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KevinR Samba Member

Joined: August 24, 2005 Posts: 265 Location: Cornelius, OR
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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OK I have a question. I did a rattlecan paint job on my car, and I am now wet sanding and polishing. It actually looks halfway decent.... I am wondering if it is worth clear coating with something? If so, what should I use? _________________ VW Fact #128: Benefits of the Type III: better visibility, more space for people and objects, improved comfort, better roadhandling, reduced oversteer, less sensitivity to cross-winds, and more power. |
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ekimthemad Samba Member

Joined: April 03, 2002 Posts: 600 Location: ohio
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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I have a question as well. I'm working on cutting and buffing the paint on my 66 but want to know what method would work best for areas like the dash that a power buffer really isn't going to work?
Mike _________________ Remember never argue with a moron. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with a lifetime's worth of experince. |
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thebucket Samba Stockbroker

Joined: April 06, 2004 Posts: 3734 Location: Houston Texas
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j.goodspeed Samba Member

Joined: May 03, 2004 Posts: 326 Location: Ripon, CA
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:03 pm Post subject: |
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No it is not recommended to cut and polish a new car. A new car typically has 2.5 - 3 mils of clear. A typlical color sand can remove 1 - 1.5 mils of clear, therefore leaving the vehicle without sufficient clear to protect the base coat and will result in a premature break-down of the clear. 2.5 - 3 mils of clear is really the least amount you want to have and still be able to manage normal polishing and care.
If you want to add clear, It requires a complete disassembly of the vehicle, sanding the entire car with 800 grit wet paper and being absolutely sure not to cut into the base coat anywhere!!! if you cut through, you would need to spot the base coat and completely refinish. I would not recommend this, as a refinished car is not a durable as any factory finish...period. The clear coats available for the aftermarket refinish indusry is not as good as the factory applied finish.
Here is a related article covering care of modern new car finishes:
http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/advanced-reconditioning-processes/detailing-water-based-paint.html |
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thebucket Samba Stockbroker

Joined: April 06, 2004 Posts: 3734 Location: Houston Texas
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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j.goodspeed wrote: |
No it is not recommended to cut and polish a new car. A new car typically has 2.5 - 3 mils of clear. A typlical color sand can remove 1 - 1.5 mils of clear, therefore leaving the vehicle without sufficient clear to protect the base coat and will result in a premature break-down of the clear. 2.5 - 3 mils of clear is really the least amount you want to have and still be able to manage normal polishing and care.
If you want to add clear, It requires a complete disassembly of the vehicle, sanding the entire car with 800 grit wet paper and being absolutely sure not to cut into the base coat anywhere!!! if you cut through, you would need to spot the base coat and completely refinish. I would not recommend this, as a refinished car is not a durable as any factory finish...period. The clear coats available for the aftermarket refinish indusry is not as good as the factory applied finish.
Here is a related article covering care of modern new car finishes:
http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/advanced-reconditioning-processes/detailing-water-based-paint.html
Hope this helps
Jeremy Goodspeed
www.goodspeedmotoring.com |
Thanks man! I had a feeling it was a bad idea. Just thought why not know for sure! _________________ ITMC-El Presidente
OG 55 bullet 3 fold....
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=150858&highlight=thebuckets++++fold |
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Johnny Martin Samba Member

Joined: August 31, 2010 Posts: 454 Location: Buffalo, NY
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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thanx soo much for posting this!! _________________ 1971 SUPER BEETLE
AE489501 carb Solex 30 pict-2 with dist 0 231 137 021
113 905 205 M |
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pwrngr Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2012 Posts: 46 Location: Dallas, GA
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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I saw somewhere in this thread earlier someone talked about 3000 grit somewhere and said they didn't really see a need for it. Depending on who you talk to that is correct except that the 3000 grit paper will make it that much easier to buff out. And for the hard to reach spots if you use the small air angle grinder he showed with buffing pads on it you can get the hard spots easy.
Well that's my 2 cents. |
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crzyboy180 Samba Member
Joined: July 04, 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Chula Vista, CA
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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Sent a msg to the author of this thread, but seems he hasnt been online for months.
Anyone have an idea what color he is working on?
Looks like a darker sea foam green, but i dont know.
Anyone know the color i would appreciate a PM
Thanx |
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EverettB  Administrator

