Wet Sanding?????

[SCOTTB]

Hey all, Not an expert on Detailing such a nice car but i have a 03 vert Red it seems to have some acid rain damage under floresent light. So did alot of reading and think I will go with zanio products But Not sure if just doing that entire system will get my problem fixed. So ive heard of wet sanding can i do it myself? how? or do i pay somebody? which i dont want to because like anything else " To do it right, do it yourself" Oh i picked zanio because i dont have a buffer this would all be done by hand...

 

[dansauto]

Hey all, Not an expert on Detailing such a nice car but i have a 03 vert Red it seems to have some acid rain damage under floresent light. So did alot of reading and think I will go with zanio products But Not sure if just doing that entire system will get my problem fixed. So ive heard of wet sanding can i do it myself? how? or do i pay somebody? which i dont want to because like anything else " To do it right, do it yourself" Oh i picked zanio because i dont have a buffer this would all be done by hand...

unless you have done this before, pay someone to do this. I would suggest a good bodyhop/ Detailers dont usually break out sandpaper

 

[viperv10]

Befor you do anything go out and buy yourself a good wax removal cleaner. then once you cleaned your car get yourself a good quality CLAY BAR and do the whole car then use your Zanio Im old school nothing like MOTHERS CALIFORNIA GOLD. But if that dont take out the water spors you may want to buff them but if you have to use paper use a 2 or 3 micron with water before attempting to use the paper you must let the paper soak at least 2 hrs or so Joe

 

[agentf1]

I agree with Dan, unless you are an expert with a rotary I would leave the wet sanding to the experts.

You did make an excellent decision by going with the Zaino as your LSP. For red I would give the Z5p a try. The Z5p may hide a little bit of your water spotting also since it has excellent filling capabilities and is designed to hide your swirls that are not removed first. Make sure you hit it with Z8 after you apply your Z5p as it will really make your paint pop and when used after a wash will renew that just waxed look and prolong the life of your polish.

If you have any questions about Zainoing please feel free to drop me a PM with any questions.

If you wnted to bring it by I would be more than happy to wet sand a small area and buff it back up for you so you can see if that would even fix the problem before paying somebody to do the entire car. I am probably about 45 minutes to an hour away from you.

 

[Dan]

I know a detailer in NJ if you're interested. Just shoot me a PM.

 

[Bookie]

Dan, who is the nj detailer you mentioned. Can has not been detailed in three years.

 

[FLX109]

ScottB,
If you are a nevious guy have someone else or a professional do it but
This is what I have done in the past if buffing doesn't work ,and it worked great, get some 1500 wet/dry sandpaper, cut off a small piece (aprox 3" X 3" or smaller) and soak in water for a couple of hours, take wax off the area with laquer thinner, alcohol etc, lightly sand area with unfolded piece of sandpaper in a back and forth motion checking each time you motion and be real careful not to apply to much pressure, you are only sanding the clear coat, you do not want to burn through, once you see spot has disapeared take some Zaino Fusion and apply as per directions until your clearcoat shines again and keep repeating if needed, wax and done.
I have actually filled in nicks (built up to thickness with body paint) cleared nick with nail polish clear coat, wet sanded, Zaino fusion and wax and looks great.
hope this helps.

FLX109

 

[agentf1]

ScottB,
If you are a nevious guy have someone else or a professional do it but
This is what I have done in the past if buffing doesn't work ,and it worked great, get some 1500 wet/dry sandpaper, cut off a small piece (aprox 3" X 3" or smaller) and soak in water for a couple of hours, take wax off the area with laquer thinner, alcohol etc, lightly sand area with unfolded piece of sandpaper in a back and forth motion checking each time you motion and be real careful not to apply to much pressure, you are only sanding the clear coat, you do not want to burn through, once you see spot has disapeared take some Zaino Fusion and apply as per directions until your clearcoat shines again and keep repeating if needed, wax and done.
I have actually filled in nicks (built up to thickness with body paint) cleared nick with nail polish clear coat, wet sanded, Zaino fusion and wax and looks great.
hope this helps.

