Wet Sanding BMW

I copied and pasted the conversation that I sent to my auto body manager uncle, he is actually the one who called me a Paint Technician lol (hope I didn't go over board lol, kinda embarrassed now) :D

Here it goes:

"How does this sound to you? They asked me what do I do and I told them I Detail Automotive Paint.

Then they said "what's that?"

So then I said "I am an Automotive Paint Technician" I need to see the the paint in person to tell you how to keep, keeping it healthy or how to correct it, to correct any imperfections and bring back the shine"

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Few observations:

1). Did customer know you were going to experiment removing sand marks with a DA and foam? I've never seen DA with foam remove sand marks.

2). Time to finish needs to be planned ahead of time so vehicle is not rushed, at a minimum you needed the finishing polish with the DA.

3). Lights, go to Home Depot and pick some up

4). What did you use to clean polishing oils? Your thoughts on Opti-Coat?

You are charging customers and I've seen some give you advice that little extras mean a lot to customer.
 
Wheelzntoys said:
Few observations:

1). Did customer know you were going to experiment removing sand marks with a DA and foam? I've never seen DA with foam remove sand marks.

2). Time to finish needs to be planned ahead of time so vehicle is not rushed, at a minimum you needed the finishing polish with the DA.

3). Lights, go to Home Depot and pick some up

4). What did you use to clean polishing oils? Your thoughts on Opti-Coat?

You are charging customers and I've seen some give you advice that little extras mean a lot to customer.
Click to expand...

It was for a family member he has seen my work before (only with a Rotary) and it was all for free, yeah I got to experiment, but at the same time, I had to produce results. Which I did.

So he gave me the green light to get to work. I did a small test spot using the DA but was unhappy with it's results so I then switched to Rotary.

I learned a lot from that experience...

I want to master both however...

I am planning on getting my own place that has a garage by next year, so I can set up shop. So I don't have to worry about other peoples inconveniences, just my own.

We didn't use Opti Coat because my working time was cut, the paint did look better but was not truly corrected...

Communication and Agreements should have been key, but they weren't.

On the other hand I did learn my lesson.

I am used to Body Shops with a Ton of light.
 
When you pick up something new there's always a learning curve. You were bold enough to show your learning curve to everyone on this site...very brave. All in all you have the car much closer to a show car shine than when you started. It won't take much more to finish it up. The PC is a time consuming device. It would take me half a day to finish that car with a PC and about an hour with a Flex 3401.
 
Well I they weren't here but they left their car behind. My Aunt asked me if I could do the headlights on her truck.

I brought my stuff but the truck has a front grill (like cop cars have) I don't have the tools to take it off so we just agreed another time, well I decided to do a small section on the BMW with my Rupes.

So now they can see some quick after shots and schedule for me to finally finish working on the car :D

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^ section not done

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^ Passed with my Rupes. I used FG400 then M205 and sealed with Menzerna PL

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Left side still has holograms and the right side is corrected. Now I can live at peace, because now I just need to be let to finish the job (now I can dust off my hands :D)
 
Now we're talking! Still seeing some orange peel though...
 
From what I remember I only sanded the front end. The Fenders, hood and bumper. I never sanded the doors. Since that is what got repainted, but thank you though.

Sanding and buffing out the sanding marks with a Rotary was the more difficult part IMO.

The Rupes almost does the work for you. It is so easy to use. Great tool.
 
I don't know how I missed this before, but I think you learned (and possibly taught others) some valuable lessons.

I started out in a body shop environment, and will admit I wasn't taught proper rotary techniques till I moved to Virginia. My boss was gracious enough to bring in 3M, and Norton representatives to teach us. I'll admit I learned a lot from them, but still not like anything I've learned here. We learned how to wetsand and compound to bring the shine back up, and polishing techniques for reducing holograms and swirls, (mostly using swirl removers full of fillers. The shop had a great reputation for custom paint work, in Yorktown, VA. But looking back, we could definitely have been better.

I think you worked backwards in your approach. I would have wetsanded, polished with the rotary and wool pad, then finished out with the porter cable. It seems you have that figured out now! I don't own a rupes, but I believe from the pictures you posted, you should be able to repair the swirls and holograms.

The only way to learn, IMO, is to actually do. You can watch videos all day, and talk the talk. The only way to walk the walk, is by getting out and doing it. Like everything in life, repetition makes you better, quicker, and more understanding of the processes needed to get the job done regardless what it may be.

Just my 2 cents.:buffing:
 
^ Thank you, I did learn a lesson actually. I was so excited to get back into detailing that I offered my services for free and on there schedule. Which in the end backfired for me. Mainly because they canceled on me right in the middle of the job and it left my work looking bad.

I just did that section to show everyone that, that is how it is supposed to be. I told them I's finish the job but for a price now and to let me know if and when they are interested. I actually am working for a body shop now and do this type of work all the time. So that eagerness and desperateness is gone. Plus i've taken pictures and made a few videos to showcase my work. So in the end it was a good learning experience. Luckily everything came out right, but the job wasn't finished and not because of my doing.

All in all, you live and learn. Well time for work :xyxthumbs:

Art
 
I don't know if I'd charge them to fix it, it was your doing that instilled holograms. I would offer to clean up the holograms, and apply a wax, anything more than that I'd charge for!
 
from going over the thread kinda quickly i wouldnt of gone down to 1k paper when you sanded.....


in my 3-5 yrs of being in a body shop we did a 1500/3k wetsand than went into buffing....and yes hid the small stuff with glaze after polishing out with a dewalt 849 and 3M compound.

doing 1500/2k/3k/ and even 4k paper would of saved you some time in the start that would of helped out in the end.

i really think if you were able to go over it with a PC or any DA for that matter with something potent that still finishes nice like wolfgang tsr 3.0 (light orange pad) would of made a world of difference.

still, for what you had to work with and the timetable you were under it turned out ok. could of been a lot worse. and if you could machine wetsanded....lots of time would of been saved
 
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