Friend needs help after wetsanding

[imported_krsjuan]

Hi everyone. A buddy of mine called me up and asked me if I could help buff is friends red 96 nissan 240sx next week. I wasn`t able to get too many details but from what he said he wetsanded a few areas on his car and then went over the area with a 3m rubbing compound. He used a cheap orbital he got from pepboys. From what he`s describing the panels he worked now have really shiny scratchs. He didn`t metion if the scatches were from the wetsanding or the orbital. He also didn`t metion what type of sandpaper he used. I"m guessing the compound he used wasn`t abrasive enough or the buffer wasn`t strong enough.



I`ve searched the forum here and it seems that after wetanding you should start with a cutting pad and a heavy compound and the work down to a polishing pad with medium strength polish.

Should I follow that normal procedure as if the paint had just been wetsanded or should I start with a medium polish first?



I have a pc 7424 and yellow/orange/white/black lake country pads. I have megs dacp,#9. Poorboys ssr1/2/3 and poorboys pro polish.



Thanks in advance.

[EnduroExpertFSR]

ive wetsanded parts of my 2002 honda accord from my mistakes that i was touching up (damned retaining walls) anyways i used DACP and a terry cloth (the days before PC for me) and it looked good as new for me

[Eliot Ness]

Here are a couple of threads you may want to take a look at:



http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=46148&highlight=wet+sand



http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53029&highlight=orange

[Anthony O.]

The problems here are many.



1) He may have used paper that was too abrasive

2) He may have used the wrong paper (paper not meant for wet sanding)

3) Orbital will NOT remove or level sanding marks (especially ones bought from the auto store)

4) His choice of leveling products could be incorrect



To remedy the problems you need to make sure the paper is no lower that 2000 in grit. For knocking down the high spots of orange peel I have found that 3000 grit works great AND you can muce more easily remove 3k grit marks than you can 25k or 2k grit marks.



Make sure the paper is of good quality. 3M and Meguiars both make excellant sanding papers. Soak the papers in hot water for about 15 minutes prior to sanding and ALLWAYS use a sanding block, never just your hands. Using your hands alone will leave you with an uneven sanded surface. Remember you just want to knock down the high spots.



Usually wet sanding is fairly easy. The difficult part is the leveling of the sanding marks. In other words it`s easy to put the marks in the paint but it`s another thing trying to remove them from the paint! If you use 3k or higher grit many marks can be removed with a PC, the correct pad/product combo. Usually anything below 3k and a rotary with either a foam cutting pad or wool pad will be needed. I prefer the wool pad route as it may introduce swirls but it also runs cooler and cuts faster than most foam cutting pads. Besides swirls are a natural part of the whole buffing process and they will be removed as you go down the polishing ladder.



Lastly, make sure you are using a product designed for what you are doing. A swirl remover not designed for leveling sanding marks should not be used. Meguairs, 3M, ValuGard, Hi-Temp and Optimum all make products designed for this type of work.



Hope that helps,

Anthony

[EnduroExpertFSR]

whenever i wet sand i use warm soapy water(old car painter said this is the best way)

anyways use a spray bottle too and keep spraying where you are sanding basically its like claying in that aspect keep everything well lubed with water wipe the area and check progress then move along ur merry way



i have the megs videos on wetsading and polishing if u want to see them lemme know ur e-mail and ill get them sent ur way

[imported_krsjuan]

Thanks for the links and the info guys.



I know it`s hard to judge what to do without more info about what type of sandpaper was used but do you think I can start with either SSR2 or dacp with a cutting pad or start with SSR3? Or should I try and wetsand with 3000 grit?



I have acces to a paint/bodyshop supply store that stocks the megs mirror glaze line so I am open to buying a product if you guys think that I would have better results. Keep in mind I`m using a pc not a rotary. Thanks again guys.