I just bought a nice orbital buffer and have a few questions. after i paint something(i'm a novice can't you tell haha) i know you have to wet sand and buff it but what grit sand paper should you sand it with and what type of wax/polisher/compound do i use to buff it? also my friends t/a paint is in need of a good buff job. should i do a quick wetsanding on the car to get rid of the little scratches etc or just buff 'er. and again, what compound should i use? sorry about all the questions i just can't wait to start using this thing and i wanna make sure its done right! thanks in advance

 

Buffing a clear coat/base coat paint job is pretty much a requirement for a DIY painter. I'd question what a "nice" buffer is to you as the term is relative. I've got a Makita 9227C-X3 Polisher. (~$170) Notice it's a polisher and not an "orbital buffer". A buffer is ok to remove wax, (I prefer by hand with good quality microfiber towells) but it is pretty worthless for cutting clear.

There are a lot of Internet articles with instructions for cutting clear, and a Google search will bring many of them up. They'll include perferred materials and grit specs. IMHO, cutting the clear is the hardest part of a paint job and not for the faint of heart. To be honest it's where I see most DYIs mess up their paint jobs.