FLX109

While Zaino Fusion is a great polish it probably is not strong enough to remove sanding scratches. I would pick up a good medium compound like 3M 05093 or 06062 for that and then finish up with Zaino Fusion after you removes the sanding scratches. We did a black C6 Z06 to remove the OP and it came out fabulous.
Wetsanding a C6 Z06 - Corvette Forum&

And I did a little sanding on my Z as well.
Wetsanding a C5 Z06 - Corvette Forum&

 

[Canyon707]

Most light scratches can be removed with meguires polishing glaze and a porter cable buffer with a polishing foam pad.

 

[agentf1]

Most light scratches can be removed with meguires polishing glaze and a porter cable buffer with a polishing foam pad.

I have to respectfully disagree. Most domestic cars paint is very hard and a machine like a PC is not powerful enough to remove any clear coat and we all know in order to remove swirls you must remove a thin layer of cc. All you will do applying a glaze with a PC is temporarily hide the swilrs with oild. After you wash the car a few times the same swirls will be back.

To do any paint correction you really need a rotary. You may be able to remove some "very" light spiderwebbing on some softer paints with a PC but it takes a LOT of time.

 

[FLX109]

While Zaino Fusion is a great polish it probably is not strong enough to remove sanding scratches. I would pick up a good medium compound like 3M 05093 or 06062 for that and then finish up with Zaino Fusion after you removes the sanding scratches. We did a black C6 Z06 to remove the OP and it came out fabulous.
Wetsanding a C6 Z06 - Corvette Forum&

And I did a little sanding on my Z as well.
Wetsanding a C5 Z06 - Corvette Forum&

Yes,
Deeper scratches would need a medium compound as said by Agentfi1 and finished with fusion but give this a shot and you can always go deeper if needed.

FLX109

 

[onerareviper]

Let me save you a BUNCH of time + possible damage to your car (Very easy to go thru clear with sand paper in inexperienced hands). Take it to a professional and have it rotary buffed. Not orbital, rotary. This should only cost $100-$200 bucks. Wet sanding would be a LAST resort. A pro will start with the LEAST abrasive compound/polish and see if it removes the acid rain etching. If it doesn't he will move to a more aggressive pad or polish. If it still doesn't, again a more aggressive compound/polish, etc..... If all that fails (which it probably won't), then he would wet sand + use the rotary buffer in several steps to remove the scratches + buff the car to a perfect finish. Of course wet sanding will cost extra. A rotary buffer in experienced hands can to wonders.

BTW - Zaino is a great finishing product + protectorant, but don't waste you time trying to remove acid rain etching. It's not strong enough, especially by hand. The Zaino Fusion does have some abrasives, but they are very mild. It works great on minor swirls and scratches, but I don't think that is the right product for acid rain marks. Once you get your car professional buffed, just start to use the Zaino in a few months once the pro detail starts to lose it luster. The hard part is getting the paint leveled + clean + smooth (which the pro already did). Since the hard part has already been done, the easy part is just slapping a coat of Zaino on the car every 3 months or so and you should be able to keep the car looking great (swirl free + great shine + great protection).

 

[Freddog11]

Let me save you a BUNCH of time + possible damage to your car (Very easy to go thru clear with sand paper in inexperienced hands). Take it to a professional and have it rotary buffed. Not orbital, rotary. This should only cost $100-$200 bucks. Wet sanding would be a LAST resort. A pro will start with the LEAST abrasive compound/polish and see if it removes the acid rain etching. If it doesn't he will move to a more aggressive pad or polish. If it still doesn't, again a more aggressive compound/polish, etc..... If all that fails (which it probably won't), then he would wet sand + use the rotary buffer in several steps to remove the scratches + buff the car to a perfect finish. Of course wet sanding will cost extra. A rotary buffer in experienced hands can to wonders.

BTW - Zaino is a great finishing product + protectorant, but don't waste you time trying to remove acid rain etching. It's not strong enough, especially by hand. The Zaino Fusion does have some abrasives, but they are very mild. It works great on minor swirls and scratches, but I don't think that is the right product for acid rain marks. Once you get your car professional buffed, just start to use the Zaino in a few months once the pro detail starts to lose it luster. The hard part is getting the paint leveled + clean + smooth (which the pro already did). Since the hard part has already been done, the easy part is just slapping a coat of Zaino on the car every 3 months or so and you should be able to keep the car looking great (swirl free + great shine + great protection).

