wet sand for first time?

[gen2lover]

ok guys..I posted a short while ago about lots of scratches (from california duster mostly) all over my 02 rt-10.I have alot of swirl marks too from the first and only detail a guy did for me after I bought the car in July.

It was sitting most of its life.The color is decent.Sorry no pics..just lots of scratches/swirl marks.

Because my car has never had a wet sand should I get one? I heard the car will look like new? Around 1500 bucks?

Or should I just get a different shop to rotory buff it before trying the wet sand?

thanks,Kevin.

My car is red-I need to put a new avatar pic up.

 

[RTTTTed]

It always depends on the quality of the job you end up with. Wetsanding can flatten the paint and really look fantastic, or it can go right through the clear and ruin the paint.

Wetsanding is highest risk and buffing polishing is lowest risk.

It's one of those decisions that you'll know if you made the right choice afterwards!

You need to find an older experienced bodyman that you can trust and do what he recommends.

Ted

 

[gen2lover]

thanks Ted..helpful as always.

 

[Dom426h]

wetsand is most likely Not necessary, have a professional evaluate your paint to determine weather you need a 2-step medium/fine machine polish, or just a fine polish. your swirls will be gone and all will be good

if a DIY'er purchase a portercable or griots randomorbitbuffer and do the job yourself for 200bucks

 

[RTTTTed]

thanks Ted..helpful as always.

I wish I could help more, but each sanding/polishing job depends on the individual car and only a pro, looking at the car can give you an honest opinion. Everything else is just a guess.

I've done both wetsanding and polishing on many of my cars and each job is individual.

I painted my Duster when it was -40F outside my garage. Massive Orange peel on passenger side of car (side of car not facing wood stove). So I applied extra paint and wetsanded it tehn polished. I only sanded though the paint in 1 small spot and the car looked a hundred times better. I left the orange peel on the rockers though.

Viper Red is similar to Hemi Orange? Although I think the paints are similar, I'm not an expert.

You must be registered for see images

Ted

 

[gen2lover]

Ted..I heard some guy or guys? tease you about having dirt roads etc.. on another thread.I would LOVE to live in your town.Great views and nature.

Just another question? In another thread a guy said just using your micro fiber towels when drying or detailing can cause swirl marks. Is this true? I thought you only get them in the paint using a buffer?

Kevin.

 

[RTTTTed]

Ted..I heard some guy or guys? tease you about having dirt roads etc.. on another thread.I would LOVE to live in your town.Great views and nature.

Just another question? In another thread a guy said just using your micro fiber towels when drying or detailing can cause swirl marks. Is this true? I thought you only get them in the paint using a buffer?

Kevin.

You can get swirl marks from anything. I like soft t shirts best. I've got a couple of scratches in my hood, but they aren't obvious when I've got a good coat of wax on it. My car is always waxed with a 3 part. I use a fastwax to wipe my car. A buffer, polisher will alos leave swirl marks depending on grit of compound. If you wipe off dust you probably just left swirl marks/scratches.

The really big advantage of where I live is negligible traffic and about a half a cop on duty, usually none at night. They're all friends and don't want to "piss me off"(?) so unless I do something stupid, I won't get any tickets locally. Our Highway 20 is paved with 1" crush so it's a high traction road surface. It's hard to believe that when I get passed (not often) it's by a Dodge Ram. The desciption Hemi attracts the faster drivers???

Ted

 

[agentf1]

It is always best to try to resolve the problem with the least aggressive method possible first.

I would pick up a Flex 3401 ROB and some foam pads and some Menzerna 106ff or 106fa and give it a try yourself first. If that does not work you may want to step up to a rotary polisher. Get a professional to do it if you are not proficient with the rotary as you can do damage with that if you are not experienced. If all of that fails then you may want to find a professional to wet sand it.

I am very proficient at wet sanding and I do not want to sand mine without first checking how much paint is on the car with a paint depth guage. Unfortunately a paint depth guage that works on plastic is VERY expensive (thousands) and very few people own one. I have tried to find somebody local with one that would let me borrow it or that would take a look at my car and tell me how much paint is on the panels but unfortunately I have found nobody that owns one. Rather than risk making my cc too thin I figured I would live with the few RIDS (random isolated deep scratchs). Most people do not see them but I am super anal and when I pull it in the garage under all of the flourescents I see them and they bug me. I may break down and hit a few of the bad RIDS with some 3000 lightly and then repolish just to see if it helps but I do not want to have at it witout knowing how much paint I have. /you need to weight out the risk vs the benefit you will get before taking on a project of that size and nature.

 

[Schulmann]

I am a "wet sand" lover
But before you go so radical it is better to use a rubbing compound.
Both wet sanding and rubbing will remove a good layer of clear coat of your car.
First step is to check the clear coat's thickness.

Wet sanding is a fast way to remove a thin layer of clear coat.
After the sanding you will have to use different grade of compounds.

3M has a great kit for this type of work. It is called "3M Perfect-it".
You get 3 grade of buffing compounds: Coarse (2000grit), Medium (4000 grit), Fine (6000 grit).
Here is a site that sells it (The first popup from google) : NEW ! 3M Perfect-It™ 3000 Ultrafina™ SE Paint Finishing System

It is an "easy" to use buffing kit. Though you can get through the clear coat if you go too fast


Here is another tutorial about the entire "wet-sending / Buffing / Waxing steps":

3M™ Perfect-It™ III Paint Finishing System

 

[gen2lover]

Rough price cost for wetsanding?
for rotary buff?

 

[Paul Hawker]

Best advice I can give is to use the least abrasive method to give you the results you desire. The more you take away this time, the less you will have for the next times.

A show car finish is different than a street car finish.

Red is not a bad color to buff up. If there are still some imperfections, a good coat of wax goes a long way to giving it that spiffy look.

No matter what you do, if you look hard enough you will still be able to see some imperfections.

 

[gen2lover]

thanks Paul. So on the color list RED is the easiest to make shiny? lol

 

[gen2lover]

bump.I will try Tyler at Apollo Detailing in Ontario here in the Spring.