Wetsanding removes paint - Compounding removes paint - Polishing removes a little paint

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Wetsanding removes paint - Compounding removes paint - Polishing removes a little paint


I've been typing the above for YEARS now on this forum in an effort to educate people of something that is VERY BASIC.

1. Wetsanding removes paint
2. Compounding removes paint
3. Polishing removes a little paint

Most of the time when I type out the above, it's in the context of someone that has NEVER wetsanded before and for whatever their reason, now they are THINKING of wetsanding their car.

Then as they share more information we find out the car in question has the FACTOR CLEARCOAT.


The factory clearcoat on a modern car is around 2 mils THIN. A Post-it Note is around 3 mils thin.


This means the clear layer of paint on your car is THINNER than a post-it note.




Here's my article with pictures that makes it easy for you to wrap your brain around this idea.


Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips

So for about 99.9% of the population... you should NOT be wetsanding the factory finish on your car because,

1. Wetsanding removes paint
2. Compounding removes paint
3. Polishing removes a little paint

And sooner or later, when you're running your buffer over the paint to remove the sanding marks or the holograms from a rotary buffer/wool pad compounding step - you're going to turn your buffer off, turn it over and see the COLOR of the basecoat on the face of the pad.


This is a REALLY BAD SIGN.


Now you get to repaint that panel.


95% of ALL wetsanding is done to CUSTOM cars with CUSTOM paint jobs where the paint is THICKER.


So watch some more YouTube videos and read some more hero stories on Facebook and go ahead and sand down your factory finish. And if and when you sand or buff through the clearcoat layer, don't ask how you can fix this with more buffing, that's not how you fix missing clearcoat. You repaint.

 

[mc2hill]

Wetsanding removes paint - Compounding removes paint - Polishing removes a little paint


And sooner or later, when you're running your buffer over the paint to remove the sanding marks or the holograms from a rotary buffer/wool pad compounding step - you're going to turn your buffer off, turn it over and see the COLOR of the basecoat on the face of the pad.


This is a REALLY BAD SIGN.


Now you get to repaint that panel.

That is not a good feeling when you are polishing a basecoat/clearcoat car and see the paint color on the pad. It has happened to me only once, on my own car.

I was trying to do it quickly in the garage in the summer, and did not take the time to:

1) Create a good work space
2) Take a paint reading with my gauge
3) Set up lights to reveal my work area
4) Take more readings after the initial polishing step

An expensive lesson to learn!

 

[2black1s]

Great information from Mike.

And just to add a bit to the conversation... Another reason that sanding factory clear-coats should not be a standard practice, from my perspective, is this:

Many factory new cars do not have perfectly straight body panels (meant from a quality standpoint, not a design standpoint). As the paint becomes smoother and shinier from wet-sanding, any flaws in the body panels become much more obvious. While the paint's finish can be improved with sanding and polishing, the overall appearance can actually be diminished because now there are body flaws evident that were not so obvious with a little more "paint texture".

Years ago, when I was painting show quality vehicles, it was not uncommon to primer and block sand a vehicle three, four, even five times to achieve a nearly perfectly flat panel ready for that "smooth as glass" paint finish. Do you know how many times a factory panel is block sanded? Zero. It is stamped, welded (or otherwise processed), primed, and painted. In the factory environment, with all of their process controls, this will provide an acceptable quality level for the general market... But it is certainly a bit short if you're looking for perfection.

In summary, a perfect paint finish on a not-so-perfect canvas, is not really that perfect at all.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Also just to add....

All the UV protection for the entire matrix of paint is IN the clear layer. The more clear you remove the less UV protection that is left to protect the entire paint job over the rest of the mechanical service life of the car.

Now days - the mechanical service life of the car will easily outlast the paint job if ZERO wetsanding is done.

Something to think about. All of a sudden, maybe you can live with a little factory orange peel.

 

[2black1s]

… Something to think about. All of a sudden, maybe you can live with a little factory orange peel.

And most of the time... The factory orange peel is fairly subdued and consistent over a panel and from panel to panel. Excessively prominent and/or inconsistencies are when orange peel becomes a real eyesore.

And while we're talking of orange peel. What's the worst manufacturer for orange peel you've come across? The worst factory orange peel I have seen is on C7 Corvette's. And I find that surprising being that it's such a cool car otherwise.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

And while we're talking of orange peel. What's the worst manufacturer for orange peel you've come across?

The worst factory orange peel I have seen is on C7 Corvette's.

And I find that surprising being that it's such a cool car otherwise.

I'd have to say Corvettes, C5 to C7.

Also - the most common new car I've been asked about sanding to remove orange peel is owners of new Corvettes. And in most cases... none of them know how the thin the factory clearcoat is nor how hard it is. And in most cases none of them have EVER wetsanded nor own ANY of the tools required to do the job right.

Talk about having all the cars stacked against you.