24FPS

in this mos. PCA's (orange coast region) issue of "pandemonium" member ben carrion did a feature on how he wet-sanded his just delivered boxster-s. evidently, he was able to achieve an amazing glass finish.

anyone have any experience "+" or "-"???

all in the name of a perfect finish.

thx,
rich


- happy w/ my 993's finish currently, though it's not as perfect as i'd like...2nd owner & orig. owner had done a couple lame touch-ups.

jebia

I did this myself on a 78 911sc I got back from painting by a local paint shop, the shop used ppg deltron, black base coat and deltron delglo clear coat. The finishe was good but not great (kind of a typical factory paint job).


I sanded the orange peel away (flattened the surface down so there were no longer any peaks and valleys) with 2000 grit wet dry sandpaper and then used dupont finesit polish (with a lambs wool pad using my electric bugger).


I then followed the buffing with some hand glase and then waxed it.

The finish looked like poured glass.


Took me about 8 hours to sand, another 6 hours to buff out. When sanding or buffing be very carefull with paint edges or you'll break thru.

ScottMellor

Oooh. An electric bugger. I thoght the FDA had banned those.....

///alpinepower

jebia -- more technique, please? Did you use a hard-rubber block or wood to sand with? What direction? I found a great article describing the process, but i am fearful of trying it on my car...

electric bugger: rotary or orbital?

etc???

Torags

Try a urethane sponge (used for packing) behind the sandpaper. It gives on the curves and has enough memory to fill in concave surfaces. Blocks wood & ruber are made for flat surfaces. Don't be too ambitious, less is better.

Orbital may be better to reduce swirls or sun rings.

24FPS

maybe i'll sand the the two re-touched areas as a test before giving it a go. maybe that's all i'll need to do, as rest of car is near perfect.

Jebia -- did your 911 have a clearcoat finish? was wondering how much sanding would be needed to get down to a glass finish. do you just rinse off area being sanded & feel for smoothness before moving to the next panel?

Torags -- the packing sponge you mentioned, is that the white thin wrap/pad stuff?


also... think i'll visit a paint shop for some advice as well.

thx
rich

Torags

The sponge I'm referring to really doesn't absorb water. if you get a water absorbant sponge, it doesn't retain its memory.

Also, allow sanded debri to build on the sandpaper (but not enough to clog-feel will develop); it buffers the abrasive and reduces possibility of scratching (But 2000 is real fine)

Less is better....

There is a fine abrasive encased in parafin that I have used on sculpture, that you might like to check out, if there are stone scupturers in your area.

Torags

Ooops... for your rotary buffer (not hand applied)

johnt53

I'm confused (or uninformed)--if the car has a clearcoat finish, what happens when you sand it off--do you have to reapply it?

Torags

Just removing orange peel. And yes, years ago that used to be a step between multiple coats of lacquer and semi transparent coats of color to give depth..

Chris W. - '96 Targa

Before a bunch of you go out and buy 2000-grit paper and attack your hoods, take a step back from your keyboard and think real hard about it.

Now think about it real hard some more...

Bodywork in general is all about technique, most of which is developed from years of experience. I know, not because I have those years of experience, but because I have done *some* bodywork, including wet sanding. I consider myself to be pretty adept with hands-on mechanical things, from welding to woodworking, but in bodywork I'm only mediocre. And I wouldn't want a mediocre finish on my p-car.

If you've never done bodywork, and don't know someone who could teach you the proper technique in person vs. through an article, I wouldn't recommend you start developing your skills on a vehicle as nice as the ones we drive. Go wet sand the wife's car first.

That said, wet sanding does accomplish some great things in finish quality if properly done. But it's not for the faint of heart.

Of course, if improperly done and cash is no object, you can always respray the affected panels and try again...

Just some things to think about...



-Chris

Chris W. - '96 Targa

Yes. The clearcoat is like another coat of paint -- in fact is *is* another coat of paint. You've probably seen beater cars running around with chalky white patches on their roof/hood/trunk that look like sunburned skin peeling -- that's where the clearcoat has been worn away. The actual color coat underneath the clear is not that glossy. The clearcoat is what gives the shine to the car.

-Chris

chris walrod

I had a friend recommend to go rent a car and practice on it. Remember rental cars are all new enough to be clear coated, or two stage paint where as Porsche transitioned into two stage paint during the 993 years. I think around 95-96, depending on what color etc.

jebia

It doesn't matter if the paint is clear coated or not. I've done this on both types.

As stated previously you can use a soft sanding pad (vs a hard sanding block) you can by at any auto paint store, just wrap your 2000 grip pager around it.

Start sanding a bit and with water (add a few drops of dish soap, as this helps the sanded paint to flow out with the water and not clog your sand paper) , then wipe the area dry with a shop towl (clean), and you'll see where the sand paper is abrading (dulled area) with specks of brite spots inbetween. These specks of brite spots are low areas in the paint. Use a light or move the angle your observing the area your working on it, different angles of reflected light will help you catch these bright spots your trying to sand out. Your goal is to keep sanding until the brite spots are gone (and not any further), or the sanded paint is a level just below the lowest low spot. Now the surface is completely flat and once polished will yield the highest reflection back (the poured glass effect).

Go slow it's not brain surgery or rocket science.

Try a small area such as the inside door panel (sand, polish, glaze) to get the hang of it.

Now when you look at your paint and see reflections it will be like a mirror instead of a distorted (fuzzy) mirror.

Dudley

I don't know if a mirror finish is a good thing or not. The Porsche factory finish always seems to have a tell-tale orange peel effect. Especially on a black car, any repainted panel is obvious because the new finish is always smoother than the original. It seems to me that untouched is best. IMHO.

Dave