2015 Toyota Corolla - Wet Sand

[4u2nvinmtl]

A close in-law recently had his car keyed shortly after purchase (grey 2015 Toyota Corolla). He immediately thought of me and came over about a week ago. I checked it out and told him it was too deep for me to fix "needs paint". Well he came over again today with a bottle of spiced rum in exchange for my "best effort"...

I went out and picked up some 3M wet sanding paper and sanding discs (1500, 2000, and 3000 grit). I have never wet sanded before, so I was really going outside of my comfort zone. I brushed up by watching some wet sanding videos. After watching the videos I couldn`t wait to get started wet sanding by hand...

Process:
I started by inspecting the depth of the scratch (again) and determined it was deep into the primer but only in some parts. I cleaned the area with UWW+ and a few towels. I had 1500, 2000, and 3000 grit paper soaking for about 45mins. I figured I`d start with 2000 grit and wrapped it around a sanding block. I moved the block against the paint at a 45degree angle (not side to side or up and down). I went only one direction (i.e. / or \ only) and inspected after every 5-8 swipes. I noticed the clear coat around the scratches started to level down to the bottom of the scratch (after about 30-45 swipes) and I switched directions (X pattern). I did another 20-35 swipes in the opposing 45 degree angle (to level the sanding marks). I then switched to 3000 grit and moved side to side and then up and down for about 40 swipes in each direction over a larger area. It was visually obvious when the 3000 grit had done its job just as it was obvious when the 2000 grit had gotten to the bottom of the scratch. After finishing with the 3000 grit, I moved on to my PC7424 with a 5.5`` Cyan Hydro-tech pad and M101. I "seasoned" the pad and put one small drop of m101 for 4 passes and inspected. I was blown away how quickly the m101 took away all the sanding marks and looked LSP ready! I followed up with a tangerine Hydro-tech pad and made the mistake of using m101 again rather than the m205 (look the same) but it helped bring even more gloss to the area. I took another tangerine pad and m205 to finish off with another 6 passes (m205 really worked long). The area finished off better than my OP removal process on my own car! Unfortunately, the scratch was just too deep to completely remove but the owner was more than happy with the results and will be picking up some touch-up paint for the small part of the scratch that remains.

All and all not bad for a first wet sanding attempt without a paint thickness gauge. Thanks to all the online video detailers especially; Larry Kosilla, Mike Phillips, Kevin Brown, Jason Rose, and Junkman!

Pictures...

Dirty panel scratch:


Cleaned panel scratch (inspection):




2000 Grit:


You can see ~half the scratch is gone from one picture to the next (2000 grit):




300 grit:






M101 4th pass pre-wipe off:


M101 4th pass wiped off:


M101 8-10th pass:




M205 6th pass reflection OP free:


My son pointing out that the scratch is still there! LOL


Fine focus on the scratch after 6th pass of m205:





Finished:





Before:

After:

[Angus]

Nice work! I`ve got some wet sanding projects coming up and know exactly the videos your talking about. Sure helps to see proper technique before diving in. I`m kinda surprised you didn`t sand after the touch up paint was applied? That seems to be the ideal method but also more time consuming.

[The Guz]

Might be able to use Dr. Colorchip on that. Autogeek has some new videos of it on their youtube page you may want to check out.

[allenk4]

What readings were you getting on your PTG?

[4u2nvinmtl]

What readings were you getting on your PTG?

Didn`t/don`t have one, as its a brand new car it`s safe to assume I could get away with carefully wet sanding it.

[skwidd]

Nice work for what you had to work with.

Next, check out some videos showing how to fill rock chips, scratches, etc. I bet you can get it looking even better.

[allenk4]

Didn`t/don`t have one, as its a brand new car it`s safe to assume I could get away with carefully wet sanding it.

You will at some point be surprised

[65chevy]

nice turn around

[Old Pirate]

Good job there, I didn`t feel like typing a long page on this subject so here is something for everyone to read about scratches: How-To Repair Paint Chips & Deep Scratches

[Ronkh]

Never had the guts to wet sand

[dcjredline]

May I suggest that you fill the scratch with touchup paint first next time. No sense in sanding away all that clear coat then putting the touchup in it. Touch up multiple thin layers, wet sand the touchup level, buff.

[4u2nvinmtl]

May I suggest that you fill the scratch with touch up paint first next time. No sense in sanding away all that clear coat then putting the touchup in it. Touch up multiple thin layers, wet sand the touch up level, buff.

I totally agree 100% and that`s why I advised the owner the first (and second) time he showed up that it "needs paint". I told the owner very specifically to go to the dealer and get the VIN matched touch up paint. As I don`t do this professionally I cant afford to run out and get touch up paint if it doesn`t mater enough to the owner...

Like the swirls to squirrels post, there`s no post no point in doing all this labor if the owner can appreciate the difference.

In the I learned how to wet sand and in the future I`ll know when to refuse a friend without touch up paint.

P.S. A PTG is on my next list of things to order next (along with a Rupes). Now I just have to convince my wife I "need" these things...

[jerry r]

the sanding will only pull the paint out unless you put clear on it first,my system is to clean up the area first, very little sanding, then I use an artist brush [only 2-3 strands ] to put in the colour then the clear out of the bottle about 4 inches at a time to allow the infra hand held unit to sit over it to dry the clear [about 30 secs] then you can sand down to level with the rest of the clear,

[Accumulator]

4u2nvinmtl- I`ll spare you my usual lecture, but !oh, man! do I hope that had a lot more clear than any of my Japanese vehicles ever did. I`m also hoping it`s just leased and that they turn it in before it gets much UV exposure.