MIRKA Abralon Sanding Discs

[xabo]

When correcting headlights with Mirka Abralon discs is it better to dry or wet sand?

 

[Mike Phillips]

Definitley wet sand. Plus the discs will last longer and there will be less loading up on the face of the disc with plastic.

MIke

 

[xabo]

Thanks for the reply Mike.

 

[Mike Phillips]

What kind of tool are you using to do the sanding?

 

[xabo]

I have the Pixie waiting to be broken in

 

[xabo]

This is the project:

 

[Mike Phillips]

I have the Pixie waiting to be broken in

That "can" work. You'll want to use the 12mm drive unit unless you've purchased the 6mm drive unit which maintains pad and sanding disc rotation better than the 3mm and 12mm drive units

FLEX 6mm Orbital Drive Unit - Where to find it?


In the classes I teach, I show using a rotary polisher to machine sand headlights using the 3" Mirka Abralon sanding discs. The trick is to use 2-3 foam interface pads so there's no risk of gouging the plastic if you don't hold the sanding disc/backing plate perfectly flat to the surface.

Without the interface pads, because the backing plate is HARD, it is possible to gouge the plastic with like a V-cut if you accidently tilt the polisher and run the edge of the backing plate/sanding disc into the plastic headlight.

Been there done that at a CLASS - actually a student did it and then I fixed the problem by hand block sanding the headlight until the gouge was flattened out.

But the PiXiE will get the job done. A 3" interface pad will help the sanding disc rotation plus help keep the sanding disc contoured to the curve of the headlight.

After you turn the PiXiE on, bump it all they way up to the 4 speed setting and use a little soap in your sanding water.


Mike

 

[xabo]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have the 6mm drive in addition to the foam interface pads. I also have the Flex PE -150.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have the 6mm drive in addition to the foam interface pads. I also have the Flex PE -150.

Click the below link

564 Pictures - May 3-day class at Dr. Beasley's O.R. in Stuart Florida with Mike Phillips

Then scroll down until you see a couple of people machine sanding the headlights using a rotary polisher. If you look closely, you can see I have placed either 2 or 3 interface pads onto the backing plate and then attached the sanding disc.

Both types of tools will get the job done, it's just with a rotary it's faster because there's no sanding disc stalling like you'll get with the PiXiE in orbit mode.

You could sand with the PiXiE in rotary mode, but the 3" backing plate will not attach to the rotary mode drive unit for safety reasons.

The safety reason why FLEX and RUPES made their attachments so that you cannot put a 3" disc on the PiXiE or the Nano is because the tool will rotate a larger, 3.5" pad too fast and you'll create a LOT of heat fast and burn through the paint. I know - been there and done that.

Anyway, just showing you an option.

In my classes, one of my default protocols is to teach people how to do things FAST while maintaining pro-quality results.

For the same reason I use the FLEX BEAST instead of any other brand of free spinning random orbital polisher is because I don't have time for pad stalling or Brain Drain.


Hope the above helps...


Mike

 

[Dsholes78]

When correcting headlights with Mirka Abralon discs is it better to dry or wet sand?

Mike says it in terms of hand application, But I’d say the same for machine polishing, sanding, buffing ;
Put some passion behind the pad!

 

[xabo]

What speed would you recommend when using a rotary?

 

[Dsholes78]

What speed would you recommend when using a rotary?

For buffing??

 

[xabo]

Headlight correction

 

[Mike Phillips]

Mike says it in terms of hand application, But I’d say the same for machine polishing, sanding, buffing ;

When hand sanding, yes you want to put some passion behind the pad or in this context, put some passion behind the sanding disc or backing pad.

When machine sanding headlights - you want to use some pressure, maybe about 5 pounds of pressed pressure to the face of the sanding disc.

The reason why is simply, you're trying to engage the abrasives with the plastic.

Of course, lighter pressure will also work, it will jut take longer.

Put some passion behind the pad!

Ah... I can easily tell you've been reading my writing for a few years now or watching recent Dr. B videos. Here's where that saying came from.

Put a little passion behind the pad by Mike Phillips

And just to note, I was really sad when I heard Dick Koeth passed away, this was back in 2005 or sometime near then. Dick was my writing mentor, and he taught me a lot about conveying thoughts and ideas via the written word.


Mike

 

[Mike Phillips]

What speed would you recommend when using a rotary?

As for speed, use what feels comfortable for you. When it comes to sanding plastic, you can sand slow or medium, trying to machine sand at a fast rate of speed leaves the realm of sanding and turns into grinding.

On the cordless PE-150 I would be on the 3-speed setting.

Work slow and methodical.

Mike

 

[Mike Phillips]

A couple of tips...

For this particular body style, it won't help a LOT to pop the hood, but when you do pop the hood, it will move any paint on the hood next to the plastic you're going to sand AWAY from the sanding action.

The paint on the hood does come very close to where your spinning backing plate will be moving, so I would pop the hood to move that paint away from the action.

Besides that, be sure to place at least 2-layers of painter's tape on all the surrounding paint. After seeing the pictures of a guy on one of the FB groups PULL paint OFF the car doing this same thing, (bad factory paint adhesion), so nowadays I would opt for a low tack tape.

Here's two options,

Scotch Delicate Surface - light purple in color

Frog Tape - yellow in color

Last week I taped off the fresh air grill on the 1968 Camaro I'm sanding and buffing because too often, the ribs that make-up a fresh air grill, doesn't always get as much pre-paint prep as easy to work areas like the middle of the hood.

Thus, when you or I go to remove tape off of these types of sensitive areas, sometimes we pull the paint off. Ouch.


Hope that helps...

Mike

 

[xabo]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[Dsholes78]

When hand sanding, yes you want to put some passion behind the pad or in this context, put some passion behind the sanding disc or backing pad.

When machine sanding headlights - you want to use some pressure, maybe about 5 pounds of pressed pressure to the face of the sanding disc.

The reason why is simply, you're trying to engage the abrasives with the plastic.

Of course, lighter pressure will also work, it will jut take longer.





Ah... I can easily tell you've been reading my writing for a few years now or watching recent Dr. B videos. Here's where that saying came from.

Put a little passion behind the pad by Mike Phillips

And just to note, I was really sad when I heard Dick Koeth passed away, this was back in 2005 or sometime near then. Dick was my writing mentor, and he taught me a lot about conveying thoughts and ideas via the written word.


Mike

I’ve been on the wagon for some time. So I was ecstatic to get to chat on the telephone a little while back. I love doing what we do, at the level we do it at I should add, and when you find someone who has the same passion as you it’s something we could chat about for hours.

 

[Mike Phillips]

I love doing what we do,

Yeah, it's kind of an ailment. Detailing cars, whatever the procedure is a lot of hard work. Besides using the right product, tools and techniques, we have the option to actually care about what we're doing.

So theirs the human element always involved.

I tend to practice this,

Colossians 3:23 - And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Seems like when I approach any job with this attitude, things tend to work out the way they should.

 

[Dsholes78]

Yeah, it's kind of an ailment. Detailing cars, whatever the procedure is a lot of hard work. Besides using the right product, tools and techniques, we have the option to actually care about what we're doing.

So theirs the human element always involved.

I tend to practice this,

Colossians 3:23 - And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Seems like when I approach any job with this attitude, things tend to work out the way they should.

We say, whether the job is big or small do it right or not at all!