Removing sanding marks by hand

[Jeffdavis905]

I just had some body work done on my 2013 f150 and after a week I noticed some sanding marks in the new paint. I took it back to them and they polished most of it out. I was looking at it and can still see some sanding marks in it. I don

[Nick Winn]

Re: Removing sanding marks by hand

This is a pretty loaded response but I am going to try my best. We should be thinking of this as - "Can one remove sanding marks by hand? VS Can one remove sanding marks by hand safely? " Can one remove sanding marks by hand? Absolutely. Using a compound like our M105 Ultra Cut Compound, either a soft foam or microfiber applicator pad, with the right technique, one can cut enough to remove sanding marks. The problem is that it is very easy to get way too aggressive by hand, so you really want to set expectations. For example, try taking your bare index finger & middle finger & rub them aggressively on a smooth table or desk. You should easily get instant heat build up. If one were to use this technique on paint, backed with an aggressive compound, you can easily go right through the clear coat & essentially "burn" the paint. Yes. by Hand.

If you are going to attempt to remove these remnant sanding marks left behind by hand, I would:

• Use a soft foam applicator pad like our W0004 Soft Foam Applicators or X3080 Even Coat Microfiber Applicator Pads or similar.
• Work in small, 1 square foot or so sections at a time.
• Keeping your hand flat, apply even moderate pressure, & work the compound into the area in circular, overlapping motions
• The compound should break down to a light wet film after about a minute or so, wipe off with microfiber towel before dry
• If the defects are not removed after the initial attempt, you can repeat this a few times in the particular area you are working in. If you are unable to remove the defects after repeated attempts, I would NOT continue to "scrub scrub scrub" dozens of attempts until you get the defects out.

If the defects are not removed after repeated attempts, it is more safe to use a more controlled way of leveling paint, a machine. In fact, if these sanding marks are really coarse like 1200 grit or more, it may even be less invasive to properly refine the sanding marks with a finer automotive specific sanding paper & technique, & performing this is, well, a whole other story.

Hope this helps

Nick

[Jeffdavis905]

Re: Removing sanding marks by hand

Thanks for the reply. The guy told me they used 3000 grit and must have missed some of it when they were polishing or that they just popped up after the paint shrunk. I only had the passenger side worked on at the body shop so I