Wet-sanding OEM paint for pros only?

[CrazyVinny]

Hi folks,

I was just wondering if wet-sanding to remove orange peel and texture is something that should be exclusively done on fresh paint job or by seasoned veterans.
From what I've read around here, the trend in factory paint is to put as little thickness possible of the hardest paint available.
Weekend warriors and newcomers probably would end up removing too much clear when trying to level that out.

Do you think that training for long hours on scrapyard material a mandatory requirement before trying to wet-sand away orange peel of old and hard OEM paint?

thanks,


Crazy Vinny

[greg0303]

Re: Wet-sanding OEM paint for pros only?

Vinny,

Here's the reality:
OEM paints have thin layer of clear coat and are much harder than fresh paints;
1.5 mils of clear coat layer is the minimum for proper protection of base coat;
sometimes full removal of orange peel is not possible, because there would be not enough clear coat left;
sanding and compounding/polishing entire vehicle is very time consuming;
very often detailer's cost for this type of work is very high.

You could just level the highest points of orange peel defect and in most cases it improves paint quality drastically.

Read this article written by Joe Fernandez (Superior Shine) about his experience with OEM orange peel:
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...iber-DA-system

I spoke with Joe about this project during Detail Fest and he just leveled the highest points without full defect removal.