Joined: April 11, 2000 Posts: 70933 Location: Phoenix 602
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crzyboy180 Samba Member
Joined: July 04, 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Chula Vista, CA
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:36 pm Post subject: |
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I saw tones of java looking back, but im not convinced, maybe a darker Turkis? |
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EverettB  Administrator

Joined: April 11, 2000 Posts: 70933 Location: Phoenix 602
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rusty160 Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2012 Posts: 6 Location: US
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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Hello all! I have read this thread a few times and am still confused about something. I have painted with a single stage metallic acrylic enamel. I understand about not color sanding the metalic but can I spray a few coats of acrylic enamel clear and then sand? Or am I stuck with what I have. There is some orange peel and a little texture in the paint that I would like to get rid of. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks. |
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Fab4Fan Samba Member

Joined: June 17, 2005 Posts: 703 Location: Claremont, So-Cal
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Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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yes you can sand the clear as explained on this thread, so long as you don't sand all the way down to the color coat. |
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rusty160 Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2012 Posts: 6 Location: US
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2013 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks fabforfan, but I guess what I am asking is do I color sand the color w/metalic and then spray clear or spray clear and sand. |
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Fab4Fan Samba Member

Joined: June 17, 2005 Posts: 703 Location: Claremont, So-Cal
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:53 am Post subject: |
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from what I understand, you are not suppose to sand the mettalic basecoat. you use the clear to build up enough material to cover the mettalic base and sand the clear flat. If the orange peel is a bit bad you can wetsand in between clear coats to knock down the orange peel so you don't build it up to much.
If the mettalic is too bad, you can sand it but you must respray base and then clear.
(I think) If it were non metallic you would be able to sand the base and then clear. |
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rusty160 Samba Member
Joined: February 04, 2012 Posts: 6 Location: US
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:47 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the help. |
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volksgroove Samba Member

Joined: October 19, 2010 Posts: 239 Location: Apopka, FL
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Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 3:30 am Post subject: |
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rusty160 wrote: |
Thanks fabforfan, but I guess what I am asking is do I color sand the color w/metalic and then spray clear or spray clear and sand. |
You cannot spray clear over unprepared surface, or it will peel off in sheets.
You need to color sand the orange peel out of your single stage Metallic with 600-800, then reapply two thin coats of the metallic first. By color sanding you will be cutting into the metallic and you don't want to trap that under the clear. If it were me, I would buy an inexpensive acrylic urethane clear and top coat with that over the fresh coats of metallic. Not sure what product line you are using, but I highly recommend BASF's Limco Supreme Plus basecoat, followed by Limco LC4000 clear. It is acrylic enamel base coat with acrylic urethane clear. You can paint an entire bug for around $350-400 in paint. Clear lays out beautifully with 1.4 tip at 35psi or so... By cutting peel out of your first paint job and applying a couple quick coats of color, your clear should lay down nice and smooth. This will make your final color sand and buff much easier, and you won't need to remove so much material. Pay close attention to anywhere you sanded too much of your first metallic away... add a few extra coats of color in these areas so your final color is consistent. _________________ 1969 Riviera "Ethel"
1965 beetle father/son build
1988 Scirocco 16v father/son build |
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retroman Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2010 Posts: 232 Location: Reno (What is Rust???)
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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Painted one of my buses and it looked real bad. Read this and went for it! I used a ryobi 5" electric sander and a H F polisher wit variable speed. My paint is acrylic enamel in kansas beige.
Sanded with 1000, then 1200. Polished with meguiars 105, then 205. Finally meguiars poly sealant.
Very pleased. The paint looks stunning! _________________ 1967 bug recovering from a PO
1987 Vanagon Wolfsburg Weekender "Otto" been all over the place with never a problem! |
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jpjohns Samba Member

Joined: May 03, 2014 Posts: 882 Location: Harrisonburg, VA
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Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:36 am Post subject: |
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Is there a recommended number of coats needed for color sanding? Also, does color sanding take the place of clear coat or can clear just go over the orange peel? _________________ -Jared
"Scrapyards are for quitters" - Beetlenut (a Samba member) |
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Eric Lundin Samba Member
Joined: January 27, 2013 Posts: 138 Location: Saginaw MN
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 5:21 pm Post subject: Re: Color sand and Buffing Explained |
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the paint looks like Volkswagen Turquoise code 95588 year 1960.
Thanks Great information |
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