Opinions on my plan to wet-sand and buff a fresh paint job

[lpmorgan]

I just had my 68 Firebird painted with PPG base/clear. The painter put on 3 very thick coats of clear so I have a ton of material to work with. My Plan is to use 1500 to work down the few spots that have imperfections and then do the whole car in 2000 followed by 2500. Then I am going to use M105 with a wool pad, followed by M205 with a polishing foam pad, then M21 with a finishing pad and finally a nice coat of carnauba wax.

I have done some wetsanding and buffing in the past to cure scratches but this is my first job after paint. I know all the precautions to take to keep from burning an edge ext but wanted opinions on my choice of materials.

Thanks!!!!

[Detailing by M]

Re: Opinions on my plan to wet-sand and buff a fresh paint job

Screw that! jk
There's a new Denim Pad on the market that REMOVES orange peal!!
I just order some.
The video I just seen was amazing. It didn't get rid of 100% of the op but it did about 90%.
So if you have some light areas I can recommend this new pad.
These are over at AutoGeek.Net $4 buck ea. too!

Now on to your question.
I'd start around 800 just to knock down the bigger OP but that's me.
Every sanding job is different.
So do what you feel comfortable with and the biggest thing I can tell you is to sand out the lower grit very well.
Go in one direction, up/down with say, 800 and Left/Right with 1000. Make sense?
If you don't remove the past sanding marks they will show up after you buff your final sanding marks off and then you'll have to start all over again.
Another tip is to not sand where your buffer pad won't fit.

[jarred767]

Sanding an entire car is a huge project, expect it take a lot of time, it can be exhausting, both physically and mentally, but very rewarding in the end!! I was in the exact same shoes as you just a few days ago (little experience wet sanding spot areas, but never a whole car freshly repainted). Then I got my experience

I spent about 8-9 hours each the last two days sanding a pickup truck and knocking down intense OP. (with only two regular coats of clear I might add - I'm jealous of your situation). I expected it to be long, but I still have to finish all the polishing steps Monday. Just prepare for a lot of work and work slowly and always keep thinking. Take breaks regularly too if possible as it will help keep you fresh.

It's tough to say exactly what plan you should go with since a respray can vary dramatically from car to car and painter to painter. If its in good enough shape to start with 2000 over the majority, you might be able to go straight to 3000 after, or possibly even to 105 as it can take out up to 1200 grit sanding marks. Do some test spots though; there's no sense in sanding the whole car twice (and therefor removing more clear than necessary) if you don't have to.

Polishing wise, 105/205/21/wax sounds about right. Good luck and keep us posted (with pics if possible) on how it's going.

[calbach]

Don't wax right away, tell the customer it is good to wait 45 days at least so the paint can fully cure. I work at a body shop and we put a glaze over the darker colors. It will still let the paint breathe and cover any buffer trails. Remember to buff going to the edge of the panel to reduce holograms. Good luck!

[calbach]

Also #7 works great for this application. Again good luck