I'm Finished Wetsanding My RT/10!!!

[Vipuronr]

Okay, I'm finished and I am very pleased with the outcome. Again, for those who did not see the previous posts, I was not happy with the quality of the paint finish. Fortunately, I spent most of my college years working at a body shop and did paint detailing as well. I am now going to start up a detailing business, but on a small scale...with focus on Vipers.

Here are some pictures to show how it came out. Notice the "straightness" or "flatness" of the reflection on the body panels:

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Yes, I know...lots of kid toys in the background, but I took these pictures in between rain storms! Better ones to come!

Peter

 

[fdjake]

Wet sanding, in my opinion, is the single greatest improvement you can make on your Viper as far as looks go. Your car came out beautiful!!!
It now looks like it has a $10,000 paint job.

It's all in the DETAILS!!!!

A few years ago I purchased a Porsche 911 that had been painted on each door because of door dings (owner had BEFORE pics) anyway....The paint had a lot of orange peel in it. No one that looked at that car made the seller an offer. I did. Got the car for a BIG discount and wet sanded the entire car.

The very next car show I went to was in Brookline MA. at the Larz Andersen Museum. There were beautiful Porsches everywhere. My USED 911 won best paint!! I could not believe it!!!

Amazing results with just some elbow grease and time!!!

 

[eucharistos]

she purdy!

 

[-FROG-]

I always thought wet sanding was what you do to prep a car for paint? Did that not take off the clear coat? What grit did you use?

 

[Kala]

I always thought wet sanding was what you do to prep a car for paint? Did that not take off the clear coat? What grit did you use?

I always wanted to do this to my car... So I kept a link to an excellent post by a member here... He details how to do this in this link...

WARNING... This was done to a Z06... If you have a problem with that, don't click the link

More than 160 hours went into sanding this car...

Wetsanding a C6 Z06 - Corvette Forum

 

[Vipuronr]

Thanks for the comments!

Okay, I put in somewhere around 16 hours, I am not exactly sure because I wasn't counting. I basically did one body part or two at a time. It is tiring and you do not want to get lax and start missing areas or not sand sufficiently because your arms are tired. 160 hours to sand...must have been lots of breaks for a beer or two....can't imagine sanding for that many hours, even for a fire truck. But, each to their own!

I DID NOT sand through any of the clear coat. Think it has to do with having a feel for the paint after working in a body shop for years. I am actually pretty good with a spray gun, did over a 1966 Jag E-Type years back and scored 92 points on the paint. It was my first show car....lost points because I neglected to paint the inside of the hood....dumb move on my part, got lazy.

So, here is what I did...didn't think it was difficult enough to do a "teaching" post on.

- Wetsand with 2000 grit wet sand paper - make sure you keep wiping and looking to see if you have evenly sanded the gloss off the paint. (you also need that "feel" so you can feel the slight unevenness of the paint as you sand).
- Once completely sanded (no gloss anywhere), you then do first buffing with (I have a DeWalt) variable speed buffer...it is heavy, so you have to know what you are doing. I used a liquid polishing compound. Put on small area and do two passes -one at slower speed (1400-1800 rpms)going over the area with some pressure at first, then lighten the pressure to begin "polishing" that same area. Wipe clean and check for how glossy the paint is. Then second buff pass increase speed to 2200 to 2400 and buff with light pressure...really trying to bring out some shine.
- Then Meguiar's liquid paint cleaner with a vibrating orbital buffer. This gives the paint that clear shine, taking out the micro-scratches left by the polishing compound.
- I finished off with Meguiar's Carnuba Wax (non-clearning).

That's it! Lot's of patience, can't rush otherwise won't get the finish you are looking for. If you're getting tired, stop and pick up the work another day.

By the way, I have not yet detailed out the rest of the car, so yes, the windows are still dusty and the tires need a little tire black and so on.

 

[Vipuronr]

I do want to try one more thing, saw a liquid "finishing" coating for show car shine, think it goes over (after) wax. Will be going to the store to check it out.

 

[Dom426h]

Ahhh yes Top Coats are great. No cleaners/abrasives/polish. Only pure shine enhancement.

Try this:

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Also i like Eagleone NanoWax as a "No Effort" topcoat:

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[Vipuronr]

Thanks Dom, will pick one up...think Meguiar's also has one. Yes, have used Meguiar's products for years, always liked. But, I also use Mother's products, never really saw much of a difference.

Want to see just how shiny the paint can be.

Thanks again.

Peter