the paint a good month first to fully harden, the bonnet was only painted yesterday. I'll try the roof tomorrow and see what happens, that's had about 6 weeks now


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## har-2109 (Sep 23, 2014)

If I was to buy m101 and m205 then, what pads are best for the DA?


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## Mini devil (May 4, 2014)

har-2109 said:


> Engine talk, this is my sort of thing haha.
> 
> This ones just a standard 1275 engine, but Ive got another Mini that Im doing some welding on at the moment, I'm putting a clubby front on a roundnose so I can squeeze a 1.8 Rover VVC engine underneath :driver:
> 
> To be honest this car is just a daily driver that wanted a bit of tarting up which is why I was reluctant to spend money on a professional respray, but Im using it as a test now to see how well I can get a rollered finish. If it works then I'll paint the other car like this too.


Haha the other one sounds like its gunna be a beast! My mate has one with a cosworth engine in :devil:


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## Bod42 (Jun 4, 2009)

Here you go, have a read through this thread http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=342291&page=14

Yes this guy used rattle cans but hes still left with orange peel so has to do exactly what you need to do.


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## rottenapple (Jun 12, 2014)

You need to leave it a long old time to harden off, 1 month at min. Or once u hit it with machine it will just strip off.


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