Burma Shave

Wet sanding and polishing is better left to professionals. Too many choices in technique and products based on the finish your'e working on. Film thickness is another consideration that the hobbyist is not equipped to handle. Old factory finishes should not repeatedly be buffed and definitely not sanded...absolutely not enough film build.

Chris_924s

The answer to wetsanding is- take more time with finer grit. On my heavily oxidized Guards hood and roof, I started with 800, only a pass to take off the rough oxidation and deep scratches.
I spent 3 days with 2000 grit paper and then hand buffing and polishing compound until I got a very smooth surface. This technique must be learned by feel- better off to start on something you dont care about first- you will make mistakes when learning.
It's very easy to burn thru the finish when wetsanding without realizing it.

I still have more to go as the orbital buffer only came out with the wax applications.

Campeck

yeah chris..thanks..
seeing your car is what sparked this!
when I heard that it hadnt been repainted...that you wet sanded..I was like...whoooooaa!!!

Campeck

I tried the red car again....
And check it out.


P.S. the red car looks better than the pics show....

John D.

MUCH BETTER on the Red car..!!! Tougher to see the grey car in the photo..

What grit wet/dry did you use???

Nice job!!

Campeck

thanks john.
All I have is 1500...hopefully today we will go get some finer grit.
so All I did it with was 1500 and a continuous spray of hose water..lol. On the blue car just compare the top half of the door to the bottom!

John D.

Get some 2000 grit - then rubbing compound.. It really won't shine to a lustre until after the rubbing compound/wax - but, it sure looks a LOT better then it did!!!!

Also - take a small pail - and soak/store the wet/dry paper in water. I just let it sit for days on end while I'm working on paint. You'll find that it clogs less - and the paper pulls the particles off the painted surface a bit better. When it begins to clog - throw it back into the pail of water - and pull out the next, fresh piece. After soaking a bit - the paper can be reused...

HTH!

John

SeaCay

I don't know if it was mentioned, but adding a little bit of dish soap to your water will help with the wet sanding. Don't go overboard, just a squirt.

Mongo

Pecker are you crazy?! 400 and 600 grits will strip clear coat clean off the surface, now if that pic isn't photoshopped I think you are damn lucky to still have paint left on that fender. Start with 1,000 and use a sanding block when you sand it looks even. Sanding with your hands will create grooves so you need a smooth block to sand properly with. Like Danno said, work you way up to 2000 and then use polishing compounds. Meguiars Diamond Cut compounds I reccommend since you start at the deepest cut and work your way all the way down to level 2 (fine polish) Then use Meguiars Mirror Glaze Polish and the Yellow wax to complete the job.

Speaking of which, I need to write a very long article on buffing....or Cam you can send me that Alizee video and I'll start my buffing from there..

Andy

DerSchlechtSpecht

are you sure you didnt just spray it with water, then take the pic?

-Christian