Wetsanding and UV protection!

V

VHONDAV6

VTEC <3
Hello! I`m brand new around here and just bought my first car. Sadly the previous owner did a pretty poor job of taking car if he clearcost! Lots of scratches!


Here`s some pics to show you guys what I`m talking about. 2006 Honda Accord Coupe V6
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Those are all before pics. I will update this later with some after pics! I`ve removed literally everythin, here was my process!
Wash
Dry
Soak 3000 and 5000 grit sandpaper 5 mins each
Soak area
Sand with 3
Sand with 5 to remove sanding scratches
Compound
Polish
Wax
Admire
Done!


My only concern is I`ve been scaring myself online about how wet sanding can cause issues with clear and oxidation. This car is my new daily driver and only has 40k miles on it. Previous owner had it garage kept.


I didn`t go through the clear at all, amazingly... I`m just curious, will wetsanding cause oxidation or clear-coat failure down the road?

I didnt burn through the clearcoat at all, the car has never been repainted so it`s got its factory paint on.

Aby help or advice would be great!!!
 
disclaimer: I do not know how to wet sand

but my thoughts here are that once you wet sand you have definitely taken a large amount of the clear out...which could potentially lead to premature cc failure if not kept up

in my opinion, assuming you follow through with this process, I`d suggest looking into an easy to apply coating (something like Mckees or whatever else you want to try) for a `sacrificial layer` if anything along with the added protection it will provide

naturally, I`d suggest taking the least aggressive method first and see where that gets you
 
Microns of clear coat are removed during the cutting process. I would not be worried about clear coat failure so as long as you do regular maintenance detailing

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Wet sanding a factory paint is just plain dangerous. The factory paint system does not really have enough thickness. Wet sanding is usually reserved for eliminating orange peel. When I would paint anything that was to be wet sanded I would do somewhere around 6 trips of clear around the vehicle knowing I would wet sand at least 1 layer of that off to eliminate the orange peel. Then the compounding and polishing sequence would start removing more of the clear.

Dave
 
Without knowing how much material you removed it`s really a guessing game. OEM paints have a margin of material that can safely be removed, typically .3 -.5 mil, but it varies per manufacturer. 3k and 5K are pretty mild so unless you really laid into I think you`ll probably be fine, but the car is already 11 yrs old too. I would suggest coating the paint though for some added protection. How often the car sits outside in the sun will be a factor too. Is it garaged when not in use?
 
Many high-quality waxes and sealants include UV inhibitors. I don`t know what product you used, but depending on the wax you have on there now and how frequently you will reapply it, you should be fine.
 
VHONDAV6-Welcome to Autopia! I bet that was a big job!

How much clear you can remove without precipitating premature failure depends on lots of factors, including the paint in question and of course how much you take off.

With Fords, the brand I know from on this topic, IIRC the "too much point" used to be 2/3mil (still haven`t read the latest TSB on it but a quick skimming indicated they now say less). Note that Ford`s clear is/was quite UV-resistant, and much thicker than I`ve ever heard of on a Japanese vehicle (which are sorta notorious for thin paint).

IF you notice the paint seeming softer/more easily marred, that`d be a clue that you overdid it as the lower down you go in the clear the softer (and less UV-resistant) it is.

I haven`t had a Honda since forever, but IMO you oughta use a UV-resistant LSP (Last Step Product, i.e., "wax") and keep it out of the sun as much as possible. I see Japanese vehicles with clearcoat failure that *at least appears* to be correction-induced all the time...sometimes you can tell how they did the buffing it`s so obvious. OTOH, my oldest Audi has out-and-out *paint failure* from prior over-correction that hasn`t gotten appreciably worse over the near-decade I`ve owned it...I keep it out of the sun and well-protected so the damage is pretty much arrested. But it can never be corrected again, period.

Keep it protected, keep it sheltered from the sun, don`t take off more, hope for the best while admiring the results of all that hard work.
 
Honda`s have some of the thinnest clear coats on the market.

I see more Honda`s with clear coat failure than any other make.

Never wet sand OEM paint without a paint gauge.

In short, I wouldn`t do it.
 
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