ls1slow

iTrader: (1)

Hey how many of you guys have wet sanded your factory paint job and how well did it turn out did it look awsome. I want a new paint job but dont have the money to get one so im thinking about trying wet sanding and see what results i get i only got 2 deep scracths but alot of lil ones and its a black car so it shows all of them any tips would help thanks.

95 bright teal

Have you done much buffing and polishing before? and what buffing tools do you have, or plan to have? just so i know where to start

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

wet sanding sucks.. i did my rear bumper before i did my CETA.. i worked on it with my dad for about an hour, and it still didnt turn out perfect... id save the money up and have someone do it.. thats just me though..

95 bright teal

Im just saying that, because sanding is half the battle.
When i got my truck the plan was to wetsand the whole thing, I started by filling in rock chips, letting them cure, then starting on the whole thing.

I wetsanded all the touchups and a then went to town on the hood, it was very orangepealed. I hit the bad spots with 1500, then worked through 2500. I had a DA sander that i put some meguires pads on, tried to buff the paint out. I got close but wasnt there.

A few days later i tried again with some better compounds/technique and this is what i was left with

I am very appy with it, but i have found on the front of my hood i have some crowes feet(cracks) in the clear. I can hide them pretty well, but they still show up on occasion.(this is a sign i removed too much clear)

Altogether i had over 30 hours into it, but i had to do it twice(main reason i hav crows feet i believe)

I would recommend Meguires m105/205 to buff it out, great products, and now what i use with my Porter Cable. In the next year i plan to polish it again, ill just have to be careful on the hood(hopefully ill have a cowl hood sometime so i wont have to worry)

Fast_94_Z

iTrader: (12)

the rule of thumb is...... take your thumb nail and if you can feel the scratch more then likely your not going to be able to buff or wetsand out(if its deeper). light scratches can be wetsanded out. i wouldnt recommend anything lower then 1500 wet followed by some 3000 wet to feather the flat spot out a bit. i use all 3m compounds for this stuff along with all the foam pads and a rotary. its the only way to go but on factory clear if you have no idea what your doing your going to mess it up bad. just a buff job would do you well and bring back good shine in the car. factory clear is so thin that you really dont want to wetsand it because if gives you more of a chance going through it.

ls1slow

iTrader: (1)

I have never done any buffing before or any thing like it after reading this i mite just try 2 buff it and see what i get i dont have alot of deep scratch just alot of minor ones that black paint shows everything

95 bright teal

I would try buffing first, if scratches is all your worried about, thats the way to go

ls1slow

iTrader: (1)

Could you suggests what compaounds to use and pads and where to get them from and maybe same tips how how to do it

95 bright teal

I just picked up Meguires M105 and M205, its their latest compounds. The 105 is a heavy cut, that can be buffed to a fine finish, then 205 will finish it up to a nice swirl free gloss.

I would look for a (PC)Porter Cable 7424 or 7336, if your just starting out its a good way to go, it can remove what you want but wont burn through the clear.

There are lots of Videos of how to use the PC on youtube. I woud suggest lots of searches about buffing and if you have more questions keep asking.

Some products and machines can be found locally but alot of them are easier to find online.

cvalliere

iTrader: (1)

I had a buddy of mine that wanted his black 2000 SS wetsanded and I offered to do it for him since I'm a painter for a living and for some dumb *** reason he took it to a local dealership. The retard that wetsanded it and buffed it put such nasty wheel marks in it he took it back to them to fix it and 2days later he washed the car and the wheel marks came back. He later brought it to me and I'll tell you it looked like a drunk retarted monkey went to town on it with a wool pad. I spent 8 hours buffing on it and I could not get them out completely. I have yet to see that bad of wheel marks and it's been about 5 yrs. since!!! He eventually forked out $6,800 and had it repained and now the poor car is a garage queen cause he's soo sacred to get one stone chip it now.

Just thought I share a story.

95 bright teal

DONT take your stuff to dealerships unless its a high end, mecedes/ferrari/lambourghini dealership.

My truck was "prepped" by the dealership, it was a similar story, truck looked ok for a few days then I started to see buffer trails.

Use clean stuff learn the proper technique, and take your time.

Hugger-96-lt1

iTrader: (8)

Be careful with the swirl marks in a black car. They are your worse night mare. Good luck....

ls1slow

iTrader: (1)

Ok thanks guys im gonna do a lot of research on buffing before i try i got some Finesse-it 3M finishing material from my work i use this at the end for my polsih right sorry don't know

Sammyboy

iTrader: (9)

I would defiantly use 3m buffing compound and cut...etc. After you wet sand it you will ask yourself "what did I do" but after a nice buff...it will look great....remember use a high grit, probably 1200 will do.

Fast_94_Z

iTrader: (12)

chemical guys and 3m compounds are my favorite. 3m for use after wetsanding and chemical guys for detailing. if you dont know how to use a rotary have a professional at a body shop or a professional detailer do it.

98LSI

iTrader: (1)

well i am working on mine right now, i am using 3M perfect it 3000 and well it's amazing, i sanded 1200, 1500, and finally 2000 and then used my buffer and the 3M stuff, and well it's next to near perfect you just have to be really light with the wetsand, imagine washing a woman's body?? if that makes any sense, you gotta feel around the curves, and be really gentle i have burned through a few spots, but they are very tiny and only i notice them, if you want any info you can message me and i'll give you a full walkthrough. if it helps you any, this is my first time doing this, i have no experience, but i have been reading about it for over a year so i did do my research. one thing to look for when you sand tho is to make sure the surface is even and smooth, what i did was one full pass with 1200 rinsed it dried it and looked at the surface thoroughley. then i did it again, when i was about satisfied i moved on to 1500 and looked for the same thing, you want the orange peel and uneveness to well become even once you get that you should be golden, then the 3M polish with a high speed and do it in small sections, it's time consuming and pretty labor intensive but the nicest things in life don't come cheap or free. anyway i hope this helps.

cvalliere

iTrader: (1)

no need to start with 1200. Start out with 1500 and Finnish with 2000 or if you want it to be really easy to buff finish with 2500.
You have to remember that when wet sanding and even buffing your removing clearcoat. You don't wanna remove too much because you'll loose your UV protection of the clearcoat. You need a certain amount of mills. of build to have UV protection or else over time the clear will fade and look like it's burned and milky looking. That is why I'd never recommend a novice to buff a car.

98LSI

iTrader: (1)

true that, but that's what makes us all such a special community. none of us are really professional anything that we do on our cars but we do it anyway because of that passion i think we all share, well most of us anyway. i'm not trying to shoot you down, but i think, and i know most of us agree that there is nothing like sitting back, grabbing a cold beer, looking at our cars after a job well done and patting our selves on the back. now if you don't think you can do something, or need help by all means seek it.

Fast_94_Z

iTrader: (12)

a good shop will have put extra clear on the car and sanded it totally flat. when i do completes i normally put about 4 coats on. wetsand it with 1200 totally flat followed by 3000 and 4000. buffing goes by fast and no scratches. oh and for the record they dont make perfect it 3000 anymore so get whatevers left while you can. they went back to perfect it and the new compound is water based now. the swirl remover and ultrafina are the same though in new packaging.

98LSI

iTrader: (1)

for real?? i just got a bottle of perfect it 3000 today, i think i feel lucky lol either way i just finished my hood and it's friggin amazing i'm in love all over again, now i just needa do the rest of my car.