Hey guys I’ve been studying composites for a while and finally decided to take my first plunge into the composites world by trying out some carbon fibre skinning. So far all has been going well, minus a couple minor issues that I’ve manage to work through

However, one issues that I just can’t seem to figure out is the polish. I wet sand starting at 400 grit working my way up to 1500 grit and the part looks hazy (I don’t have photos of it in that state) which is expected but then comes the two part polish and after 45 min of polishing I still can’t get the haze to go away. I’m using aqua buff 1000 & 2000 and I’m starting to think it’s not the best polish for the job. I’m following all instruction to a tie and still nothing.

The part looks glass after the final 4th coat of epoxy and I’m always quite happy with it. Minus a couple dust spots (photo below).

Any help or suggestion on wax would be awesome! I’m in Canada so unfortunately using Easy Composites brand polish isn’t an option for me

Thanks

If you're getting a reasonably flat finish upon applying your last coat of epoxy, it might be worth trying to start using something like a 600 or, perhaps, 800 grit paper. 400 grit scratches are sometimes be a bit too much to sand and polish out easily, especially on relatively hard epoxy. Covering your parts with a box or similar after applying your final coat might also reduce further the nibs and craters left by settling dust

Also, it might be worth sanding up to 2000 grit paper, at least, as this will help reduce the work needed on the final polish. Ideally you'd need to finish using a polishing compound. If you're struggling to find anything specialist, then the type of scratch-removing past/polish available from auto stores might be worth trying initially, applied using a machine polisher to save on elbow grease. 

Thanks Mark,
I’ll be sure to give that a try. I was also looking into it and I think I’m using too much when I get up to the higher grits and they’re not removing the scratches due to the water barrier.