damp sanding process with Meg's sanding discs - 1500 film followed by 1500 foam?

[InfiniteDetail]

I've been doing more wet sanding lately and am looking to change up my process to move a little quicker. My current process is 1000 by hand, 1500 by hand, then 3000 foam disc via PC, then compounding with rotary/wool/M105. This seems to work well but leaves straight tracers behind as I don't believe the 3000 foam disc has enough cut to really pull out the 1500 sanding marks.

I experimented a little and followed the 1000 grit by hand with 1500 film disc by PC and this worked really well as I didn't have any straight tracers to remove....however I had to chase pigtails from the 1500 film disk for a while.

I want to change up the process to 1000 by hand to knock out the orange peel, then try 1500 film disc followed by either a 1500 foam finishing disc or a 3000 foam finishing disc. I believe this process would buff out pretty well, but I'm not clear which would be the best disc to follow the 1500 film.

Please comment if you have experience

[Michael Stoops]

Re: damp sanding process with Meg's sanding discs - 1500 film followed by 1500 foam?

If you're chasing pigtails from the 1500 film via DA that tells us you're not keeping the abrasive discs as clean as you should be. While you don't need a lot of water on the surface during the actual sanding process, it is very important to flush the face of the abrasive media between sections to remove all the paint residue and abrasive knock off. You should be able to almost completely eliminate the presence of pigtails if you're working properly clean. You should then be able to go 1000 hand, 1500 film DA (maybe even 1500 foam DA depending on what you're really trying to accomplish) and finish with 3000 foam DA.

[Detailing by M]

Re: damp sanding process with Meg's sanding discs - 1500 film followed by 1500 foam?

When sanding you have to be sure to "remove" the previous sanding marks.
It sounds like your not doing this. It's a common problem.
I like 800 grit to get a "good hit" on the orange peal then, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000.
This might or might not work for you.

But a Mike stated you might not have enough lube.
I treat my Sand Paper like I do my polishing pad, KEEP THEM CLEAN as I work.
I have a 3 gal bucket with water in it for cleaning and keeping.

As you sand, by hand, only go in one direction. So you'll see your sanding marks.
Then when you go up in grit, sand in the opposite direction so you'll see your previous marks and you'll remove all of them, make sense?
This technique is a little difficult when using a DA but after a few panels you figure out what is working and the rest of the car will be easier.

[Merlin]

Re: damp sanding process with Meg's sanding discs - 1500 film followed by 1500 foam?

Good advice Mike. In a lot of cases I've found 1500 a bit too aggressive. I like "Least aggressive method first".

I've had very good results correcting sanding marks with 3000 unigrit via DA without the foam pad accessory.
I've followed that with M101 on a Rupes 21 with an LC orange pad. Again, I followed that with M205 for clarity.
I just used this combo and it made short work of it for me with very little time and returned excellent results.

Left side Megs 3000 6" unigrit DA disc. / Right side paint before any polishing.

[InfiniteDetail]

Re: damp sanding process with Meg's sanding discs - 1500 film followed by 1500 foam?

Thanks for the input everyone :