Polishing Compound

Oh, MAN.

Back in the olden days, Estes used to sell "Rubbing Compound" that was promised to make your models smooth and shiny, remove "orange peel," and cure your zits.

Its use was recommended in an old-timey finishing article that Estes published in the Model Rocket News.

I actually used the stuff on my last car, after a DIY rust removal project.

Last week, I thought I'd try it out on a new batch of models I have in the finishing pipeline. I bought, for $1.99 at Fred Meyer's, a tub of the lighter duty "polishing compound."

It's basically a mild abrasive. You work a dab into a damp cloth, rub it all over the model, let it dry and then buff it off.

Oh, my.

This stuff makes your paint job unbelievably smooth and shiny. I haven't put any wax on yet, but the models look scary good. The word "lustrous" comes to mind.

Well, ALMOST. The stuff smooths and polishes PAINT. It can't fill in cracks or grooves or scratches. EVERY mar and mistake in the material under the paint really stands out now.

I plan on following up with clear coat (Future floor polish).

Send a link! Can this be had at HobbyLinc or somewhere like that? I've been considering looking for some Rotten Stone or some eqivalent recently, and this sounds like exactly what I want. What's a useful amount of the stuff you named? Does it take a lot, or is it like Bryl Creme, "A Little Dab'll Do Ya".

Just go to any auto supply store, or a variety store with a good auto department. I got mine at Fred Meyer, a NW discount / variety / grocery chain.

The stuff is made by Turtle Wax. They sell rubbing compound, which is green and gritty, and polishing compound, which is white and about as abrasive as toothpaste. ("TurtleWax Polishing Compound and Scratch Remover.")

ALSO: Buy a sack of soft rags for polishing and buffing. Some places sell bags of buffing cloths made of the same soft stuff that olde fashioned cloth diapers are made of.

BONUS: You can use it on your car! You know how the area around the door openers get beat up? You can rub those out with these stuff.

I have had very good results with 3M Finishing Compound for the last couple of years on my rockets. I don't even mess with a clear coat, wax, etc. afterwards! Like Mr Miyagi says, "Wax on; wax off." I use old, wornout t-shirts to apply the stuff on my rockets. I believe an 8oz bottle of 3M runs about $6 at Wal-Mart (in the automotive section) or any local auto parts store.

I've mentioned in many threads here on TRF I haven't clear coated anything in several years. My Spray can finishes are rendered Smooth as glass with 3M Finessit-II polishing material. It isn't a rubbing compound as such, but does contain a very mild abrasive so it does indeed remove a small amount of paint during buffing. it'll take the worst orange peel you've ever seen to babies butt smooth...with a lot of elbow greese
Add a couple coats of Nu-Finish polymer (it's NOT a wax) and your good to go.

Here what the finessit-II material looks like

This is a micro model but the standard and LMR's come out just as nice. this was Krylon Burgundy two coats. over K-mart "smooth n silky" Grey primer.

Originally posted by Micromeister
Here what the finessit-II material looks like

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John,
I am worried that if someone posts a thread asking about the most comfortable brand of underwear you will have numbered, dated pictures of each of yours... And a picture of the top 5 laundry detergents to wash them in, except for the pair that you made out of aluminum which only require occasional polishing.

Originally posted by rokitflite
John,
I am worried that if someone posts a thread asking about the most comfortable brand of underwear you will have numbered, dated pictures of each of yours... And a picture of the top 5 laundry detergents to wash them in, except for the pair that you made out of aluminum which only require occasional polishing.

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Or the kevlar ones I have to use occasionally to ward off Flames. But Ain't dem digital camp-e-ras Wondaful sure make illustrating "Yeah Ol'e moto" one picture is worth a 1000 words

Do you do this before decals... or after? I'm just wondering if the decals still adhere as well after compounding and wax. Or, you could put the decals on, then just compound and wax around the decals (but this seems like it might be a lot of trouble).

If the decals are already on, don't even bother. Use a clear coat to get your shiny on.

OTOH, you might polish your decal-free fins or nose cone or what-not.

I'm pretty sure that decals would stick BETTER on a super-shiny paint job.

As for wax . . . hmmm. I use Future instead of wax. It goes on fine over decals. In fact, I put on a coat of Future before the decals go on.

Now I'm thinking about using automobile wax on my shiny rockets. May as go all the way, right?

What I'm saying though is that after waxing, there is always a wax residue (this is what protects the paint on your car). I'm just curious if anyone has applied water slide decals AFTER a wax job and what success they had doing so.

