Thanks Jason for the kind words.... I will try to take some side shots... I did earlier and really nothing came out, it just looks like a flat white car.....
Also, this was a friend's car and she left it with me for a week. So its not a customer, therefore, I was so darn exhausted I let the sides go a little. I mean, I was using so much product on the car, that I felt that I "learned" enough from her car that I didnt want to go to extremes on the sides to really make the car as perfect as I could.
I am happy to tell everyone what I learned, but I am a little embarrased because I am such a novice compared to most here. Whatever i tell, I feel that you guys already know.
But what I did learn is never go into an edge or corner with a wool pad on a rotory on high speed, to try to polish that extra little bit. (ooops) So who needs clearcoat anyway, right?
I also learned that putting a smaller 6" pad on a rotory can burn the paint rather easily, bubbling it up from the heat..
Wet sanding was actually easier than I had imagined. In fact I felt so confident after working on this car, that I wet sanded my entire hood of my 2001 Jeep Grand Cheroke Limited! It came out like glass!!! I took some pics, but its silver and it really didnt look all that special to post here....
My process for wet sanding was to keep the sandpaper wet with soapy water, not pressing too hard and checking my work constantly to make sure I didnt breach the clearcoat. AFter I felt I worked out the problem area, I dried the area and hit it with SSR3 with the rotory and the 6" foam cutting pad. The paint really came up nice. Actually I think since the car was white, it gave me a false sense of actually thinking I knew what i was doing... Anyway, with the sanding I just applied very light even pressure and making sure the paper stayed wet. In some problem areas, i found that after checking my progress, i needed to repeat my sanding 2 or 3 more times before the defect was removed.
It actually seemed easier for me to wet sand the problem area, rather than polish out the problem. It was so much easier to buff out the scratches left behind from the sandpaper, than it was to buff out that horrible finish. I didnt have the control with the machine as I did with my fingers on a thin piece of sandpaper. But again, it was a white car and a silver truck that I've had my lessons on so far. Maybe you should wait until I've wet sanded a black car (this weekend) before anyone listens to what I say...
:nixweiss
Jason, why dont you go on a search of your friends or family or neighbors and find a sad car like my friends. One that is absolutely horrible, one with dents and rust and grime... Offer a free cleaning and try the wet sanding..... I"m sure you'll be happy you did!! Believe me.... once you do it, your concerns will be gone.
sorta...
.... i used Bleach White, but it really didnt help all that much... any suggestions???
