Thanks Interloper for that info on using white polishing compound, you may have saved me a lot of extra work.

Until I flat I'm not sure whether I'll actually have pinholes or whether the 'pinheads' will flat out.

Will get some black polishing compound in any case. I will post results.

Of course "Interloper" is right .. if you have pinholes, use black polishing compound .. On the other hand I've yet to see pinholes in any of my XCR coatings.. most imperfections are dust particles or striping..

I find that the XCR coating gels VERY quickly when approaching B stage ..  So, do not mix big batches .. and then try to brush for too long ...  it will brush out, but it will stripe like mad ..

"Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW!

The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind...

103% of all people do not understand statistics...

Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)

Just a note if you have pinhole and use white compound it's very hard o get it back out the holes and makes the part look crap

A trick I tried and works well is to guide coat the part black then wet sand it, any low spots will still have the black paint so would.need more sanding,  also another bonus is any imperfections and.filled will the black so it hides them,  I ten clear coat.

A trick I tried and works well is to guide coat the part black then wet sand it, any low spots will still have the black paint so would.need more sanding,  also another bonus is any imperfections and.filled will the black so it hides them,  I ten clear coat.

Hi!

I've done almost the same as you with items that came out almost perfect with the top XCR coat.

What can be very difficult to see is how "flat" the surface actually is, unless you start out using dry paper.-

I had som striping of the surface that were not visible when wet sanding with 1000 grit, until the part dried

So you can do it, but you must use something like a cork sanding block first, so that any striping becomes visible.

If the surface is truly flat, then you're good with the wet sanding at 1200, and yes you can use the white polish paste

I go directly to the fine polish and use a machine polisher when I can .. saves a lot of time, but be carefull with it .. 
 

"Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW!

The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind...

103% of all people do not understand statistics...

Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)

Hi,

I'm at the final stage of the skinning process and although I've made some mistakes along the way I'm generally quite pleased.

I've applied the final finishing coat which generally looks great however there are quite a lot of minor tiny spots (like pinheads) over parts of the surface, it looks like perhaps some dust although I was very careful with the preparation. The surface is otherwise very flat and glasslike and with a great gloss.

I am reluctant to go through the stages of flatting the surface with 400, 800 and 1200 papers and would like to try flatting with just  the 1200 to (hopefully) get rid of the tiny pinhead spots and then use the polish. I guess if the 1200 doesn't work I can go backwards  with the 800 and if necessary the 400. How important is it the flat through the various papers if one is happy with the 'flatness' of the coating.

PS I have some unused white polishing compound from a few years ago is it OK to use this or do I need to use the latest (black I think) compound.

Regards,

Jeff