wetsanding

**jamesbikeshine** · 03-24-2005, 03:07 PM

Hello everyone. My name is Tino I am a mobile detailer in the Maryland area. I have been detailing for about 4 years I know how to clean a car inside and out, but The only one thing I need help on is wetsanding. When customers ask me to do it or if I see that the scratch is too much for me to coorect, I send them to the body shop. I want to have wetsanding a part of my services to increase profit. Also I cannot call myself a professional if I don`t know all aspects of detailing, because I am missing this one thing. I haven`t really practiced with it much, just on my car because it`s old. Any tips ???????:nixweiss

**David703** · 03-24-2005, 11:53 PM

I`m no expert by any means.. but I have had some wet sanding experience lately. (see my post under my name on "click and brag")

Get one of those 3M rubber pads, so you can constantly check your work to make sure that you haven`t gone too deep. After you made a few strokes, squeegy the soapy water away, blow on the area to dry it and check your progress. Angle your fingers at a 45 degree angle when sanding in a straight line to eliminate ridges from the space inbetween your fingers. Keep the pressure light and constant. I used 2000 grit.

If your car is a good practice car, keep practicing. Seriously. You can never have enough practice. The sides are different to work on than the flat surfaces. Find friends with marginal cars and offer to try to take out those scratches. By using different cars and different colored cars and different defects, you will become more proficient.

I would even try maybe two passes over a good area on your car without defects. Then use a rotory to remove the sanding marks. To me, that was the scariest part, wondering if I would be able to remove those marks. But actually thats the easy part. NOT going through the clearcoat is the hardest part. But go slow, stop early and check your progress.

**salty** · 03-25-2005, 02:14 AM

Do some searching, there are lots of posts on the subject.

Find an old hood from an auto body shop or wrecker and make some scratches and try to take them out.

**jamesbikeshine** · 03-25-2005, 02:14 PM

Thank you both for your help. I am thinking of buying a hood and practicing on that. One more thing : How many times can a car be wetsanded before possibly hitting the clear coat? I heard it was at least two. Should I ask my customer hopw many times they have had it done before I start to work on it? Thanks again guys

**scottabir** · 03-25-2005, 02:28 PM

I heard it was at least two. Should I ask my customer hopw many times they have had it done before I start to work on it? Thanks again guys

You hit clearcoat everytime you wetsand, polish or compound...

It depends on how much clear was taken off in the past from compounding, wetsanding, polishing...there is no real way to tell without a Paint thickness gauge. If the paint was wetsanded once there could be very little left on, it really depends on how much was sanded off. There cannot be a specific number of times you can do something because of all the variables involved.

Go to a bodyshop and ask for a hood. They will gladly give them up for free so they dont have to pay to have them removed.

That way you can practice a little to get the feel for it.

Hope this helps a little.

Scott