How to compound and polish curves and humps?

[DETAILROOKIE]

Hello all,

Happy Friday to all. I wanted to know what techniques everyone uses to compound and polish curvy areas, as shown in the picture, and humps like the ones on the hood of 350Z's. Should I go slowly with a polisher, use a thicker pad, or tape off the area and attack it by hand? I have a BOSS G15, PC 7424xp with 3 inch pads, and GG 3 INCH. Thank you for all of your advice!


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[Rsurfer]

The Rupes Mini would be great for those areas. If that polisher is not in your budget then get some thin 3" pads for your PC and put a mark on your backing plate to see if it's spinning. You may want to try the thin pads on your GG3. After a few rounds, you will get the hang of it.

 

[B5visser]

The PC type machine with a 3" option would be my choice as well. It should have plenty of power to keep a 3" spinning through those curves.

My GG6 has a 3" plate on it, which I use primarily with B&S 4" pads. I use this setup in places my 3401 can't get to.

For pads, I'm looking forward to playing with the new URO-fiber pads from B&S. They come in a ton of different size options too. And those pads claim to cut well with a compound, and finish well with a polish.

Good luck!

 

[Paul A.]

I get in those areas with a 3" pad keeping it as flat in the recess and keeping the face of the smaller pad as parallel with the curved surface as much as I can. That is, I " follow the curve of the panel" up and out and down and in. As RSurfer said, it's a feel thing and you'll feel it.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Flex 3401

 

[willowcat11]

Good Question! ��

 

[Eldorado2k]

I detailed a Nissan Altima last weekend that had major swirls and just this little curve on the hood was a huge PITA to try and correct with similar machines as OP.

Most importantly, you need to have patience, because those machines are going to stall.
I'm rethinking pads atm...

 

[DBAILEY]

PC and 3" pads. I prefer pads that are not tapered out with a sharp edge on the face of the pad when polishing concave surfaces. I like pads that have a rounded edge on the face. The Megs PowerPads are an example and they work fine with the MINI. The rounded edge creates less drag and the BP spins more.

Convex surfaces are much easier and the BOSS/RUPES pad style work fine as long as the pad-surface contact is in the middle of the BP and not closer to the edge of the BP.

Just remember that you need to keep the BP parallel to the surface in the X and Y axis, front-to-back AND side to side, as much as possible. Failure to do so is more obvious with the long throw polishers due to the wider footprint.