Compounding/Polish with or without Wetsanding
- Thread starter Rod73
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lawrenceSA
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- Feb 7, 2012
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I would say it depends first and foremost on the paint itself.... is there enough of it to SAFELY remove the defect in question.
If there is, and it is worth doing so (there is a distinct difference between the level of finish required for a show car vs a daily driven car) then from my understanding, wet-sanding [if done correctly] would be a 'safer' option....
I say this because a) you will get a more uniform material removal and this will make it easier to remove those sanding marks when you compound/polish and b) because sanding the paint will not heat it up like heavy compounding would.
On an OEM paint job which is REALLY thin, you need to exercise extreme caution when wet-sanding, and definitely do not even consider it without a PTG.
As with anything though, you should do a test spot(s) starting with your least aggressive method first. So you may very well find that polishing removes 50% of the RID. Then you try compounding and now only 10% is left, which may be 'live-able'.
Had you jumped straight to wet-sanding you may have removed 100% of the RID, but left little to no clear coat behind....
If there is, and it is worth doing so (there is a distinct difference between the level of finish required for a show car vs a daily driven car) then from my understanding, wet-sanding [if done correctly] would be a 'safer' option....
I say this because a) you will get a more uniform material removal and this will make it easier to remove those sanding marks when you compound/polish and b) because sanding the paint will not heat it up like heavy compounding would.
On an OEM paint job which is REALLY thin, you need to exercise extreme caution when wet-sanding, and definitely do not even consider it without a PTG.
As with anything though, you should do a test spot(s) starting with your least aggressive method first. So you may very well find that polishing removes 50% of the RID. Then you try compounding and now only 10% is left, which may be 'live-able'.
Had you jumped straight to wet-sanding you may have removed 100% of the RID, but left little to no clear coat behind....
Desertnate
Well-known member
- Aug 5, 2013
- 6,218
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If I had a RID that could not be removed with a reasonable ammount of compounding, I think I'd leave it for the reasons Lawrence mentioned.
Honestly, the idea of wetsanding scares me. If I was well practiced in the technique and working on a show car with a known paint thickness, I might go for it. Otherwise, I'd do my best to minimize the RID and move on. Rather safe than sorry.
Honestly, the idea of wetsanding scares me. If I was well practiced in the technique and working on a show car with a known paint thickness, I might go for it. Otherwise, I'd do my best to minimize the RID and move on. Rather safe than sorry.
Mike Phillips
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- Dec 5, 2022
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allenk4
In time out
- Mar 12, 2013
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Thank God you are back....save us from ourselves!
Mike@DedicatedPerfection
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- Feb 26, 2011
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This is the first time performing anything abrasive on the car?
Define first time using abrasive. First time compounding or first time sanding?
With Mike's help, I wetsanded the sides of my 2014 vette that had pretty bad orange peel. Tried the velvet and denim carpro OP pads, no luck. I stayed away from edges and just used 3000 grit to knock the tops off and REDUCE it, I did not get rid of it, too dangerous to eliminate. It went well, I followed with several polishes, rotary and orbital, (Meg 105/205) and got what I wanted. A paint thickness meter showed I took of a bit but not too much. I followed with CquartzUK to add a bit of thickness back. Months later it still looks like glass. It took about 20 hours of work.I could have cut a lot of time off by stepping up from 1200, 1500, 2000 then 3000 but I wanted to be overly safe.
the finished look:
the look 7 months later:
another car that did the same:
the finished look:
the look 7 months later:
another car that did the same:
Rod73
Member
- Sep 20, 2014
- 667
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- Thread starter
- #14
Very very impressive! That looks great! I have been considering recording or taking pictures of my progress. I told my coworkers about this lol and they looked at me like I was crazy and needed an intervention.With Mike's help, I wetsanded the sides of my 2014 vette that had pretty bad orange peel. Tried the velvet and denim carpro OP pads, no luck. I stayed away from edges and just used 3000 grit to knock the tops off and REDUCE it, I did not get rid of it, too dangerous to eliminate. It went well, I followed with several polishes, rotary and orbital, (Meg 105/205) and got what I wanted. A paint thickness meter showed I took of a bit but not too much. I followed with CquartzUK to add a bit of thickness back. Months later it still looks like glass. It took about 20 hours of work.I could have cut a lot of time off by stepping up from 1200, 1500, 2000 then 3000 but I wanted to be overly safe.
the finished look:
the look 7 months later:
another car that did the same:
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
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Rod...
