This took forever to do, but I wet-sanded the entire thing, except for the hood and front nose piece. Here is my process:
1000 grit
1500 grit
"Extra Cut" 3M compound
"Fine Cut" 3M compound
Meguieres swirl remover
For sanding, I used a spray bottle with water and just a drop of dish detergent. If I could do anything over again, I would`ve spent more time with the 1000 grit to try to get it perfectly smooth with no "waves". Also, the more time spent with the swirl remover, the more clarity you get on the finish.
As you can, my process was *very* agressive, and this was on factory paint. There wasn`t one spot where I burned through the clear (no white paint on the pads), much less through the color. I am finding that this "factory paint is thin" thinking is a myth.
Anyway, I don`t think it came out too bad for only my second try.

 

looks f'n good

 

i need to do my car but when it comes to it im a puss.

 

wow dave the car looks absolutley sweet. I can't wait to see it in person sometime. I'm still deciding on what beater to get for the winter, has to be white too! hah later

 

Thanks! You may see me driving around...I work in Baltimore.

 

Glossiest white Ive ever seen! Great job!

 

Thanks! Your SS never looked that good when I had it! It looks really good with those Z06 wheels. You`ll have to take that to cruise nights at Ocean City, or to Cecil County sometime so I can see it again!

 

i need to do my black car..but im scared to do it.

 

i'll keep an eye out

 

Why would you do that to factory paint,,,,, ESPECIALLY WHITE??????

 

Regarding the latter, because white is absolutely the most perfect, beautiful color for these cars.
And why not on the factory finish? The point of wet sanding and buffing is to get the surface as "flat" and scratch free as possible (or make the scratches as small as possible). The depth that you get from a custom paint job can hopefully be made up with Zaino!

 

Looks like good work... but the camera doesn't do it justice.

 

I'm glad you got your Firehawk. Looks sweet.

 

 

i need to do this to my Arctic white formula. I am planning on taking it down to the paint andd reclearing it though.

 

Want to come out to NM to do my Firehawk? I have asked about every Paint shop I could out here and none will touch it because "the factory paint is to thin".It Looks great!

 

Nice job!


-Mike

 

i wish i wasnt scared to wet sand

 

Th factory paint thing is BS, I have had aeveryone of my cars wet sanded with the factory paint, as well know of many others.
The factory uses te proper amount of paint and clear, otherwise there would be alot of problems. there has to be a certain amount of clear to get the car to look good, plus the paint is sanded by the factory after it is laid down.

 

Clear = UV resistance. Clear gives gloss but also protects the (relatively fragile) basecoat from the sun. I don't think it's how thin the factory puts on the clear in respect to wetsanding/buffing, it's the UV protection you lose after sanding it down. It will show up years later if not properly cared for
BTW the car looks great....