Stealth 993

I'm trained in wet sanding & buffing. But I've never done "cosmetic" wet power sanding on a car. If I do a car that needs wet sanding, it's done by hand with 3M automotive sand paper. Of course followed up with a good polish.

I have a paint depth meter. Just a few passes with 3000 sand paper by hand removed quite a bit more paint then a rotary with a med pad & med polish.

JPP

Stealth,
I appreciate your concern because I have the same ones. I always do a lot of research before I jump in and part of that, in this case, will most likely be hiring a pro that will allow me to assist and learn the process. Worst case, it will cost me a little extra and I'll appreciate the craftsmanship on a new level. Best case, I'll acquire a new skill.

Arena993

Well a DA (Dual Action) sander as you probably know is superior to the hand method because of the random sanding pattern. With a 1/2" foam pad between the buffer and the sanding disc the pressure from your hand is greatly reduced. Hand method is far more agressive even with 3000 grit paper. This is a 3000 grit sponge type pad not the Wet/Dry paper wrapped on a foam pad. You should borrow a Trizact system if you know of someone that uses it. If one wanted to you could polish the sanding marks out using a Porter Cable buffer although it would take a long time. And the polish we used was very mild almost a glaze. Give it a try. I haven't sanded a car by hand in years. not even nibs. They make a nib spot sander in the same setup. have a good one

Mike

Stealth 993

It is a skill, & not something you can pick up in a afternoon. be buffing, or sanding. To really learn it, it takes years, & lot of cars. The bad part with a pro is they do it a lot, & make it all look real easy. Not to get to far into it, but pressure & speed have a lot to do with the results.

Most detailers will not wet sand a whole car unless it's really bad, & it takes quite a few hours to do a whole car properly. A high quality pro detail with a total wet sand will be in the $1000+ range just for the exterior.

FWIW, I work part time with a local pro detailer, it's been a few years, & we have never wet sanded a whole car, just parts, that's usually do to a poor respray. Part of that reason is the paint it removes, & the time it takes after to remove all the sanding marks.

I'm not saying wet sanding should not be done, it has it's place, but it's not something that should be done often or with out trying some other less aggressive steps first. The goal is to remove all the marks on the car with the least amount of paint removal.

jhummel68

I used Dupli-Color's trim paint and sprayed the spoiler. It was very easy taking the spoiler off and eliminating the need to cover the whole car. I just taped off the grill, roughened the surface and sprayed it.

I got your PM and will do. As far as the "nice pair" - not so much. Again, according to Seinfeld, "Not that there is anything wrong with that".

The plan was to put it on blocks and jack stands but found it wasn't too bad to work on it at that level. We just never pulled it back off the blocks once we started.

Johan,
Thanks. Hopefully next time you are in town we can take the car out for a spin. A lot of work went into making the car what it is now. It looks good. Wheels stay.


The finish on the car was definitely in need of a little more than a buffing. The car had spent part of its life outside and did have acid rain damage. Any sanding and buffing we did removed very little paint. I don't plan on doing the sanding and buffing for a very long time; by that time it will probably be in need of a respray.

timothymoffat

I think I'm being misunderstood. I rarely if ever watch Seinfeld. I'll have to investigate. I'm thinking of something different, something attractive, something desireable. It was meant to be complimentary.

No matter, I like the results of yours and Mike's work. My 95 has a few light scratches here and there that I'm going to work on. I won't be going to this level as I don't have the skill but we'll see what happens.

jhummel68

I wish I could remember the episode. My wife and I still enjoy watching that show. We laugh our @$$ off.

Leucadia

Insane.... Like to try that on mine, but im too nervous i'd screw it up.

I will also give you my unbiased compliment for having the absolutely most sophisticated color :-)