For many years the standard was dual-action (DA) sanding using US 600 or finer. Now that the European sandpapers are popular we find that the majority of shops are using P-400, P-600 or P-800.
We have uploaded a grit comparison chart to help you understand the difference between the US CAMI and FEPA “P” grades. Note that the P-800 is equal in cutting properties to the US CAMI 400. The “P” grade paper is not better or worse than US paper, it is important to know what grit you are using. If you must use P-400 or sharper then you should remove these deep scratches with P-600 or P-800 before proceeding.
Here are a couple of tips on DA sanding:
1. Always start the DA sander on the surface. Starting off the surface can leave DA swirl marks.
2. Always lift the sander off the surface while running. Stopping the sander on the surface can leave “hook” marks.
3. Clean the sandpaper while the DA is running using a piece of carpet.
When buffing, we recommend our OMNIBUFF® True Gloss compounds over stick or paste compounds. The OMNIBUFF® compounds cut and polish better and will extend the life of your buffing pad.
We spent a lot of time in R & D to formulate compounds that will remove P-600 and P-800 DA sanding scratches and believe you will be happy with the results. We are sorry, but P-400 sanding scratches are just too deep to be removed by a buffing process alone.
To remove P-600 DA sanding scratches we recommend our OMNIBUFF® #185 Sharp-Cut True Gloss followed by our OMNIBUFF® #180 Fast-Cut True Gloss.
To remove P-800 sanding scratches we recommend using OMNIBUFF® #180 Fast-Cut True Gloss alone.
These compounds work best when paired with a 50/50 light cutting pad http://www.lakecountrymfg.com/files/techdocs/steamed-and-unsteamed-wool-pads-1606.pdf and a buffing speed of 2,500-3,00 rpm’s.
We hope that this information is helpful and to see more information on our OMNIBUFF® True Gloss Compounds go to http://omniwax.net/truegloss