3m Trizact sanding pads with a DA??

[dooger54]

Anyone had any experience using a DA polisher with these sanding pads instead of using a air based rotary sander?

Pros/cons?




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[expdetailing]

i used the meguiar's uni grit disks for my hard clear coat with a pc. it's very simple and easy if you stop and check your work frequently.
I started with 1500, then 3000, then compound, then polish.
Buy a whole box of each.

 

[oldmodman]

Sure have.

I have used both the bigger discs and the 3" discs on both my Porter Cable and Griots DAs
both dry and "moist" I would just spray a mist of water with a few drops of soap in it to cut surface tension.
I got very even sanding patterns with both of them. But this was on paint. I never tried either of them on any headlights. For headlights I just use a drill motor.

My next "experiment" is going to be sanding the old, flaking clearcoat off the roof of an old Explorer and hitting it with a rattle can clear of Eastwood's 2K two part catalyzed clear.
I think I will have to start with a heavier grit paper. Probably around 350 or a little finer. But I'll finish with 800.

 

[HUMP DIESEL]

I've used 3M Trizact with my GG 6" DA. Did my wife's full Camry.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/83507-project-bring-camry-back.html

HUMP

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Anyone had any experience using a DA polisher with these sanding pads instead of using a air based rotary sander?

Pros/cons?




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I have lots of write-ups on this topic, most should be in the Wetsanding forum group.

We just filmed a TV show showing the 3M Trizact Discs being used to after hand blocking a 1960 Glastron which will air October 18th on the Fox Sports Channel.


The Porter Cable 7424XP is a great machine wet sander or technically a "damp sander" because you don't use as much water as you do when hand wet sanding.

You don't need a huge air compressor and you don't have to fight a stiff air line like you do when using an air sander.

I've done both styles for years and always prefer to sand using a PC versus a Air DA.


The one thing you want to do though besides using common sense is make sure you're plugged into a GFI electrical outlet for safety reasons. If you shop or garage doesn't have GFI outlets then go to any Home Depot or Lowe's and get a portable GFI.

See my article here,

Safety First - Always plug-in to a GFI or Ground Fault Interrupter



I used the 3M Trizact discs on this old Chevy and recorded the entire process from start to finish....


How to wet sand a car - Time Lapse Video

:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Also, in my opinion, the Griot's 3" Mini Polisher is a must have tool for machine sanding any project. It's very affordable, takes all the work out of sanding next to edges or thin panels.


Here's two articles with lots of pictures showing this tool in action...


Griot's 3" Mini Polisher works great as a 3" Dampsander

Dampsanding with 3" Griot's Garage Mini Polisher


:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

The 3" discs on the Griot's 3" polisher is also the best way to tackle isolated defects as we document when we buffed out this 1967 Mustang Fastback GTA

1967 Mustang GTA Fastback - Pictures & Comments Thread


Pig Tails

Remember the pig tails in the picture posted previously?

Sore Thumb
After the entire car was polished using the Advanced Swirl Remover all of the shallow swirls and scratches had been removed however, deeper scratches like the pig tails still remained and now with no shallow scratches surrounding them to camouflage them they stood out like a sore thumb.

See my article on Random Isolated Deeper Scratches or RIDS for more information.

RIDS - The Definition of RIDS and the story behind the term...


RIDS are different than Pig Tails and Tracers but the fact remains, when you machine polish a car you first remove all the shallow defects and this then reveals all the deeper defects no matter how they were inflicted.

More info on the different types of paint defects here,

Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings - Micro-Marring




Machine Sanding = More Control + Cooler for the paint
Instead of getting more aggressive with a compound to remove the pig tails we chose to wet sand the paint using 3M Trizact #3000 Grit Sanding Discs on a Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher.





The Defelsko PosiTest DFT Combo Electronic Paint Thickness Gauge

First... this is a custom paint job so the clearcoat will tend to be thicker than a factory clearcoat. Still, I want to measure how thin or thick the total film-build is to give me a big picture idea for what I'm working on.

