I have been wondering what cutting compounds or pastes people use to polish their molds? Personally, I usually use T Cut and occasionally Farecla G3 compound but I find T Cut is by far the quicker. However, I’m sure I have read somewhere that using products that contain ammonia should not be used on epoxy parts(for the life of me I cannot remember where I picked this up) Now I’m not sure if T Cut contains ammonia but it sure smells like it, so I thought I would ask what everyone uses.
G3 is a cutting compund designed for automotive paimt systems. T cut shoul bot be fater as its a finer cuttin compund. But keepimg with the farecla family the profile 100 paste buffs up to p600 profile 200 buffs up to p800 and profile 300 buffs up to p1000 worth a look at them.
I use g3 cause i have 5 tubs of paste but i have used there profile range and woll be swapping in due course
I have been using Presta Ultra compound. I sand the mold surface with 400, 600, 1000, 2500 then buff.
What compound can you use with 600 - 800 grit sanding or even coarser? Right now I sand with 800 - 1000 - 1500 and then buff with 3m perfect-it compound. Its designed for 1200 + grit papers. I’d like to cut time by buffing from 800 or less if possible.
I’m with John. I use the 3M perfect-it stuff. The first step compound (wool pad) will remove 1200 grit scratches but I sand to 1500 too. After compounding I polish with foam pad.
3M does have a heavy cut compound that will remove from 1000 grit scratches but I’ve found it to take a good deal more time. It also leaves larger swirl marks.
As my above comment states farecla who make g3 also produce a paste liquid (availabe in both) called profile 100 which buffs out p600 scratches and id designed for marine gel coat use un like g3 or perfect it by 3m
I use G3. i always flat the surface back to p1200 min
G3 gets it for me. Also helps what head you use on your machine polisher
3M polish is not a great polish. it is ok, but once you try the profile range, you won’t go back. the profile 100, 200 & 300 paste polish is by far the most effective polish for moulds and gelcoated parts. you get a fantastic finish.
just use 180 grit dry to get out bad marks (120 grit in some cases), then 600W and then 1200W. the profile 300 then brings the surface up like a mirror
If you are going to top coat your piece anyway, is there any point in polishing the mold to a mirror finish? Does it help it release better?
your release agents work best on a polished mold.
Finally some one else who uses the profile range
If the mould has a polished surface then your parts will release from your moulds far easier and will be easier to apply your wax or whatever you use as a release agent. It will also require less post finishing to your parts that come out of the mould
I can’t seem to locate a distributor in the US. Anyone?
Profile polishes: Look for the Farecla brand. If all else fails, ask the Mirka abrasives people.
The profile range is a 3m product isnt it. Think I have some of that in my workshop… If its the one that i think it is then it is a good product. Think it says perfect something or another…
No, the Profile range is from Farecla. Looking at their website it does not seem they sell this product in the US.
3m Perfect it is designd for automotive aplications as is g3
Ah ok well i can confirm that 3m perfect does work very well at polishing tooling gel coat.
3M Marine has a special compound for polishing gelcoats, and another for polishing moulds.