guide to wet sanding

[onnfire]

Is there any guide on how to wet sand correctly? What is it used for?

[Magic]

Originally posted by onnfire
Is there any guide on how to wet sand correctly? What is it used for?

Wet-sanding is usually performed to remove Orange Peel, and correcting defects that normal machine polishing won't remove.
I will say that Wet-sanding is to be considered the most extreme way of removing defects, and should not be attempted by novice detailer's. You could easily cause damage the finish, that only a re-paint will fix.

[Mike Phillips]

What are you working on?


There's a lot of confusion also over wet-sanding factory paint and the more common wet-sanding work which is done on fresh paint coming out of your local body shops.

Factory paint is baked as the car goes down the assembly line and by the time you take possession of the car it's fully set-up and this can make it difficult to get your sanding marks out of it.

You can easily sand any paint, that is put scratches into the paint in an effort to remove a defect, it's the removal part that gets tricky and sometimes difficult.


Here's an example of doing intricate sanding to remove the deepest of scratches after the lighter swirls and scratches were removed using a rotary buffer. Most people shouldn't undertake work like this without years of experience and even a few mistakes under their belt. What you're going to see below is a car I prepped one half of for display at the 2002 Bimmerfest to show what can be done with the right products and techniques.




Before

(Kind of hurts your eyes to look at)

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2bmwbefore.jpg

Feather Sanding

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2RightSideBMW-med.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2RightSideBMW2.jpg



After Drivers side only

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2BMWRightSideAfter1.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2BMWRightSideAfter2.jpg


Back for the other side after the show...

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2LeftSideBMW.jpg


Completely Finished

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2hoodshot1.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2hoodshot3.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2hoodupshotownerreflection1.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2ownerreflection2-med.jpg

[onnfire]

im not actually needing to wet sand anything. Im just trying to learn some about it. Would it be advised to try and learn on like another body panel. Does wet sanding involve the use of like 2000 or 2500 grit sandpaper or do you use a rotary?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by onnfire
im not actually needing to wet sand anything. Im just trying to learn some about it. Would it be advised to try and learn on like another body panel.

Yes, go to the wrecking yard and purchase the hood or deck-lid off a car.

[onnfire]

Would it be best to learn how to use a rotary first?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by onnfire
Would it be best to learn how to use a rotary first?

Yes, it will be neccassary to know how to use a rotery in order to remove sanding marks.