Sanding/buffing/polishing clear coat.

[johndl58]

So as great as my BC/cc came out(for my first time), I still have some orange peel and rough spots I'd love to get rid of before I put everything back together. Has anyone used the 3m system that uses a DA with a wet sand disc? Seems this would speed up initial process. Any suggestions that would make this process as quick and easy/painless as possible?

Thanks, John D.

[j.goodspeed]

Any DA sanding system, will provide a production quality job, and be good for the removal of dust spots, rough areas and will lighten orange peel, but if your intent is to fully remove orange peel and provide a smooth finish, then hand sanding is the best method. Anyone who claims a quick method for color sanding is simply wrong. A proper color sand and polish is 25 hours and up. Properly removing sanding scratches is tough work. Determine your plan and stick with it! Here is an article that will offer a overview of the process.

http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/color-sanding-and-polishing.html

This photo is on a car that resulted in 131 hours of colorsanding (inside and out)

_________________
Jeremy Goodspeed
www.goodspeedmotoring.com
www.goodspeedmotoring.net

[Mike Fisher]

Hand sand it in 8 hours with 320 grit & then buff/polish with 6" buffer!
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[johndl58]

Awesome link Goodspeed. Thank you very much. I dont think I need to do the whole car, and will be ok witha "production" finish. I think. Haha. we'll see how it goes. Thought I was almost done with this, then the perfectionist in me showed up. That blue bug is sick by the way.

[j.goodspeed]

[buguy]

I never had any luck with a DA. It always left pigtails. Took me longer to get those back out than it would have to just do it right the first time. Im all for hand sanding.

[johndl58]

If I just sand certain portions of the car, should I just buff and polish those pieces or should I buff and polish the whole car?

[wcfvw69]

[buguy]

If it were me, Id sand the whole car and buff the whole thing. You will be shocked at how much better it looks. And its much harder to sand and buff a bug once its all together.

[johndl58]

[buguy]

I feel ya. But the difference will be huge! You will forget all about the 40 hours of sanding once its all done and lookin slick!

But I guess before I tell you to sand it, I should ask how many coats of clear you put on first? We need to be sure there is enough on there before you go sanding it off. Then we can make a plan of attack!

[johndl58]

90% of the car has 3 coats of clear.

[buguy]

Ok just go easy. If your going to that is! Maybe start with 1000 grit wet on a block to knock most of the peel out, then switch to 1500 and maybe do that by hand or wrap the paper around something soft. You can do 2000 grit too if you want, or just go for it with the buffer from 1500. Depends on how you want to work.

[johndl58]

My plan was to knock down the few little runs and nibs I have with 1000. Then I was going to do the majority of the car with 1500 by hand and a hard block, figuring I could have more control and if it didnt knock it down enough I could always switch to 1000. Then I was going to finish the sanding off with 3M Trizact 3000 on the DA. I was then going to buff and polish with the 3M Perfect It system. Seems that a lot of guys get real good results with that.

[buguy]

That will work too. But hard blocking with 1500 wont really get it flat and you will be at it for a while. If you feel more comfortable doing it that way, then you should do it that way. You certainly dont want to go through. It will still look real good. And 3000 with a DA works well, but for me, it doesnt really seem to save me any time. So at $6 each for those, I normally skip it.
Ideally, 3000 on a DA and a random orbit polisher would be the way to go. No risk of burn through.

There are a hundred ways to do this, just find a method that makes sense to you and you are comfortable doing. It will all work out in the end.

[johndl58]

Bro, Im not comfortable with any of this haha. I was afraid the 1000 would be too agressive. I'll do a test area where the peel is the most pronounced with 1000 to check it out.

[buguy]

Yeah you will see that with 1000 grit you will still have to work at it pretty good to get the peel down. In fact You really should get more aggressive with the runs. If you dont knock them down flat, you will still see them even though you think you have them sanded out.
So, yeah, give some 1000 grit wet a shot and see what you think. Grab a Durablock or wrap some 1000 around a paint stick a few times and get at it. If there are some high spots or edges near where your sanding, put some tape on them so you dont accidently rub the paint off. Also soak your sandpaper in water for 20 minutes or so before sanding. Needs to be good and soft/pliable. And a few drops of dishsoap in the water for lube. Also if you hear squeeking when your sanding, rinse it because thats the sound of something scratching it. Use a sponge to rinse away your sanding "dust".

[johndl58]

Been wet sanding for 2 days now. Boy does it suck.

[buguy]

Yes it does. I highly recommend you sand and buff one panel at a time so you know if your doing a good enough job sanding. It would suck to get it all done, then find out you didnt do enough with the 1500. Then have to go back and 1500 and then whatever you did after that again...on EVERYTHING.

[wcfvw69]