My first rebuild
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,428
Likes: 5
From: Japan
Scott, I was thinkin (I know, that could be dangerous!)that if it's not too late and you want to save yourself a little work...just sand the front clip. Mask off the back half,just sand the front clip, do your flames, shoot a couple more coats of clear, and then color sand & buff. Save yourself the work of sanding the back half of the car twice...
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,650
Likes: 2
From: Tulsa Oklahoma
Scott, I was thinkin (I know, that could be dangerous!)that if it's not too late and you want to save yourself a little work...just sand the front clip. Mask off the back half,just sand the front clip, do your flames, shoot a couple more coats of clear, and then color sand & buff. Save yourself the work of sanding the back half of the car twice...
2. There are spots that don't appear to have as much clear as the rest of the car. How do I fix that? Can you spot shoot clear before sanding or is it an illusion from orange peel?
Thanks!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,428
Likes: 5
From: Japan
I tried a couple spot repairs on mine; while they look ohhh-kaayyy I should have taken some folks'advice and re-cleared the whole panel. That's really the only right way to correct problems with clearcoat.
As far as the difference between wetsanding and 'color' sanding, color sanding is done with very fine sandpaper as prep for eventual polishing. I found that the only adequate way to color sand modern clearcoats is to go all the way to a 3000 grit finish. If you try to buff beforehand you'll be wasting your time. Typical progression is 1000-1200-1500-2000-3000, then first step buff and second step polish. A LOT of work, but nothing else does the job. With the old lacquer finishes you could actually polish with a finish as rough as 1200 grit...modern catalyzed urethane paints are a LOT less forgiving, and repairs are nearly impossible. Wetsanding is just the term used for sanding anything with "wet"-type sandpaper, it is useful between coats on a car paint job because the water carries away the sanding sludge and helps the paper last longer because it doesn't 'load up' with sanding debris.
Again, for what you're trying to do, you should wet sand the front clip with 600 grit paper just enough to get it 'flat', just enough to remove the orange peel, mask and spray your flames, then shoot two more coats of clear over the entire front clip.
As far as the difference between wetsanding and 'color' sanding, color sanding is done with very fine sandpaper as prep for eventual polishing. I found that the only adequate way to color sand modern clearcoats is to go all the way to a 3000 grit finish. If you try to buff beforehand you'll be wasting your time. Typical progression is 1000-1200-1500-2000-3000, then first step buff and second step polish. A LOT of work, but nothing else does the job. With the old lacquer finishes you could actually polish with a finish as rough as 1200 grit...modern catalyzed urethane paints are a LOT less forgiving, and repairs are nearly impossible. Wetsanding is just the term used for sanding anything with "wet"-type sandpaper, it is useful between coats on a car paint job because the water carries away the sanding sludge and helps the paper last longer because it doesn't 'load up' with sanding debris.
Again, for what you're trying to do, you should wet sand the front clip with 600 grit paper just enough to get it 'flat', just enough to remove the orange peel, mask and spray your flames, then shoot two more coats of clear over the entire front clip.
Last edited by birdsmith; May 14, 2013 at 11:42 PM.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,650
Likes: 2
From: Tulsa Oklahoma
I tried a couple spot repairs on mine; while they look ohhh-kaayyy I should have taken some folks'advice and re-cleared the whole panel. That's really the only right way to correct problems with clearcoat.
As far as the difference between wetsanding and 'color' sanding, color sanding is done with very fine sandpaper as prep for eventual polishing. I found that the only adequate way to color sand modern clearcoats is to go all the way to a 3000 grit finish. If you try to buff beforehand you'll be wasting your time. Typical progression is 1000-1200-1500-2000-3000, then first step buff and second step polish. A LOT of work, but nothing else does the job. With the old lacquer finishes you could actually polish with a finish as rough as 1200 grit...modern catalyzed urethane paints are a LOT less forgiving, and repairs are nearly impossible. Wetsanding is just the term used for sanding anything with "wet"-type sandpaper, it is useful between coats on a car paint job because the water carries away the sanding sludge and helps the paper last longer because it doesn't 'load up' with sanding debris.
Again, for what you're trying to do, you should wet sand the front clip with 600 grit paper just enough to get it 'flat', just enough to remove the orange peel, mask and spray your flames, then shoot two more coats of clear over the entire front clip.
As far as the difference between wetsanding and 'color' sanding, color sanding is done with very fine sandpaper as prep for eventual polishing. I found that the only adequate way to color sand modern clearcoats is to go all the way to a 3000 grit finish. If you try to buff beforehand you'll be wasting your time. Typical progression is 1000-1200-1500-2000-3000, then first step buff and second step polish. A LOT of work, but nothing else does the job. With the old lacquer finishes you could actually polish with a finish as rough as 1200 grit...modern catalyzed urethane paints are a LOT less forgiving, and repairs are nearly impossible. Wetsanding is just the term used for sanding anything with "wet"-type sandpaper, it is useful between coats on a car paint job because the water carries away the sanding sludge and helps the paper last longer because it doesn't 'load up' with sanding debris.
Again, for what you're trying to do, you should wet sand the front clip with 600 grit paper just enough to get it 'flat', just enough to remove the orange peel, mask and spray your flames, then shoot two more coats of clear over the entire front clip.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,428
Likes: 5
From: Japan
Color sanding with 600 grit is pretty aggressive. You could go 600-800-1000-1200,etc.,etc.,but you could easily sand right through the clear if you're not careful. The reason I say use 600 on the front clip is that you're going to go back over it with two more coats anyway, and the 600 grit finish will give a better 'tooth' for the top two coats to bite onto. And, using 600 will allow you to cut through whatever orange peel you have a little more easily- less work, in other words.
If the rest of the car is pretty smooth, i.e., minimal orange peel,you can try starting with 1200. It's really about what takes the least amount of work to get you to a smooth, 3000-grit, ready-for-polishing surface with the maximum possible amount of material left on the car.
The reason for color sanding in steps is to save time. You could jump from 1000 to 2000, but you'd be standing there grinding away with 2000 grit for days trying to get rid of the scratches from the 1000. Much quicker (and easier) to go a step at a time.
If the rest of the car is pretty smooth, i.e., minimal orange peel,you can try starting with 1200. It's really about what takes the least amount of work to get you to a smooth, 3000-grit, ready-for-polishing surface with the maximum possible amount of material left on the car.
The reason for color sanding in steps is to save time. You could jump from 1000 to 2000, but you'd be standing there grinding away with 2000 grit for days trying to get rid of the scratches from the 1000. Much quicker (and easier) to go a step at a time.
Last edited by birdsmith; May 15, 2013 at 08:39 AM.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 4,535
Likes: 25
From: San Francisco's North Bay California
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,650
Likes: 2
From: Tulsa Oklahoma
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,428
Likes: 5
From: Japan
Scott, you really should go on the road with Tony Robbins and market whatever kinda juice you're on to all the lazy, apathetic video game-addicted couch potatoes who can't seem to find the motivation yo work their way out of whatever hole they've dug themselves into. When did you start on this thing? 6 months ago?
Unbelievable...
Unbelievable...
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,650
Likes: 2
From: Tulsa Oklahoma
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,650
Likes: 2
From: Tulsa Oklahoma
Ok! Overall the flames turned out ok (pita) if anyone can help me though. One of the tips pulled up while taking the tape off. Can it be stuck back down?
Last edited by FatCat; May 18, 2013 at 03:17 PM.