Buffing a firewall?

[Henry Rifle]

Looking for ideas on how to buff this firewall. I've color sanded it with 2000. That's all it took to get rid of the orange peel. However, there are so many sharp and raised edges, it's a recipe for burn-through. I'm used to buffing big, flat cars - like my 68 GTO, my 56 Olds and 52 Chevy (all gone . . . sniff).

I'm thinking about putting blue painters tape on all the sharp edges, buffing the major areas, then touching up the edges by hand. I sure don't want to do this whole area by hand. I'm too old for that.

Also, buffer speed with the first cut and a wool pad? 1200 - 1500 RPM?

[cffisher]

You got the right idea. Tape then by hand.

[HOTRODPAINT]

I switched to all foam pads years ago, and don't have to worry about burned edges or buff marks any more.

I also use air air tool for buffing, and I can vary speeds with trigger pressure. If you are close to an edge, just slow down a little to be safe.

If you are interested, I sand with meguiars 1200 W/D, then use a white waffle pad and 3M 06031. Then I finish with a gray waffle and 05973. This has proven to be the fastest most reliable setup I've found, and I used it for about 10 years.

The only "trick" I use is to cut the cloth backing, on the pads, back about 1/2 inch from the edge of the pad. That way if I'm in a corner, like your firewall has, the edge of the cloth backing doesn't mark the finish.

Is this shiney enough?

[Henry Rifle]

I've been using Meguiars 2000 W/D. I think I'll follow your advice and park the woool pad. I did the trunk lid with Mequiars #84 Compound on a wool pad, but it left a lot of swirls. It's pretty aggressive (9 on Meguiar's 10-point scale) The only sanding scratches I have now are from the 2000 W/D, and the softer Meguiars compounds I use should buff those right out.

I use #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish on a white foam pad and #82 Swirl Free Polish on a gray foam pad. I finish with Mirror Glaze hand polish. #83 is a medium cut, and #82 is a fine cut.

Thanks for the advice, and yes, it's shiny enough. If I can get there, I will be more than happy.

[Dave Severson]

I bought one of the mini-buffers from my Snap-on dealer, uses a 3" foam pad and works perfect on firewalls and dashes, I hate hand buffing!!!!