Pro tip: I was buffing clear coat wrong for like 2 years

Honestly, I was working on this 2018 F-150 last week, trying to get a perfect finish on a repaired quarter panel. I was using my trusty rotary with a wool pad and my usual 3M Perfect-It compound, going at my normal speed. The clear just kept looking hazy and I couldn't figure it out. The shop owner, Mike, walked by and just said, 'You're burning it. Your pad is bone dry.' Tbh, I never really kept the pad as wet as I should have. I was so focused on pressure and speed I forgot the basics. I started misting it with detail spray every other pass and the difference was night and day. The haze was gone and the gloss came right up. Anyone else have a simple thing they were messing up for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles_black242mo ago

Bone dry pad for two years" is actually wild to read. That's such a basic thing to miss for so long. Glad you finally got it sorted out.

wilson.diana2mo ago

Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to spot when you're in the middle of it all. People get used to a routine and stop checking the basics, especially if nothing seems broken. Calling it a wild miss assumes everyone has the same focus and spare time to double-check every little detail. Two years just shows how easy it is to overlook something that isn't actively causing a problem.

perry.nancy2mo ago

Diana makes a good point about how easy it is to miss the basics. It happens everywhere, like not noticing a burnt-out lightbulb in a hallway you walk through every day, or that one kitchen drawer that's been sticking for months. You just work around it because it's not a full stop, it's just a small annoyance. After a while, those small things become part of the background noise of life.