wet/color sanding ASAP!!!!!

0hstillclean

New member
ok here we go. i know about the wet sanding and color sanding . i have done it many times but i have to say i allways guessed and used 2500 and a compouind and then a 1 stpe and it allways came out ok ... for little things. But i need to know how do i know when to pick and what grit to use. Also what to use after it .. im thinking maybe what i know isnt exactly rite . I dont want to do this wrong. Im talking new body panels fresh out of paint ... how do i know what to use and when ...please help ASAP. as i need some of this info very soon . i will also post in professional. thanks for any info you give . :surrender :thanks
 
not really a westanding guy but you wont want to double post, as its against the rules. Im sure someone will be able to give you some help though. hang in there.

Greg
 
I assume this is a clear coat. Start with 1200 or 1500 wet/dry sand paper and wet sand in one direction to a even haze (no shine)note: put a drop of dish soap in the water.Then use a heavy compound (I use 3M products) then sometimes I will go to a light compound if needed.Then I will go to a machine glaze and then finish with a hand glaze. You may want to go to a paint supply shop and ask for there help also check out www.3m.com Good luck bro.
 
I've been wetsanding forever. I sand with 3M 1000 work with that for a bit. Then step up to 3M 2000 work that for a bit. Then i remove the sanding marks with Hi Temp Heavy cut 357. Polish it out with AM BC-2. And i'm done. No sanding marks left over, no maring or swirls. Just a mirror like shine. :rockon
 
Some people have been using Meg's 3000 Unigrit and like it. I still use 3M 1500 & 2000, but just thought I'd mention it.
 
Since Ive done this as a business, I would suggest when you first start out, Start out using 2500 grit. If you start more aggressive than that, when you buff it out, youll see flat spots when you knocked down the orange peel. Always use soap water, and I would suggest letting your paper soak for a good hour. Make sure you use a block between your hand and the paper, and always sand in the direction of the vehicles body lines.
 
well a sanded today. this is new paint. and it was black. not the whole body panel just the top along the edge(not the edge) and some particles embedded in the paint. I used 2000 grit 3m .. i soaked it and used bottle with car wash and water in it ... i sprayd and lightly skimmed the block back an forth on the surface of the panel... wiping as i went to check progress... moved onto my spots. now i had a rubber black wrapped in the paper for smooth surface and even sanding . after i rubbed the panel i moved on to some perfect it compound from 3m and after i finished with a finishing pad and some machine glaze from 3m. the panel looked outstanding ... in indoor and outdoor lighting.... i was impressed. thank you for the tips i found them useful.
 
When I wet-sanded my car, I went through a lot of trial and error. It had VERY bad orange peel:

before1.jpg


I compared Meg's unigrit paper to regular 3M paper, and I really like the Meg's much much better. The 3M stuff is just fine for 1200 and 1500, but when you go to finish it off with 2000, 2500, and 3000 use Unigrit. If you get all the way up to 2500+, you won't need to bother with wool pads or heavy compounds. While it's prefered to buff out wetsanding marks with a rotary, I suppose a PC with some very aggressive stuff may work.

Anyways, as you are sanding, make sure you spray some QD and wipe the area dry with an MF. You should be able to notice an amount of smooth and dull paint... basically the deeper valleys and the higher ridges. The ridges are being sanded off, so that's why they are dull while the valleys remain shiny, as the sandpaper hasn't cut them yet.

first1500pass.jpg


As the ridges and valleys get smaller and smaller, start moving up the grades of grit. You should be at around 2500-3000 by the time it's flat. Every once in a while, I would buff a little "window" with some sort of compound by hand, just to see my progress.

window1.jpg


You'll know when to start buffing once the paint is totally flat, and no more of the valleys/ridges appear.

imperfectfinal.jpg


I used a rotary with meg's burgandy pad and some 3m Medium Cut stuff. Then, I went down to meg's fine cut with the same burgandy cutting pad, and then swirl free polish with the meg's yellow polishing pad. Many different products could be used, but I went with these since they were readily available and pretty easy to use, with the exception of fine cut cleaner. That stuff is such a pain to wipe off.

trunkfinal1.jpg


001.jpg
 
nice work. I did the hood of a blue m3 today. After wetsand. i hit it with a D/A with soft back 3000 grit -wet. this takes the first sanding scratches much much finer and your removing so little. after i wheeled the hood with perfect it III and machine glaze .... i impressed myself. smiles ear to ear ... there is nothing better then to see tha even shine ... flawless.. this whole time im thinking i can hold my own in the detail world but these body shop guys - the good ones who take thier time ... really know what they are doing ... and 20 years of expierience is goin rite into the start of my 20 years ..with time i will get better and better ... its a little shakey at first . this is a good thread keep it goin...
 
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