Absolutely correct!!! DO NOT WET SAND YOUR CAR. The ONLY time a cars paint should be wet sanded is immediately following a new paint job, and if you get a good painter that knows what he's doing, it's not necessary then either. When you buff your car with a rotary and an abrasive you are removing paint. When you wet sand, you are removing a lot of paint, relatively. There are plenty of products out there that can remove acid rain spotting and water spotting. If you decide to use a rotary, even with abrasives, use a polishing, not cutting, pad. Doesn't matter if you use foam or wool, always use a polishing pad and you'll reduce the chance of cutting through the clear. You'll be using the power of the abrasive or chemical polish instead of the abrasive property of the pad. "onerareviper" is absolutely correct, have a professional detailer do the work. If you screw up your paint job, you just lost 5 grand to save 100 bucks. The average paint job has about 5 to 7 mils of clear, factory jobs are usually less. Wet sanding removes .5 or more mils. Do you really want to remove more than 20% of your paint? The UV protection for you paint is all in the clear. The less protection you have, the faster the undercoats will deteriorate. The reason the Big 3 had all those trucks with peeling paint in the late 90s was improper mil thickness and poor quality water based paints. The undercoats failed because of it. The pigments in reds are far more susceptable to that deterioration without the proper protection. DO NOT WET SAND YOUR CAR.

 

[ViperTony]

My '01 RT/10 owners manual states that wet sanding can be done one time. The only justification for wet-sanding is to remove orange peel in clear coat. My doors have some peel on them and even though I can only see it in fluorescent light simply knowing its there bothers me. Its not something I would do myself. Beyond peel, for light scratches and even some deep scratches I would go the rotary buffer route. DIY random orbitals will not get scratches out. They're great for light swirls. It's really easy to burn through the paint with an rotary buffer. If you know a detailer you can trust I'd say spend the $200 and let pro do it.

 

[agentf1]

When trying to remove damaqge of this type sometimes it is actually better to sand first vs just going over it with a rotary. Basically when buffing you are chasing the scratch or swirl and need to remove more cc to fully remove the damage. When sanding you only remove the top layer and it will level the surface quicker without removing more paint.

Here is an excellent thread on the topic.

Wetsanding vs. Rotary vs. PC, what removes more paint? (The answer may shock you) - Autopia.org

I do agree that the sanding should be done by an experienced person.

 

[onerareviper]

When trying to remove damaqge of this type sometimes it is actually better to sand first vs just going over it with a rotary. Basically when buffing you are chasing the scratch or swirl and need to remove more cc to fully remove the damage. When sanding you only remove the top layer and it will level the surface quicker without removing more paint.

Here is an excellent thread on the topic.

Wetsanding vs. Rotary vs. PC, what removes more paint? (The answer may shock you) - Autopia.org

I do agree that the sanding should be done by an experienced person.

Interesting article. It sounds like a good idea on small areas of imperfections. But 3,000 grit? Wow, it would take forever to wet sand a car with 3,000, and cost a fortune. But it is an interesting alternative for small areas. And as started, should still be done in the hands of someone with experience. Thanks for the link.

 

[Canyon707]

I have to respectfully disagree. Most domestic cars paint is very hard and a machine like a PC is not powerful enough to remove any clear coat and we all know in order to remove swirls you must remove a thin layer of cc. All you will do applying a glaze with a PC is temporarily hide the swilrs with oild. After you wash the car a few times the same swirls will be back.

To do any paint correction you really need a rotary. You may be able to remove some "very" light spiderwebbing on some softer paints with a PC but it takes a LOT of time.

Well interesting enough. I did speak with a tech at Mcguires and this was a fix for using a light cutting pad to bring back the high polished look. I am always nervous to take anything harsh to this black Viper. This process took hours and hours but I was always concerned about overcutting. I went slow and I was very happy with the results. I realize I am not a paint or body man but, I really enjoy making this car look great since the Viper in a class all by itself and I like it to shine.
thanks for the info.
Chris

 

[mamba53]

I have the same problem with the acid rain marks all over my white mamba.Are there any shops in philly or montg. county area that come recommended?

 

[dans69ss]

2000 grit sandpaper with lots of soapy water.