3M Trizact sandpaper here in Australia is very limited and can only be purchased as 3" or 6" sanding pads for machines. I know you said on your post to me its basically grinding if I do this.
I don't remember saying using a 3M Trizact sanding disc is grinding?
I tell people to NEVER try to machine sand with a ROTARY tool as this is no longer SANDING it is GRINDING.
???
This now means I have to get 3M Sanding sheets from the USA which are INCREDIBLY expensive for shipping.
For an example someone wants $152 for a single sheet of 3000 Grit 3M Trizact. No way am I gonna pay that lol.
So I wondered if instead of using 3M Trizact if I can use any other 3000 Grit sandpaper?
You can use what you have locally, just remember that the more expensive sanding discs and sanding papers tend to offer 2 things,
Uniform particle placement
Uniform particle size
I explain all of this in my article here,
Griots Garage BOSS Finishing Papers- Reduce Orange Peel - Review by Mike Phillips
Also - Meguiar's offers this same brand in their line.
Meguiars Unigrit Sand Paper
I think we're closing out the Griot's papers? Not sure, I think I saw them on the close-out rack in the warehouse.
Here's the deal with sanding,
MOST PEOPLE SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT
Why? Because factor clearcoats are
THIN. See my article here.
Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips
I know there's a cool factor to telling everyone you can wet sand but in reality - it's primarily for
CUSTOM paint jobs which are THICKER.
In fact, what grits sandpapers would you suggest? I do have a remaining sheet of 3000 Grit 3M Trizact from the USA. I do not have any other grits but can buy some. I just wondered how important it is it has to be trizact 3M.
See all the info I shared above. If you were going to wetsand and I'm assuming you're working on the FACTORY THIN paint - then stick with high grit levels. I'd say #2000 is dangerous for most people on factory paint. It can be used successfully but read this article.
Wetsanding removes paint - Compounding removes paint - Polishing removes a little paint
In my opinion, the safest way to sand factory paint to remove swirls and scratches, (not orange peel), would be to get some Mirka Abralon in #4000 grit, (as high as they go), and MACHINE sand the paint with a simple orbital polisher. The one you have could be used.
Sanding is really an advanced skill. If this is your DAILY DRIVER - perhaps just get the paint "good" and move on?
Is this guide still applicable "How To Remove Scratches" its an Autogeek guide but I don't want to post the link because of it being blocked.
How to remove scratches
That looks like one of my co-workers took information from a few different articles I've written over the years and pieced together the article you see on the above page.
All those pictures are pictures I took from wetsanding projects I performed. The info was all generated by my brain from my experience and it's all accurate. It still doesn't make wetsanding easy or safe when working on thin factory clearcoats.
The one picture of me holding a piece of sandpaper cut to the size of a postage stamp is from an article I wrote YEARS ago and "yes" that info is still just as accurate today as the day I wrote it.
RIDS and Feathersanding - A Highly Specialized Technique by Mike Phillips
(This picture and the info in my article actually dates back to 2002 on MOL)
Yesterday I tried using the Meguiars Correction Compound with a Meguiars Microfiber cutting disc on the DA polisher. It has not properly got rid of the swirls.
1: What speed did you run the polisher?
2: Did you mark your backing plate or pad so you could see for sure the pad was rotating?
3: How much downward pressure did you apply to the head of the tool?
4: How many section passes did you make?
5: How large of an area did you buff?
I then used the Meguiars finishing glaze polish after that on a Meguiars Foam Polishing machine pad with the DA polisher. Still not got rid of them...
If the compound and the fiber pad didn't work there's no way a polish and a foam pad is going to do more work.
However they are ONLY visible in the sun light when looked at at particular angles.
Please help advise me Mike. Bit stuck right now!
Thanks buddy
From the above description - it sounds like you are seeing very FINE swirls?
Are you removing the original swirls and leaving behind new ones?
Pictures would help.