Wet sand n buff

Just curious.....when I had my car repainted it was shot BC CC, and I've always been happy with the way the car looks but, I do see the odd imperfection on the hood and doors.......you know when ya look down the side and get anal :laugh:
Q is, would a wet sand n buff take these imperfections out....they are minor IMO. Or, just make them less noticable. I guess what I'm really getting at is this worth all the trouble, I assume all the trim's gotta come off to do it right

 

Wet sanding the clear (some call it color sanding even now) will only smooth surface finish imperfections within a small area, such as a square inch or so, even though there are thousands of square inches of paint on the car. Typically this is done for more of a custom rather than production appearance. The "orange peel" texture often seen in production finishes can be plenty glossy, but wet sanding the clearcoat can give you even more of a glass smooth surface for polishing.

If you have larger contour imperfections, this level of sanding will change nothing.

Remember, you're limited by current clearcoat thickness, and you have to decide based on that thickness how future polishing will be affected. Once you cut through the clear to the basecoat, that area's appearance will be visually changed, and not in a good way.

Devon

 

I understand and thank you for your imput Devon.
Most of the imperfections I see are miniscule and they are there......and THEY BUG ME!

 

I would really have to be annoyed to start wet sanding little things. If you do, I would try to buddy up with an experienced painter. It is kind of a feel thing and then there are polishing techniques which also can be very helpful to have someone with experience involved. A little oopsy can turn a small spec of dirt into a much more noticeable ugly spot that needs to be repainted.

 

I agree with Steven. I only wet sand clear to eliminate orange peel. With this in mind, I put a LOT of clear over my basecoat, and it's survived pretty well after the initial sanding once the paint was cured, that was about twenty years ago.

To better understand your exact concerns, I'd go see someone in "the know" who can look at it with you.

Devon

 

Impossible to tell if its worth it without knowing exactly what the imperfections are. If you are seeing orange peel, dry spray, bugs, or drips - color sanding, cutting and buffing can really help.

If what you are seeing is a non level foundation, or a base coat imperfection, or sand scratches in the primer then there is nothing you can do by color sanding.

But before you touch the car with sandpaper - find out how many coats of clear are on the car. I wouldn't touch it if it has less than 3

 

How do you find out how many coats of clear a car has?
Thanks