First CC wetsanding experience - went well :)

[Cole Ziegler]

Re: First CC wetsanding experience - went well

Thanks guys, on second contact to the owner we decided a good buff with the rotary would be sufficient, but regardless I do plan to master wetsanding, however many years that takes. I do very appreciate the advice, and do not take it offensive in any way so dont worry about that. In the mean time ill stick to some old panels and see what i can bring back

[Eddie6th]

Re: First CC wetsanding experience - went well

Good decision you've made not to wetsand. If you look at 'Show off your work' forum,you'll see really excellent work that's done without wetsanding. Some even done by hand using ScratchX 2 and applicator.

Definitely get some practice on old panels before using the rotary on someone elses vehicle. If you can get panels,take painted plastic panels to practice on aswell. There was a thread recentley where a very experienced user caused the paint on a honda bumper to bubble.

A warning on "paint wrinkle"!!!


Take a read.It's something else to consider.

[Cole Ziegler]

Re: First CC wetsanding experience - went well

Going to try to pick up some panels tomorrow... so they way you guys talk so firmly about UV protection, and being careful to not hurt the CC, whats the point? Your posts read like removing ANY CC will remove UV coating and promote premature CC damage.... whats the real scoop? what are the pros of wetsanding CC properly?

[Tim Lingor]

Re: First CC wetsanding experience - went well

Going to try to pick up some panels tomorrow... so they way you guys talk so firmly about UV protection, and being careful to not hurt the CC, whats the point? Your posts read like removing ANY CC will remove UV coating and promote premature CC damage.... whats the real scoop? what are the pros of wetsanding CC properly?

What's the point

of worrying about CC failure??? I am certain that is not what you meant as it is rather self evident.

What [is] the real scoop?

We told you the real scoop. Please re-read my post.

What we are saying is that extremely few people, and these are Pro's with many many years of experience, will even attempt the removal of orange peel on a factory OEM paint as it is simply too thin (as the removal of .3 -. 5mils of CC can and may lead to CC failure). There is no other way to explain it; if the paint is thin to start with, wet sanding it will remove a large portion of it, thereby jeopardizing the longevity (ie, bringing on premature CC failure), of the paint. How do you know how many times a paint has been buffed before you? An ETG will not help unless you have the factory numbers that specific vehicle came with. It can be done, but there is huge risk involved and a very large measured amount of skill required.

Most wet sanding is done to vehicles that have been painted in a body shop where extra clear was shot on the base coat, as wet sanding is somewhat expected to level the finish. An OEM paint job is VERY different than an auto body paint job. So if a person was entering their car in a show, they may have extra CC shot on the base coat so that it can be wet sanded and leveled, thereby creating an ultra smooth flat finish. The entire vehicle is completed rather than doing a hit or miss type of sanding which will leave waves in the paint that look terrible! In other words, the vehicle is re-painted and extra CC applied with assumption of wet sanding to follow.

What I was trying to explain in the previous post is that the vast majority of people do NOT wet sand OEM paints as they know the limitations and the future liabilities from creating thin paint and premature CC failure. Unless you have a lot of money to buy someone a paint job, it is simply too risky.

I have it said many times, wet sanding is not for the novice. Just because the OEM paint buffs up shiny after sanding does not mean you have not created a situation where in a few months the CC fails and you need a full paint job, which is very expensive! Do you have an ETG? Do you have an air DA? Interface pads, and up to 4000 grit DA papers? Sanding blocks? What size? What brand? These are all factors that must be used and not simply considered. Wet sanding is the most difficult aspect of detailing and many simply can not or will not do it.

Does that explain it better?

Tim

[Cosmin]

Re: First CC wetsanding experience - went well

One other question, I know what it looks like when CC has been sanded through, and I know your not supposed to sand more than .5um of clear, and I also know its impossible to know HOW MUCH to sand,

dude , do yourself a favor and invest in a paint gauge, before playing around car like that

[Cole Ziegler]

Re: First CC wetsanding experience - went well

Tim thank you so much for that post. EXACTLY what I was looking for. I'll leave the wetsanding to the SS VW project we have sitting in the garage that was a repaint a few months ago. Already worked some on that and it looks terrific. Will post pics. Thanks!!!