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Nuvite Smear/Haze

mlwynn

Well Known Member
Hi polishing fans,

I'm busy polishing my RV 8 prior to final assembly. I keep running into the problem of the polish smearing. I will be polishing along (compounding phase) and then I get this smear/haze that starts to spread around. It is almost like some impurity or contamination gets picked up and then get smeared around the finish as it goes. I then try to take it off with mineral spirits, but it doesn't really come off. I can polish over it and then get it off.

I have tried a bunch of experiments, but haven't really figured out what causes this. It never happens with the cyclo. I read through all the posts under the search "Nuvite" and no one else even mentions the issue.

Do you suppose that I could be running the buffer at too high a speed and causing some sort of glaze? That was going to be my next experiemnt.

Anyone else seen this and/or have a suggestion of what to do?

Regards,

Michael Wynn
RV 8 Finishing
San Ramon, CA
 
Hard to know without seeing it. Pictures probably won't show much either.

I always heard from people more experienced than I.
High RPM=not preferred. I found this to be true, hard to explain why though. I wonder if you are "burning" the polish?
Too much polish is bad as well. Kind of lubricates things and keeps it from doing the work. Is the polish "gumming up"?

What kind of pad are you using?
I assume it was clean before starting to polish?

Don't know.
Mark
 
haze and black smudge

comes right off with a little flour on a rag. confirm your rpm's on the wheel.
 
Yes, use less polish. Everybody uses too much. There's also a problem with too much RPM which, as you probably know, heats up the aluminum.

Also, check your pads and make sure they're not just getting caked up with polish. Even with the spinner tool, too much polish is going to make the pad cake up and there's no way to get a buffer pad caked with polish to work right.

I like the tips on Perfect Polish and I order supplies from them, but some of the tips just don't make any sense to me. For example, why would you use an F7 on a cyclo to remove swirl marks after you've used the orbital machine to compound up to a Grade C? That makes absolutely no sense to me. But he says use F7 with the cyclo because the Grade S doesn't get the swirl marks out well enough.

That's contrary to what I've been told, which is Orbital F7 --> Orbital C --> Cyclo S.
 
Last edited:
Polishing Haze

Thanks for the replies. Either too much speed or too much polish seem like real posibilities. I have a number of pads. I wash them when they cake up. I think I will start again tomorrow with a fresh pad, very small about of polish and see what happens. Stay tuned.

Michael Wynn
RV8 Finishing
San Ramon, CA
 
Polishing Haze

I experimented on Wednesday. Started with a new buffing pad. Turned the speed on the buffer to dead slow. Very small amount of polish. At first, not much polishing happening. I slowing increased the speed and polish amount until I found a sweet spot.

I think what I was seeing is too much polish and too high a speed on the polisher causing the polish to glaze onto the aluminum. Residual hazing could still be spread with the new polisher setting and polish amount, but no new hazing. So, question answered.

Regards,

Michael Wynn
RV 8 Finishing
San Ramon, CA
 
Polishing video

Does anybody have a polishing video clip to share? Like what tools, and polishing materials they are using. I am considering giving it a shot but not exactly sure on the steps and material list needed.
Thanks
Mike
 
I spent quite a bit of money and time on this subject and finally gave up because it is not a simple thing to get that beautiful deep shine. Yes, it is easy to get a fairly decent shine but the really deep shine that reflects like a mirror is a challenge.

The success factor is within knowing the proper pads, knowing the proper buffer speed (mine was an expensive 2 pad unit but was on-off, what a disappointment after reading about slowing it down) and when to use the various available compounds. About as complex as being a good dentist. :)

Like getting a decent paint job, you need proper materials and equipment, a proper environment and the skill to do it. It is not rocket science but it is not simple either.
 
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