The paint surface on my hood and roof of cab is kind of rough when I wipe my hand across it. The paint on the sides of the truck is perfectly smooth. The rough paint "looks" ok but feels horrible. I've used a clay bar on it, buffed it, waxed it.... Any suggestions?

This depends on how good you are with your buffer and how many times you've buffed the truck already...
Wetsanding will make the hood and such much smoother....2000 grit would be my choice...The bad thing about wet sanding is that you're making your clearcoat thinner. Buffing also reduces the "mil thickness" of the clear....If it has been buffed more than a few times with a heavy compound, I would probably avoid sanding....
If you feel confident with your buffer, wet sand the area....then use your compounds (I prefer 3M buffing compounds) to bring back your shine....
This isn't a hard job, but it is extremely time consuming and there is potential for error if you aren't careful..

partsguy662,
I'm a "do-it-yourselfer" but the paint scares scares the hell out of me!!! I've had the truck for about a month and I can gaurantee it's never been buffed. I've probably washed and waxed it more in that month than it's ever seen. The guy I bought it from pretty much just drove it on the freeway and changed fluids when needed. Anyway, my "buffer" is an more of an orbital waxer. (any suggestions on a buffer) Can detailing shops do this job or should I go to a body shop? On making the clear coat thinner, can it be resprayed without involving a buch of extra work? I don't mind spending the time on wet sanding if I knew how to do it. Maybe I'll practice on the wifes car or something.

partsguy662,
I'm a "do-it-yourselfer" but the paint scares scares the hell out of me!!! I've had the truck for about a month and I can gaurantee it's never been buffed. I've probably washed and waxed it more in that month than it's ever seen. The guy I bought it from pretty much just drove it on the freeway and changed fluids when needed. Anyway, my "buffer" is an more of an orbital waxer. (any suggestions on a buffer) Can detailing shops do this job or should I go to a body shop? On making the clear coat thinner, can it be resprayed without involving a buch of extra work? I don't mind spending the time on wet sanding if I knew how to do it. Maybe I'll practice on the wifes car or something.


Allright....first of all....take that orbital.....and launch it down in the basement ):h
I have a milwaukee buffer, but there are other decent units out there as well...(dewalt, makita, etc) The reason I like the milwaukee is I have the speed dial right by my thumb......
At any rate, you might be able to do a "3 step buff" on your truck without sanding...You'll want to wash the truck completely first...clay the area you want to buff...then wash it again..(Now you have a nice, clean surface to work with)
When I do a job like this, I use a wool pad with the rubbing compound (step 1) 3m Perfect-It III is what I've been using along with their wool pad. (THe wool is more aggressive than the foam pad is) Apply some compound to the hood and spread it with the pad on the slowest setting on the buffer....(don't try to do the entire area, just small sections at a time) when you have your compound spread, gradually increase the speed of the machine....Keep an eye on what you are doing here....if you have too much compound on, it will end up everywhere and it is a Censored to get off your trim if you let it dry...of course, if you don't have enough compound on, you can burn your finish...also, be extra careful on edges...it is very easy to burn through on these as well...
I switch to a foam pad for step 2....Again, I use 3m's Perfect-It III finish glaze...same deal, spread the compound on the slow setting and increase speed...
After I've done both compounds, I apply a coat of polish (step 3) I usually do this by hand because I'm sick of hanging onto the buffer ):h

Allright....first of all....take that orbital.....and launch it down in the basement ):h
I have a milwaukee buffer, but there are other decent units out there as well...(dewalt, makita, etc) The reason I like the milwaukee is I have the speed dial right by my thumb......
At any rate, you might be able to do a "3 step buff" on your truck without sanding...You'll want to wash the truck completely first...clay the area you want to buff...then wash it again..(Now you have a nice, clean surface to work with)
When I do a job like this, I use a wool pad with the rubbing compound (step 1) 3m Perfect-It III is what I've been using along with their wool pad. (THe wool is more aggressive than the foam pad is) Apply some compound to the hood and spread it with the pad on the slowest setting on the buffer....(don't try to do the entire area, just small sections at a time) when you have your compound spread, gradually increase the speed of the machine....Keep an eye on what you are doing here....if you have too much compound on, it will end up everywhere and it is a Censored to get off your trim if you let it dry...of course, if you don't have enough compound on, you can burn your finish...also, be extra careful on edges...it is very easy to burn through on these as well...
I switch to a foam pad for step 2....Again, I use 3m's Perfect-It III finish glaze...same deal, spread the compound on the slow setting and increase speed...
After I've done both compounds, I apply a coat of polish (step 3) I usually do this by hand because I'm sick of hanging onto the buffer ):h
I apologize if this is a dumb question but do you wipe the compounds off after each step?

Any excess you will, yes....

Any excess you will, yes....
Sorry again. What do you mean excess? Does it work into the paint or go away somehow? I swear I'm not an idiot... well, I am when it comes to anything beyond wash and wax.:o:

Sorry again. What do you mean excess? Does it work into the paint or go away somehow? I swear I'm not an idiot... well, I am when it comes to anything beyond wash and wax.:o:


Well, think of it like wax.....when you're using the buffer, quite a bit of it is absorbed into the wheel (wool or foam)...much like when you put your wax or polish on by hand, most of it goes onto the towel you are removing it with...

don't hesistate to ask questions..that's how we all learn :)