Wet Sanding Help

J

jhorton

New member
I have a light silver 2004 Santa Fe. I recently noticed a little nib on the clear coat. I was doing a lot of reading on wet sanding and figured I would try that to get rid of it. Well my problem now is the nib is gone but where I wet sanded it off has left a white spot.

Have I totally messed this up or is it possible to get rid of it with some polish or scratch remover?

I haven't attempted any yet.
 
If you don't have any polishes, some scratchX should remove the white spot without issue. Its $8 at walmart, target or most auto places.
 
You should have done some more research before doing this.

People think wet sanding is such an easy and simple process.
 
Thanks, I have acutally tried wet sanding on my old green sunfire and I didn't have any problems.

I just thought I would ask as I wasn't sure if it would be normal being it is a silver car to have the white spot after and the best way to get rid of it.

I am hoping it will go away. I would think the clear coat is pretty thick. I only made about 3 or 4 passes.
 
We could probably give you better advice if you had a picture. Can you list what process you used, such as the paper grit?





Walter
 
Basically I just cleaned the area, used a tiny piece of 1500 wet sand paper and took 3 or 4 wipes at the nip to take it off. I don't have any pictures.
 
jhorton said:
Thanks, I have acutally tried wet sanding on my old green sunfire and I didn't have any problems.

I just thought I would ask as I wasn't sure if it would be normal being it is a silver car to have the white spot after and the best way to get rid of it.

I am hoping it will go away. I would think the clear coat is pretty thick. I only made about 3 or 4 passes.
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dude, there is no way that you have wetsanded before

and did not know that you had to polish after wetsanding!



:nono
 
The white spot you are seeing is the sanding scratches in the clear coat. After wetsanding, you need to polish out the sanding scratches. I agree that wetsanding is not a job for the inexperienced.
 
BigJimZ28 said:
dude, there is no way that you have wetsanded before

and did not know that you had to polish after wetsanding!



:nono
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thats exactly what i wanted to say but didnt know of a nice way to put it
 
jhorton said:
Basically I just cleaned the area, used a tiny piece of 1500 wet sand paper and took 3 or 4 wipes at the nip to take it off. I don't have any pictures.
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In that case then go after it with some Scratch-X or another type of medium duty polish.



Walter

Co-owner
 
To give him the benefit of the doubt I think maybe he knew that he would have to polish afterward but was confused because the sanded spot was white instead of silver (the color of his car). I imagine when he wetsanded the green sunfire it still probably had a greenish tint to it. I could be wrong but I thought I might suggest this.
 
Yes, I didn't expect the spot to be white. When I did it on my green sunfire it wasn't white. I was woried I did something wrong. I will have to try the scratch x. I assume you would have to rub fairly hard to go right through the clear coat?
 
xtahoex said:
To give him the benefit of the doubt I think maybe he knew that he would have to polish afterward but was confused because the sanded spot was white instead of silver (the color of his car). I imagine when he wetsanded the green sunfire it still probably had a greenish tint to it. I could be wrong but I thought I might suggest this.
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Maybe, but when he asks questions like this:



jhorton said:
Yes, I didn't expect the spot to be white. When I did it on my green sunfire it wasn't white. I was woried I did something wrong. I will have to try the scratch x. I assume you would have to rub fairly hard to go right through the clear coat?
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makes me wonder how much he really knows about it.
 
I assume that is why he is here. Because he doesn't know much about it. Hence why he is here asking and not out there doing it.
 
STOP EVERYTHING! I really don't thing anything you do by hand from here on in is going to get you where you need to be. Here's what I'd do:



#1) Do you have or know anyone that has a rotory or at the very least a Random Orbital (aka PC) Buffer?



#2) If yes, do they or you know how to use either? If no, find a professional and cut your losses.



#3) If yes, see if you can get by with a light compound and the Random Orbital with fairly aggressive pad (Yellow or Orange and I still don't think this will get it but then again, I haven't seen a pic.) Then work your way up to a heavy compound if the light/ medium compounds do not get you the results you desire. If after all that, and the Heavy compound and the Random Orbital don't get you where you want, and you are, or know someone who is proficient with the rotory, start with a medium polish and follow the same routine. (I wouldn't spin the Rotory at any more than about 1200 rpm with an 7"-8" pad) DO NOT LET THE PAINT GET TOO HOT!!! I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH. Work slowly but keep the buffer moving. Just go ahead an do a 2'x2' area. You're going to have to protect the whole panel in the end anyway.



#4) If you've had get into compounds (And I DO NOT MEAN ANY TURTLE WAX IN A RED OR GREEN JAR), you'll HAVE to then take it a second step and polish

it. (Do the whole panel with the polish so you've got some uniformity.)



#5) Add a sealant or good wax to the masterpiece you've just created, sit back and call yourself a wizard.



If at any point you are unsure of what you are doing, Stop! It's not worth damaging beyond someone else's repair if you're not absolutlely certain you are correcting the paint.



Hope this helps a bit. Don't hesitate to contact Walter or myself via PM if you have any more questions. Best of luck to you.



Jason Boyer

Co-Owner/ Tech. Advisor

Wet Werks Auto Salon
 
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