Any wet sanding pros out there?

[matt63]

I'm taking another shot at wet sanding.  I tried it on my black Demon but could never get it wet sanded without leaving scratches that couldn't be polished out so I sent the car to a pro.  This guy has gone out of business so I thought I would try it again.  This is a new 6 year old paint job.  Once again I find that the 1500 grit wet sand paper leaves scratches.  I use a foam pad and sand in only one direction and rinse the paper in water regularly.  The polisher brings the shine back quick but there are too many sanding scratches which take along time to compound out.  What's the trick?

[71340RT]

I think the trick to this is using lots of water. I always have either a hose or a spray bottle and keep the area I'm sanding very wet all the time. I start with 1500 and go back over it with 2000 grit paper as I think it takes to much polishing if I don't use 2000. I use foam pads and 3M microfinishing compund and have had great luck with it. Sometimes I won't even use 1500 paper I'll just use 2000 so I don't have to worry about the scratches the 1500 paper leaves. I also used pad glaze with the black foam pad to remove the swirl marks the white pad and compound leave.

[PlumCrazy]

Machine sanding is the only way to go. Start with 12-1500, then 2500 then 4000.  Super fast, can do a whole car in about an hour and a half.

[ChallengerGary]

What kind of machine are you using to wet sand?

[torredcuda]

The new technique is dry sanding witha DA but I have not tried it yet.When wet sanding use lots of water and rinse the paper whenever you feel grit,it takes some practice but you should be able to tell when you have a piece of dirt and are scratching the paint.

[tactransman]

If you wet sand with a piece of wood (three paint stirring sticks taped together works great!) it will straighten your body panels even more.

[Wang]

If you wet sand with a piece of wood (three paint stirring sticks taped together works great!) it will straighten your body panels even more.

if straight is what you are looking for , you CANNOT beat this procedure, but it is very time consuming... YOU WILL have ultimate results. (Watch your edges)
The aforementioned process with 3m velcro 800 paper,(D/A) and then a final sand with 1200 wet will gain you very suitable results.

This must be done with an "Interface" pad (3m) and a hookit backed d/a pad and hookit 800 d/a paper.  It IS a considerable time saver.

[matt63]

I think the trick to this is using lots of water. I always have either a hose or a spray bottle and keep the area I'm sanding very wet all the time. I start with 1500 and go back over it with 2000 grit paper as I think it takes to much polishing if I don't use 2000. I use foam pads and 3M microfinishing compund and have had great luck with it. Sometimes I won't even use 1500 paper I'll just use 2000 so I don't have to worry about the scratches the 1500 paper leaves. I also used pad glaze with the black foam pad to remove the swirl marks the white pad and compound leave.

Thanks.  I'm following the same procedure with more success tonight.   Fortunately the 3M Perfect-It III compound on the hard foam pad isn't leaving any swirl marks. I found that the trick with wet sanding is to sand in one direction but move it laterally a couple of inches every 3 or 4 strokes.  It seems to leave alot less scratches.  The 2000 grit doesn't remove any defects effectively but sure does cut down on the polishing afterwards.  Also, more pressure on the compounding pad at first helps remove the sanding scratches faster.  Now there is a few defects in the paint that I would like to go after but I think I'll need to borrow a paint thickness tester first! Perhaps I'll wait and see if they really bother me down the road.

[torredcuda]

You can start with the 1500 to knock down any dirt/ imperfections and then go over it again with the 2000 to make buffing easier.

[Bullitt-]

Just happened to notice this in a JC Whitney cataloge last night. I have no idea if its wany good.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2004087/showCustom-0/p-2004087/N-111+10201+600003537/c-10101

[matt63]

Just happened to notice this in a JC Whitney cataloge last night. I have no idea if its wany good.
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2004087/showCustom-0/p-2004087/N-111+10201+600003537/c-10101

Looks scary.

[matt63]

Here are the results.  Everything is pretty good.  The hood still has sanding scratches so I'll have to redo this another day. In all, to wet sand, piolish, glaze and wax, I probably spent 3-4 days.

[Skeletoil]

Had to get rid of some tree sap on my 73 Challenger that's black. Used a 3M Grey Scotchbrite pad they tell me it's like 800 grit and it doesn't clog like sandpaper and leave more scratches and then 2000 grit sand paper wet. A little dawn dish washing soap helps lubricate your paper and help keep it from clogging. Buffed with 3M buffing compound with good results. 3m Red scotchbrite is like 400. Ten times quicker than sand paper and last longer too.