Sanding and polishing cheap single stage paint job?

[LionelHutz]

I have a 1975 BMW 2002 that the previous owner had resprayed by a Maaco or similar paint shop shortly before I bought it. Paint quality is pretty mediocre throughout: seems uneven with a few patches of severe orange peel. I'm thinking about wetsanding the paint, but given the overall bad quality of the paint job I'm worried that I might make it even worse by burning through thin spots or causing the paint to crack at the fenders, etc. Can anybody chime in with their experience on sand/polish jobs on cheap single-stage paint?

 

[RaskyR1]

Without knowing how much paint you have to work with it's a gamble. One I'd pass on unless the owner knows the risks and is willing to take them at his expense.





How experienced are you in wet sanding? That would make a huge difference too...

 

[Accumulator]

LionelHutz- Some cheap enamels do *NOT* respond well to abrasion. If you mess with the top of the build-film too much you can never bring the paint back. No, that's not all that common, but it's not unheard of (gee, guess how *I* first found out ).



And just generally, I wouldn't wetsand a "mystery paintjob" since you just don't know what's likely to happen. Even ETG readings might not give you enough info to work with. I'd stick with the "first, do no harm" approach.



But that's just me and some people (hey Barry.....) might go ahead and really cut on it.

 

[LionelHutz]

Thanks for the info guys, especially about cheap enamels and possible problems with abrasives. Is the same problem present with moderate cutting compounds? I.e., should I just never bother with correcting the paint on this car?

 

[Accumulator]

Thanks for the info guys, especially about cheap enamels and possible problems with abrasives. Is the same problem present with moderate cutting compounds? I.e., should I just never bother with correcting the paint on this car?

Yeah, it's like once you "dull" the finish by abrading it, you just can't bring it back the way you normally can. Eh, I don't want to make you all paranoid about it...most likely that big [mess]-up not gonna happen with mild compounds. But I'd sure try a test spot somewhere that doesn't show just to make sure.



I myself would try Optimum's Spray Compound, with a pretty gentle application medium. That stuff is more like a "super swirlmark remover" when used gently so it'd be a fairly safe (and very user-friendly) way to try some correction.



Just don't try to fix the orangepeel until you're *certain* the paint will come back...and check your crystal ball to see if you have enough paint to do that anyhow. (Translation: I myself would live with the orangepeel )