DIY Wet Sanding
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,369
Likes: 179
From: Road Atlanta You do the MATH!
DIY Wet Sanding
Saw some folks at a small used car dealership doing it today. I have lots of background in detailing but never done a wetsand myself. Want to try it though. I know that I need a buffer and ? grit sandpaper. But dont know what kind of polish to apply after that. Or even how to use to sandpaper on the buffer, or what's the best buffer to use orbital etc. If some one could post a DIY for this I would be greatful.
Yellow C3/C5
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,822
Likes: 1
St. Jude Donor '05-'06
Here is the thread.. you could probably PM him for more info.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ng&forum_id=10
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ng&forum_id=10
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 6,029
Likes: 85
From: Palm Coast, FL
Originally Posted by heavychevy
Saw some folks at a small used car dealership doing it today. I have lots of background in detailing but never done a wetsand myself. Want to try it though. I know that I need a buffer and ? grit sandpaper. But dont know what kind of polish to apply after that. Or even how to use to sandpaper on the buffer, or what's the best buffer to use orbital etc. If some one could post a DIY for this I would be greatful.
My advice is to stop at a local body or paint supply shop and ask them. Most likely they would be more than happy to advise you and would be able to see what you have "first hand"
Racer
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 364
Likes: 0
From: Schertz TX
Originally Posted by heavychevy
Saw some folks at a small used car dealership doing it today. I have lots of background in detailing but never done a wetsand myself. Want to try it though. I know that I need a buffer and ? grit sandpaper. But dont know what kind of polish to apply after that. Or even how to use to sandpaper on the buffer, or what's the best buffer to use orbital etc. If some one could post a DIY for this I would be greatful.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,291
Likes: 0
From: sterling ct
question, my dog jumped on my acura and has made scratches in the clear.... if i follow the process is it SAFE to do once a car already has scratches (its a lease and i have to turn it in and dont want to get hit with a damage to repaint)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 7,727
Likes: 7
From: Twilight zone
St. Jude Donor '05-'06
Originally Posted by vette1003
I have done this to my car when I first got it 3 years ago. You need to use 2500 grit wet sand paper and 2 types of polishing compound and a buffer. But if you have never used a buffer or wet sanded before, I don't recommend it. It is too easy to sand through the clear coat and to burn the pain with the buffer.
It may not be quite as fast, but much more difficult to burn through while buffing than the original professional type buffers. I will not try one of those, that can be downright dangerous if you haven't done it before
,and I haven't 
Pro
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 560
Likes: 0
From: Prattville AL
Dont worry about the small car lots. Most of those detailers aren't the best. Ive worked at a decent sized stealership and their detailers were far from the best in the world. Some of them tend to be too aggressive with removing scratches too. I do not recommend wet sanding your car. Went sanding should only be used for severe blemishes such as orange peel after painting. The problem with wet sanding is it removes too much of your paint. I read on a detailing forum where they took a freshly painted body panel and measured the paint and then wet sanded/buffed it. Wet sanding is so aggressive that you usually can only do it once to a painted surface before removing too much paint. After doing so, its possible down the road you may have paint or clearcoat failure. I recommend just using something like a Porter Cable Dual Action polisher and some scratch remover to round out the edges of the scratch, then follow up with a polish of some kind that contains fillers to hide the scratch.
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