Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

[Nick Chapman]

Working on a red Viper right now. Started sanding by air, and I can not see what I'm doing. You just can't tell what you're removing. Go to buff, and the oragne peel is still there

Hand sanding, I can see all of the imperfections while I'm sanding.


Any tips on this thing? I'm using the Mirka sander with the Abralon disks

Nick

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Guess I should explain a little better.

Air sanding, sand with the Abralon system(1000 then 2000), wipe dry. Everything seems to be all level. Go to buff, orange peel is still there

Hand sanding, Sand with 1500 gritt, wipe dry, you can still see the orange peel and know to keep going.

Never really had this problem before. Dont know if it's this red, or the paint itself. Real pain to have to go back and sand some more after you've already buffed

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Usually you sand an area and then wipe dry and compare it to the surrounding area and see where the orange peel is and where the paint is flat?

This is what you're seeing but then when you buff out the paint the orange peel is still there?

Is this factory paint?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Will send the link to this thread to Mike Pennington and Jason Rose, maybe they have some insight or tips...

[Mike Pennington]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Hi Nick,

2 things to consider...

1) 1000 DA is not like 1000 hand....1000 DA is more like 1500 or even a tick finer hand sanding.

2) A "foam back" disc like Abralon will not flatten like hand sanding or a "film disc". The foam discs tend to follow the contour of the paint, therefore making it appear there is no orange peel. However, a film disc will actually cut through the orange peel.

If you want more flattening with a DA, we recommend trying a film disc w/ no interface pad for intial cut and then switch to a foam disc to refine the scratch.

Mike

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Thanks Mike!
That explains a lot. Guess I'll do the initall cut by hand, then fine tune it with the air sander. All I have is the Abralon system for my air sander.

[Renny Doyle]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Hey guys...we you are DA sanding, are you taking measurements? If so on average how much does DA sanding remove clear coat wise?

Also, in your opinions, how safe is DA sanding on factory finishes?

Why Do I Ask? When I DA Sand, it does not take long to remove .2-.5 of a mil and that is what many conceder a safe yet approaching danger zone for factory finishes.

Also, we are really getting into 105 and I want to make certain we as an organization are acting/ providing services within safe zones. In addition, we have 25 detailers from across the country gathering at our main shop later this month and Joe Fernandez and myself are performing some demo work using 105...it would be of great interest to all there that we provide some guideline right from the Meguiar's team on their suggestion for tolerances when wet sanding or performing advance polishing services.

Very curious to see/hear what you guys think.

Thanks a ton,

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Hey Renny,

This is a Viper. So I have no way to measure. It's an aftermarket paint job, and I have spoken with the painter personally. He assured me that there was more than enough clear to sand the orange peel plus some.
Normally I would pass on a job like this because I would have no real way of knowing. But, knowing the painters reputaion, I trust him to not lead me wrong or lie to me.

How come I never get invites to your functions

Nick

[the other pc]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Nick,

One of the features of the Mirka system is that you can match orange peel on a repaired area to non-repaired panels. The Abralon discs are intended to remove coarser sanding scratch while leaving the texture (orange peel) intact.

Mirka’s Royal Micro discs work great for cutting orange peel. You can use Royal Micro dry so you’re not constantly wiping and waiting for water to flash off to see how you’re doing. It’s a real time saver.

The processes is controllable and easy to inspect so you can cut as much or as little texture as you want. Then you use the Abralon to reduce scratch for easier buffing.


PC.

[Kooz]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Nick, I know I'm not helping in any way but can you post some pics when you are done with this car? Seeing a shined-up red Viper would be a nice treat! I'm drooling just thinking about it.

[Renny Doyle]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Once again I get ahead of myself and DON'T READ THE POST completely. Thx

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Nick, I know I'm not helping in any way but can you post some pics when you are done with this car? Seeing a shined-up red Viper would be a nice treat! I'm drooling just thinking about it.

We'll see how it turns out

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Nick,

One of the features of the Mirka system is that you can match orange peel on a repaired area to non-repaired panels. The Abralon discs are intended to remove coarser sanding scratch while leaving the texture (orange peel) intact.

Mirka’s Royal Micro discs work great for cutting orange peel. You can use Royal Micro dry so you’re not constantly wiping and waiting for water to flash off to see how you’re doing. It’s a real time saver.

The processes is controllable and easy to inspect so you can cut as much or as little texture as you want. Then you use the Abralon to reduce scratch for easier buffing.


PC.

Thanks Paul!
I'll have to check into that in the future. Lucky for me, the paint on this car is sanding very easy. So hand sanding won't be too bad.

[Mike Pennington]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

Mirka’s Royal Micro discs

Good example of a "Film Disc"

[RaskyR1]

Re: Sometimes I just prefer to sand by hand...

I know my father is old school but he says wet-sanding by hand produces better results anyway....