Color sanding
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Melting Slicks
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From: SUFFIELD CT USA 2023 C8 CORVETTE UN-MODIFIED FINALIST
2023 C8 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Color sanding
What is color sanding? I know what wet sanding and block sanding are and lately I have heard of a reference to air-block sanding??
Melting Slicks
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From: Savannah GA
The final leveling of paint (new or old) with extremely fine (like 1500 grit)wet sandpaper is "color sanding". It provides an absolutely flat surface on new paint which will buff to a mirror gloss, and removes heavy surface contaminants and oxidation from older paint before buffing. Air block sanding is just that.... an air powered straight line "long board" or "mud eater" random orbital sander is used to level large areas of surface quickly; most commonly used in collision repair or panel replacement where there is a lot of filler to be surfaced.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
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From: SUFFIELD CT USA 2023 C8 CORVETTE UN-MODIFIED FINALIST
2023 C8 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
The final leveling of paint (new or old) with extremely fine (like 1500 grit)wet sandpaper is "color sanding". It provides an absolutely flat surface on new paint which will buff to a mirror gloss, and removes heavy surface contaminants and oxidation from older paint before buffing. Air block sanding is just that.... an air powered straight line "long board" or "mud eater" random orbital sander is used to level large areas of surface quickly; most commonly used in collision repair or panel replacement where there is a lot of filler to be surfaced.
the clear coat so the reference to "color" sanding confuses me. Are wet and color sanding the same? The reference to air board sanding that I referred to was on my doors which had some waviness from the factory.
Last edited by BPHORSEGUY; Nov 27, 2010 at 05:00 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Savannah GA
I'm not certain where the term "color sanding" originated, but suspect it may have started when automotive finishes were still applied by brush? Nitrocellulose lacquers tend to "blush" (turn milky on the surface) if they are applied too thickly (like with a brush), or in a very humid environment. The cure for blush is to sand the milkiness off exposing the true paint color underneath... hence my guess at the etymology of the term.
And yes, wavy fiberglass doors might be straightened by a talented craftsman using an air board. They sand quite agressively so a light touch would be required.
And yes, wavy fiberglass doors might be straightened by a talented craftsman using an air board. They sand quite agressively so a light touch would be required.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,762
Likes: 820
From: SUFFIELD CT USA 2023 C8 CORVETTE UN-MODIFIED FINALIST
2023 C8 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
I'm not certain where the term "color sanding" originated, but suspect it may have started when automotive finishes were still applied by brush? Nitrocellulose lacquers tend to "blush" (turn milky on the surface) if they are applied too thickly (like with a brush), or in a very humid environment. The cure for blush is to sand the milkiness off exposing the true paint color underneath... hence my guess at the etymology of the term.
And yes, wavy fiberglass doors might be straightened by a talented craftsman using an air board. They sand quite agressively so a light touch would be required.
And yes, wavy fiberglass doors might be straightened by a talented craftsman using an air board. They sand quite agressively so a light touch would be required.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 3
From: Savannah GA
Close enough... the archaic phrase seems to have survived to the present. It refers just to the sanding part though; the buffing is a seperate process and not included in "color sanding" per se.