Hey Cougar,
In my opinion, which I am sure is different from other folks, I would think that putting the decals over the wax MIGHT make them more likely to chip in the future. I mean, you wax your car so that dirt and stuff won't stick to it as easily... I would just guess that the decals might stick a little better directly to the paint. I would follow it up with a nice coat of Future after the decals are applied though.

My thoughts exactly. I guess if you did want to do the compound idea... which sounds great, you would have to slap your decals on first and then work around them.

Compounding first should be OK as it is not adding anything to the paint. It's just smoothing it out which is a good thing.

Gotcha. So, compound, add decals, then gloss.

I finessit first, do any detail brush work, add gold leafing or pin striping, decals then wax.
since you already have at least one coat of Clear on the decal, the wax becomes the protective coating.

Micro, I think we have had this discussion before but the Finesse It II stuff only works well with gloss paint?

Thanks

Originally posted by MaxPower
Micro, I think we have had this discussion before but the Finesse It II stuff only works well with gloss paint?

Thanks

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Actually, it works very nicely on bare carbon tubes. When John posted about this stuff, I started using it on krylon paint and it worked so well, I tried it on my carbon tubes. The tubes in the pic are wet-sanded up to 1000 grit. The tube on the right is after a little work with the Finesse It.

And this pic is after a little Nu-Finish (also per John).

I aways was under the impression that raw cabon fiber will fade ,the fading is due to UVA Rays. from what I understand, Carbon fibers natural color is not black, it is dyed. therefore what is fading is actually the dye in the fiber weave. so direct sunlight will kill the finish over a relativly short time.

is this really something to be concerned about with CF?

Originally posted by stymye

is this really something to be concerned about with CF?

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It is on my overpriced car hood!

Originally posted by MaxPower
Micro, I think we have had this discussion before but the Finesse It II stuff only works well with gloss paint?

Thanks

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To be honest: I've never even considered polishing a FLAT or semi-gloss paint, sorta defeats to purpose of either

If your not concerned about adding gloss to the finish i'm sure Finessit-II will certainly rub out any imprefections in the finish. but will also remove a good bit of the paint.

I've also used it to high polish CF laminated fins, epoxy, Blackshaft phenolic tubes, lots of different plastic parts. even took some scratches out of my sunglasses with it

Micromeister, I think (in another thread) we were talking about avoiding clear coats but the issue I had is that like the non-gloss AA and Createx type paints but they have no luster to them. They require a gloss clear coat to look shiny.

I remember you telling me about Nu Finish but that won't help non-gloss paint look glossy. I was asking if Finesse It II would help.

Thanks

Originally posted by MaxPower
Micromeister, I think (in another thread) we were talking about avoiding clear coats but the issue I had is that like the non-gloss AA and Createx type paints but they have no luster to them. They require a gloss clear coat to look shiny.

I remember you telling me about Nu Finish but that won't help non-gloss paint look glossy. I was asking if Finesse It II would help.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Finessit-II will remove clear coats. doesn't hurt decal Clear silkscreen Ink but takes off Krylon, testors and just about every other "rattle can" clear I've tested it on.

If your using Craft paints that are acrylic enamels flat or semi-gloss, I just don't know, I've only used them in airbursh and hand painted details that were left unpolished. I think someone needs to paint a few scrap pieces of tube with those products and do a bit of test rubbing

If Nu finish didn't increase these materials gloss, I think the surface is likely too matte, while finessit-II might smooth out some of the high spots it soundl like these paints are open enough, nothing is going to "gloss it Up" short of several coated of some kind of clear

This property of many acrylic paints being very flat/matte is exactly why they're designed to be used with a topcoat clear. It's just a different form of painting.

Many automotive paint base coats dry totally flat out of the gun and depend on a urethane clear coat. The same goes for many of the acrylic airbrush colors artists use on helmets, fuel tanks, panels, etc... They're dead flat and can't be polished to a deep shine (you'd polish that ghost flame right off the tank if you tried!), so a good clear coat is mandatory.

If the color coat is inherently "glossy" enough, then a good rub/polish/wax job can do wonders without the extra effort of applying a gloss. This is akin to the old-school "base coat only" that used to be the norm on cars.

All that said, there's a lot of validity to the point of "all show, no go". At some point, it just stops being a worthwhile effort. Still, with fast dry times of acrylics, I can get a base coat/clear coat job done much faster than I can get done with a non-clear coated solvent-based paint. Full cure to hardness may take a few days (or longer), but the work is long done.