Wet-sanding an '87 Pickup

[jarred767]

Hey guys, so I have this customer who wants me to wet-sand and then polish up his '87 Toyota truck that he just repainted himself. He's told me that there are a few dust nibs and its just not very glossy and he doesn't have the time to finish the job. I've told him that I'm still a beginner with wet-sanding and I've only done minor spot areas before (I learned last Sumer at the NXT 2.0 class). He's okay with this and has said that its fine if I use his truck as a guinea pig (his words) so I'd like to get the experience, but also want to make sure that I do the best job I can and charge accordibgly.

So, a couple questions:

First off, with it just being resprayed, do I want to wait on the final waxing until its cured? Anything else I should know as far as timing with the respray being so recent?

I'm planning on probably going over it with 1500 then 3000 grit followed by M105 assuming I get the results necessary with this plan. Does this sound practical and should I have other grits on hand as well (if so which ones)?

I don't have a ton of sanding disks, so I will be ordering some more (the job will be in about 3 weeks if it happens), but how many should I expect to go through on an entire car?

Finally, I need to come up with a ballpark price to quote him when we meet and look at it, and I'm wondering what you guys think. As a reference, since prices vary, for spot wet-sanding I've charged my hourly rate ($50/hr) in the past, and if I were to do a full wash, clay, compound (300) and wax (301) on this truck I'd charge about $220.

Any thoughts on any of these questions would be hugely helpful and greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!!

[danyboy]

Something very important to know when wet sanding is knowing how much clear coat are you working with if your customer used a two-stage paint (base coat [color of the car] and clear coat) or if he used single-stage paint which has a thin layer of clear and shouldn't be sanded. Ask him first if its single stage or two stage paint if its two stage paint ask how many coats of clear is on the car.

[Detailing by M]

taking on a wet sanding job is a big job. you really have to know what your doing. even in my mind I know I can wet sand and I've done it before but every time its scary. check out my post on that 72 2002 BMW. In my pictures I show you the tools you need in order to get the job done right.

[jarred767]

Thanks for the advice so far guys. I have talked to him and its a base then clear combo and he mentioned that there is a lot of clear on it because he did it himself and was planning on wet-sanding himself but ran out of energy and time.

I think I read that thread once Mario, but I'll go back over and see if I can't pull out any useful information.

Anyone else that has any thoughts, comments, or suggestions, please let me know, and I'll post an update if things change or once I am able to visually inspect the paint and give more details, thanks again.

[Showmob]

Hey Jarred hopefully you're subscribed to this I cannot pm you back as your inbox is full send me a pm when your box has space

[InfiniteDetail]

Re: Wet-sanding an '87 Pickup

Wetsanding is very tricky business. Even if you think you have enough clear, if the surface wasn't properly blocked and there's a high spot you are not aware of you will likely sand through. I have my customers sign a waiver that clearly states the risks of wetsanding and the likelihood of sanding through the clear. I will only work on it if they sign the waiver AND I feel good about their understanding of the risks involved after having a conversation about the waiver. Good luck and proceed with caution!

One other note - if you start with 1500 by hand, you likely won't get out all of the orange peel - there may be a slight wave to the paint. 800 or 1000 is what you should start with to knock it flat. It's more aggressive and more risky, and it all depends on what the customer wants. Maybe slightly wavy is OK, and it is definitely less work for you and less risky...must my .02

[owendavidj]

Crazy

1988 Honda civic. Original paint job.surprisingly in"decent"condition..meaning very few chips, and only 1 small rust spot. The color itself was heavily oxidized, heavily swirled, with tons of contaminants. After washing it twice, the surface still felt like sandpaper. Shortening the story I ended up having to go all the way down to a 600 grit wet sand to get any results and was terrified of eating into the base coat. but I did as mentioned above, had a REAL good chat with the customer about what was needing to be done and the risks. Once I felt the customer understood what we were working with, it made me so much more relaxed, and I had fun working on his car. $350 in my pocket, and it was still cheaper than a new paint job for him.car looked pretty darn good on the end!