After taking a few measurements the readings were all fairly consistent so I made the decision with Bill's permission to go ahead and machine wet sand the pig tails and deeper straight line scratches out of the hood and roof.

Small Footprint + Super easy to control
Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher is my tool of choice for machine wetsanding isolated defects.

1/4" Interface Pad
Be sure to get an interface pad if you're going to do any machine wetsanding. It makes the sanding process less aggressive and the cushion provided by the foam core helps the sanding disc to conform to curves.

Mist a little water with a drop or two of soap mixed in for a lubricant...

Keep the sander moving and stop and inspect often so you only sand enough to level the surface and remove the defects.

Sanding out defects on the hood....

Tag Team
As I continued around the car sanding out pig tails and RIDS Robert followed me with the Flex PE14 Rotary Polisher, a wool cutting pad and Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover and removed the sanding marks.

On Autogeek.net


The Defelsko PosiTest DFT Combo Electronic Paint Thickness Gauge

#3000 3M Trizact Hookit 3 Inch Foam Discs

#5000 3M Trizact Hookit 3 Inch Foam Discs

3M Vinyl Tape 1/4 Inch - 06405

3M Vinyl Tape 1/8 Inch - 06404

Meguiars Unigrit 3 Inch Foam Interface Pad

Griots Garage 3 Inch Orbital Polisher


And yeah... the car came out looking pretty good....

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I always feature machine sanding in my detailing boot camp classes which are held three times a year.

Last weekend of January
First weekend of May
Last weekend of September.

This weekend here's what my class will use to learn how to use the 3M Trizact discs by machine, both 3" and 6" and then learn how to use rotary buffers on to remove their sanding marks.



Training Cars for the September Boot Camp Class


This class is full, the September class always fills up the fastest. The next class is in January and after that in May and then in September again. We hold our Detailing Boot Camp Classes the same time each year.



Wetsanding & How to use a Rotary Buffer Class

Here's the car my class will get to learn how to wetsand on... pretty cool.... much better than a rental car or demo hood....

1939 LaSalle Streetrod with brand new paint job and some extra clear sprayed just for this class.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

To your question about Pros and Cons?

The pros are that machine sanding is more consistent, faster and requires a lot less physical work from you. Machine sanding marks also buff out easier and faster and thus you reduce the risk of destructive polishing while leaving more paint on the car.

The cons are it will cost you more up front to purchase the discs over using any wet/dry paper.

One thing for sure... when you finish out with #3000 grit Trizact buffing is fast and easy. When you finish out with #5000 grit Trizact buffing out your sanding marks is a walk in the park. You can't say that when you finish out by hand sanding with anything. You be fighting tracers instead.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

This is a very long article on how to damp sand... it shows Meguiar's Unigrit but the same techniques apply to Trizact EXCEPT with Trizact you WANT to put a little soap in your clean water supply. With Meguiar's Unigrit discs they don't recommend adding any lubricant as it's built into the medium that holds the abrasives.


Damp-Sanding Tools, Tips and Techniques by Mike Phillips



:xyxthumbs:

 

[dooger54]

Awesome info Mike! Thanks so much. I did a search for DA and Trizact but didn't come up with any of this info. Maybe i don't know how to effectively search.

Will be going over this info for days. We have always done our sanding by hand. I already have a Porter Cable but will take a look at the

 

[dooger54]

Oops. Hit send before I was done.

Will look at the GG 3" also. I have a '69 Shelby GT500 with a repaint that was done back in the 80's. Good paint except for bad orange peel. The entire car needs sanding.

What is the difference between the Meguiars pads and the 3m? Looks like they are cheaper for one. Maybe I should consider these instead.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Awesome info Mike! Thanks so much. I did a search for DA and Trizact but didn't come up with any of this info. Maybe i don't know how to effectively search.

Will be going over this info for days. We have always done our sanding by hand. I already have a Porter Cable but will take a look at the

Searching on a forum is an art form...


Here's some threads to get you some more info... look at the pictures in this first thread showing the sheen in the paint after #5000


Video: Wow! 3M #5000 Grit Polishing I mean Sanding Discs!


New Toy - #5000 Grit Trizact Foam Finishing Discs