Hello. I am making a research about polishing compounds and how well they work on a carbon fiber part (without clearcoat).
I am using menzerna fg300 (heavy cut), ip2000(medium compound) and sf4000(polishing compound). I have a good glossy look from mold but unfortunately I cant take a mirror finish. I trying with polishing pads on a dremel or a driller but the difference I can make is near zero.
So what compounds do you use and what pads do you suggest for epoxy polishing.
It isn’t as much to do with the compound or pads as it is the epoxy itself. Some epoxies just do not not polish well, it doesn’t matter what you use. Others are formulated to polish extremely well and with relative ease.
That has been my experience too.
The epoxy black surface coat I use from ACP Composites polishes to a high shine with the right polishing product but my understanding is that it is specifically designed to do that.
The epoxy laminating resins I use for making carbon fiber parts usually have the same quality of finish as the mold surface.
If the part does not come out of the mold glossy, polishing or buffing with a dremel won’t help, even with a buffing compound.
I would start by sanding my cf parts using high number sandpaper. Depending on how good the surface is to start with, I would wet sand starting at somewhere between 200 and 600. I then go all the way up to 2000. Then, after cleaning the surface and drying it, I use a high gloss spray-on clear coat.
The key point is that a mirror finish requires a mirror smooth surface to start with. You’ll never buff something with a sandpaper-like texture to a high gloss.
I would ditch the dremel for all aspects of the process. I have better results buffing by hand than with a dremel. I only use a dremel for trimming the edges.
Start clear coating my items with varnish is the best solution for me then.