Wetsand?

[kittedb18bt]

does anyone have any experience wetsanding? know anyone who has? i hope you guys know what i am talking about. some guy who washes cars for a living told me to do this to my car. he said something about 3000 grit sand paper or something like that. this would be for the current finish on my car, my car's current paint.

thanks for all of ur help.

[Duatone]

what is your specific question? ask away, I can help you with all your paint/finish needs. if your just asking if you CAN wetsand, then, yes, you can. 3000 would be a good grit to use, or 2500. though, I dont know what your paint condition is, nor how much you actually have on your car, so stick with 3000 just incase. use cold or luke-warm water with a couple drops of soap, not a lot, just a little, and not hand or dishwashing soap, those ruin your finish. also use a wet sand block so you get even, flat strokes, and dont apply a minimal amount of pressure. work your paper with the length of your car, never width-wise. when your done polish it with some compound, until your cant see the straight line scratches and then go over it again with a fine polish or finesse, etc. when you are done you should hardly see any scratches or swirl marks, if you do, they should be VERY fine, aka "spider webs". to rid these, use a good polish you apply by hand only. anything else, or if im on the wrong track, just ask.

[whtteg]

Oe thing you forgot is to stay away from any sharp corners, ridges, edges, body lines etc. stay away from these both with the sandpaper and the buffer, you will loose all the paint in a hartbeat if you don't. Whatis the current condition of your paint now? Whay are you wanting to wet sand and buff the paint? Is there something wrong with it? This is something that really needs to be done by someone who has done it before or at least lket then show you how to do it. The most common reason for this is to remove orange peel or texture after painting a car. It hepls to create that smooth as glass efect. But personally I like to just wet sand the car then reclear it instead of buff it, it makes the finish last longer. But I paint cars on the side (shh don't tell my boss LOL) so I have an advantage I guess. I have only had to wet sand and buff one car in 3 yrs of painting.

[kittedb18bt]

thanks guys. my paint is perfect, i just want it smoother and more shiny! i guess i want it like the day i bought it. it is a 2001, always garage kept and i wax (every 3 months). should i wax more often? how many coats of wax should i put on? i usually just do one because it gets annoying. to detail my entire car with just one coat of wax it takes me about 4 hours-thats including the time to let the wax settle.

[BullShifter]

Waxing only protects the shine. Shine comes from the polishing/glazing steps. I never let any product dry on the paint - this means more work removing. Instead of "wax" use something that lasts for more than a few months(max) like paint sealer. www.topoftheline.com also an orbital buffer would be a wise investment - much better than doing it by hand but, nothing compares to a high-speed buffer in the right hands. If you don't know how to use one, please dont try on your car.

Here are my results after wash/dry, clay bar, mild polish, fine polish, sealer -- polishing w/ high-speed makita buffer . . . .

[eckoman_pdx]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

nothing compares to a high-speed buffer in the right hands. If you don't know how to use one, please dont try on your car.

Very true, high speed rotary buffers give a brillent result...if you know how to use one. If you don't don't try to learn on your car. You will most likely burn though the clear and damage the paint.

[kittedb18bt]

cool, thanks jackassi. how old is the paint on ur car?!! it looks wonderful. i like to learn from the masters.

[BullShifter]

Originally Posted by kittedb18bt

cool, thanks jackassi. how old is the paint on ur car?!! it looks wonderful. i like to learn from the masters.

thanks
The paint is about 4yrs old on my civic.

[Duatone]

nothing compares to a high-speed buffer in the right hands.

true true, and though they are a little spendy, and people will say just because of the name, i say theyre a worthy purchase. im talking about the meguiar's buffer. that little thing is a monster.