First attempt at wet sanding.

[I Shine]

I finally assembled everything needed to wet sand my car.

My car is a 1989 Volvo 240, I painted this car myself in the backyard for about $140 bucks. I am by no means a professional. This is a car that I practice on. It's single stage urethane with 3 coats of clear on top. The paint laid down very smooth, very little orange peel. I did get some dirt particles and bugs in the wet paint.

I'm working one panel at a time. I wet sanded with 1500 grit and polished it out with M105 and double sided wool pad. At first it looked great. Then under better light I could still see some of the sanding marks. I then sanded it again with 2500 grit and polished it again with M105. Now all of the sanding marks are gone and there are some very faint swirl marks from the rotary. I'm thinking my next move should be more M105 or M205 using the G110 with a yellow polishing pad.

I'm still learning and trying to fine tune my technique. Sorry for not taking pictures. I really appreciate the guys who take the time to take pictures for the rest of us. I have more panels to do so I will post some pictures later. Here is a list of tools and products that I have to work with.

DeWalt rotary, G110, red, yellow, and black pads, double sided wool pad, M105, Ultimate Compound, M205, M09 (2.0), M07, Color X, NXT (2.0), and M16.

This site has been a tremendous help.

Thanks

[Carfire]

Re: First attempt at wet sanding.

Congratulations on the Big achievement.
Yeah.
The Wool Pad will leave behind it's own swirl marks.
So I would go with 205 on a light polishing pad.
Then Seal it up with NXT 2.0
Good Luck!!
Have Fun with the rest of the car!!

[Nick Chapman]

Re: First attempt at wet sanding.

Not sure if the DA will be able to remove the rotary marks at this point. You may need another rotary pass with M105 on a foam pad, then step down to the DA on the foam pad.

The DA is going to have a tough time removing the wool/M105 swirls you have. It can be done, but I think you'll have better results making another rotary pass with the M105 on a foam pad.

Nick

[Details]

Re: First attempt at wet sanding.

This is what I do....

1. Wet sand with what ever grit is neccesary to remove the defect. Always sand in one direction! Use plenty of lube! Moderate pressure, 50% overlapping pattern.

2. Then I always finish off with 3000 grit to make it easy to remove the sanding marks. Some people sand perpendicular to the previous direction that was sanded. Not me. Again plenty of lube!

3. Remove the sanding marks with wool pad, on a rotary, using whatever type of compound is neccesary (1200-1800 rpm), keeping the pad flat on the surface reduces swirl marks. Using a slow arm speed, let the machine do the work for you. Moderate pressure. 50% overlapping pattern, left to right then top to bottom. 12-16 square inches at a time.

4. Then I use a light to heavy polishing pad, with a cleaner polish on a rotary, (1000-1400rpm). Again keeping it flat on the surface reduces swirl marks. Moderate pressure. Using a slow arm speed, let the machine do the work for you. 50% overlapping pattern, left to right then top to bottom. 12-16 square inches at a time.

5. At this point you can use a pure polish, or go straight to waxing, using a DA machine, with a finishing pad, speed set on 4-5. Using a slow arm speed, let the machine do the work for you. 50% overlapping pattern, left to right then top to bottom. 12-16 square inches at a time. This step usually removes all of the swirl marks. Applying the wax and/or pure polish requires the same procedure.

Tips:

Dont use to much product, dispense about the size of a nickel onto the pad for each product.

Let the compounds, polishes, and waxes, break down before turning of the machine and removing excess product.

Be patient, dont expect this process to be accomplished in 10 mins. If you were going through all these steps, it should take you about 30 mins to an hour per panel. Depending on the size.

If you are doing the whole car, I would suggest completing it over a few days period.

Of course paint meters always help!!

Hope this helps you out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[I Shine]

Re: First attempt at wet sanding.

Thanks for the advice. I can always count on this site for great advice.

My next day off I'll finish up this panel. My plan will be;

M105 with my rotary/W68 backing plate and yellow polishing pad.

then

M205 with my G110 with a yellow polishing pad.

I hope to do all of my trial and error on this panel so I can dial in my technique. Once I get a good process down the rest of the panels should go much easier.

Thanks Again, any input is always appreciated.

[TxRado]

Re: First attempt at wet sanding.

Hey Junkyard, lets meet some time and have at this newly painted bad boy of yours! Plus we can gloat on our detailing inventory!