I would highly recommend reading this article before you start sanding... it will bring you up to speed with what's what.
Wetsanding - Fresh Paint vs Factory Paint
I would highly recommend reading this article before you start sanding... it will bring you up to speed with what's what.
Wetsanding - Fresh Paint vs Factory Paint
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
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I remember our phone cal conversation... results look great! Looks like the same color of this Stingray I detailed before it was shipped to Qatar.
How to detail a 2014 Corvette Stingray
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
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This picture here.....
Notice how the person doing the sanding did not sand all the way up to tight areas and most edges....
This is a text book example of what I share in this article,
The Rule of Thumb
That is... you don't sand where it's dangerous to buff because you risk burring through an edge or even just the paint.
I'm happy to say with the introduction of the Flex PE8 and tools like Trizact #3000 and #5000 sanding discs in 3" size or make your own like I did for use with the Rupes TA50 that you can now more safely sand next to edges and tight areas and the safely remove your sanding marks.
Check these out....
Rupes TA50 Mini Sander - First look...
And with the Flex PE8 you can buff into tight areas are along edges and raised body lines with precision control.
The NEW Flex PE8 Precision Rotary Polisher in ACTION!
Notice how the person doing the sanding did not sand all the way up to tight areas and most edges....
This is a text book example of what I share in this article,
The Rule of Thumb
That is... you don't sand where it's dangerous to buff because you risk burring through an edge or even just the paint.
I'm happy to say with the introduction of the Flex PE8 and tools like Trizact #3000 and #5000 sanding discs in 3" size or make your own like I did for use with the Rupes TA50 that you can now more safely sand next to edges and tight areas and the safely remove your sanding marks.
Check these out....
Rupes TA50 Mini Sander - First look...
And with the Flex PE8 you can buff into tight areas are along edges and raised body lines with precision control.
The NEW Flex PE8 Precision Rotary Polisher in ACTION!
HUMP DIESEL
New member
- Dec 2, 2013
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If you have never done it, I would find some test panels. Go to a body shop and see if they have any throw away panels that you could get.
I used my old Camry for my first run at a full sanding session. I did nothing lower than 3000 Trizact. I did not take Paint Thickness readings, but in the future this would be an ideal time to test.
On this particular Camry, the defects were bad, lots of swirls and wash induced, by hand and by drive thru that taking a buffer with a heavy compound would have built a lot of heat and potentially caused more problems. I am in the school of thought that when it is that bad, the 3M system is safer than heavy compound. It creates a uniform defect that will be easier to polish out with less aggressive marks that sanding provides. I did even go to 5000 Trizact and that even helped the following steps even more.
Here is the thread: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/83507-project-bring-camry-back.html
HUMP
I used my old Camry for my first run at a full sanding session. I did nothing lower than 3000 Trizact. I did not take Paint Thickness readings, but in the future this would be an ideal time to test.
On this particular Camry, the defects were bad, lots of swirls and wash induced, by hand and by drive thru that taking a buffer with a heavy compound would have built a lot of heat and potentially caused more problems. I am in the school of thought that when it is that bad, the 3M system is safer than heavy compound. It creates a uniform defect that will be easier to polish out with less aggressive marks that sanding provides. I did even go to 5000 Trizact and that even helped the following steps even more.
Here is the thread: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/83507-project-bring-camry-back.html
HUMP
Last edited:
Rod73
Member
- Sep 20, 2014
- 667
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- Thread starter
- #19
I appreciate the advice from everyone on the subject. I have learned a lot. Between where to be more careful wetsanding and the suggestion of going to a Body Shop to practice on a throw away panels.
I'm probably, we'll see hold off on the wetsanding (baby steps lol) depending on how things go with initial polishing. Well here goes nothing haha I promise to post pictures of how it went down!
I'm probably, we'll see hold off on the wetsanding (baby steps lol) depending on how things go with initial polishing. Well here goes nothing haha I promise to post pictures of how it went down!