My first attempt at wet sanding, advise me on the next step.

[atikovi]

I recently got this ’03 Civic that looks like a trained chimp was employed to repaint it. The clearcoat looks and feels as rough as sandpaper in spots. The guy I take cars to for wet sanding is too busy now so I decided to try it myself. If seen him do it often enough plus I’ve checked these forums for more information as well. I’ve started with 1500 grit paper and finished with 2000 and it’s smoothed out the finish nicely. Then I polished with #83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish by hand. Then I polished a second time by hand because the first application didn’t get it to shine very much. Next I polished with #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 by hand. Then I applied #21 Synthetic Sealant by hand. Finally after doing about half the car, I ordered a PC7336 because my arms were about to fall off. I have to say that even by hand, the car is looking great. I can’t imagine it looking better when I do it by machine, only more comfortable. My question is, assuming the products I used are correct, which foam pads should I use during each step?

[Murr1525]

Well, wet-sanding marks can be hard to remove, so if you got it up to your liking by hand, that is certainly a good job.

Here is kind of a break down of the products:

#83 - Medium strength cleaner/polish
#80 - Mild cleaner/polish
#81/#9 - Very Mild cleaner/polish

So you might like to add #80 into you product arsenal. The basic steps would look like this, though you would have to decide if you need to start with #80, or need to jump up to #83.

1. Test spot with #80 + 8006 pad. See how you like it. If it is good, do whole car. If you need more, proceed to step 2.

2. Do car with #83 + 8006 pad.

3. Follow up #83 with #80.

4. You can either follow up again with #9, or just go to wax.

Recommended Products - G100a Dual Action Polisher

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

PC + #83 not "Cutting" it! - The Limits of the Dual Action Polisher

[atikovi]

So I should't start off with the 7006 cutting pad but go directly to the 8006 polishing one? It's the combination of pad and product that is confusing. i.e. what would be the differance between using a 7006 cutting pad with #9 vs. a 9006 finishing pad with #83? Is it the pad doing most of the work or the product?

[Murr1525]

Generaly speaking, Meguiars doesnt recomend using the 7006 pad with a PC. People who are experienced have done it, it isnt impossible, but probably isnt the best starting point.

The general recomendations for swirl removal go like this:

#83 - 8006 pad
#80 - 8006 pad
#9/#81 - 8006 or 9006 pad
Pure polish and wax - 9006 pad

It is really a combination of both that is doing the work. And that is why some people have to fine tune things even further. If their paint was super soft, they might use #80 with a 9006 pad. For other people, #83 and a 7006 pad wont even make a mark, so they would have to look into rotary use.

Hope that helps, or ask some more

[the other pc]

atikovi,

Just so you know, you’re operating way outside the bounds of Meguiar’s recommended practices.

I’m not suggesting you won’t be successful, only that you’re taking risks and need to be aware that you are responsible for the outcome.

They don’t recommend trying to remove sanding scratch with the Port-Cable D.A. buffer, let alone by hand. They recommend that sanding scratch be removed by rotary buffing and both should only be performed by trained and experienced operators.

You’ll want to take some time and read the threads in the Wet-Sanding forum.

Oh, and here’s Meguiar’s product/pad recommendations for the G100/Porter-Cable 7424/7335/7336:
Product, Pad and Speed settings for the Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher


PC.