Wet sanding for a mirror finish

Keep paper SHARP

 

 

 

The easy work is now done and it is time for the painstaking task of making that slick paint job even slicker, like a mirror. Depending on how slick you have that paint or not, it will be HOURS of wet sanding or color sanding. So much sanding you might even sand your fingertips off. I wear latex gloves now because I actually started bleeding once. Have photos to prove it. Although, the final product is so worth it. You will be going over the panels 3-4 times, so make sure there’s enough paint on the car or you WILL sand through and/or buff through.

 

You can actually ruin a perfectly good paint job by not sanding it correctly or enough. You could make it look like cottage cheese. There are many ways to do this but I am going to share with you how I do it and what I use to get that car or truck looking sweeter than it did right out of the booth. I color sand every paint job that I do. I feel it is the only way the car should look.

 

Let’s start with a not so perfect paint job. One that has large or a lot of orange peel. Not sure what it is? Just look at an orange or grapefruit. It actually looks like that in your paint. I would start sanding with 800 grit wet sand paper then work my way down to 3000. You will be sanding that panel 5 times. That is a ton of sanding! Your shoulder will be sore after this job. So try your best to get it as slick as you can. Make sure you have at least 4 coats of clear or single stage paint to sand, so you don’t cut through to the primer or eve worse the bare metal. If your paint is really nice or there is only a small amount of orange peel, you can start with 1000 grit wet sand paper. After the 1000 grit, work down to 1500, 2000 then 3000. You could skip the 3000 grit if you wish but the buffing will go quicker if you use it. Some people even go to 5000 then 8000.

 

I use a 3m rubber squeegee with the paper wrapped around it.That gives me 3 pieces to the one. I use small strokes in a criss-cross method, like you would when blocking your bodywork and or primer for paint. For each side of the paper, that is now in thirds, I sand a 6” square area before I switch the paper. SAHRP PAPER EUQUALS STRAIGHT PANELS. You don’t need to press hard on the paper, the panel can flex and create ripples. You also do not want to sand in a straight line because you can/will crate lines in your paint job.

 

Just like blocking your body work and primer you need to cross hatch, diagonal movements, because you are really just blocking the clear or paint. Keep that block flat and don’t use the edges of the block. If you have a curve in the panel you can also bend the rubber squeegee to form the curve of the panel. Keep with the small strokes and keep that paper sharp!

 

Once you are done with all that wet sanding on the first panel or body shell. I do the complete body shell first, then you can start the process of buffing. Hope you have a strong back and shoulders, If not you will at the end of this process.

 

Once you are wet sanding make sure you feel for dirt. The smallest piece of dirt will cause a deep scratch in your paint. So stop immediately. Wipe the panel and start again. You can feel and hear if there is dirt under your paper so be aware of that. I also put soap in my water bucket to help with the sliding of the paper. The finer the scratches the easier it will be to buff your paint. You may have to go back over the panel if you still see some hazy or dull spots. White is the hardest to see haze in. So take extra care looking over that paint job.

 

It is so rewarding to see that paint job end up looking like glass. It is definitely worth the effort and time. Enjoy the process and then the reward of having that beautiful vehicle.

 

Buffing will be our next article STAY TUNED!