[blackjackbender]

well, i can paint, i can prime, and I can do body work but I suck at wet sanding. Is there any kind of paint where I dont have to wet sand. i know there is probably not one but I thought itd be worth asking.

Also what is the difference between single stage and 2 stage, i know the clear is combinded in single stage and in 2 stage its not but what is the difference after you spray the paint wise? do you do the same thing with the wet sanding and buffing?

[lowROLLERchevy]

cmon man, wet sanding is the easy part. wetsand the middles and use a scotchie and prep paste to do the corners

any paintjob requires at least prep with a scotch brite, but wetsanding with 4-600 grit ensures a great bond and a smooth surface to start with

no dirt, no oragne peel and any previous runs show up in a heart beat

[cboy]

I dry sand. For some reason I have always had trouble seeing the surface properly when I wet sand and I'm forever rinsing off the section only to discover missed spots and scratches when the section dries. When I dry sand I can just see what I am doing better. Some folks say they can see the surface BETTER when it is wet...just doesn't work for me.

Dewey

[lowROLLERchevy]

i wetsand to keep the dust down and use a wiperblade to dry the section i just worked, makes it easy to spot anything i missed

[blackjackbender]

Originally Posted by lowROLLERchevy

i wetsand to keep the dust down and use a wiperblade to dry the section i just worked, makes it easy to spot anything i missed

Thats how my body shop teacher has told us how to do it but I always have burn throughs. I just dont wanna fawk up on my paintjob for the whole car I can wet sand the primer no problem but wetsanding the clear/color I always sand through the clear/base to the primer. Could this be fixed by putting on a bunch of coats of base and clear instead of the 3 coats of color and 3 coats of clear im use to putting on?

the way i do it know I do 500, then 1000, 1500, 2000, and then finshish it off with 2500

[baddbob]

Originally Posted by blackjackbender

Also what is the difference between single stage and 2 stage, i know the clear is combinded in single stage and in 2 stage its not but what is the difference after you spray the paint wise? do you do the same thing with the wet sanding and buffing?

Any urethane system or acrylic enamel can be sprayed and left as is if you don't like colorsanding and buffing. Colorsanding and buffing is used to perfect the paint by removing any irregularities, texture, dirt, etc. If you shoot the car and get the results you want then there's no reason to cut and buff. I've never seen an as sprayed paint job that couldn't be improved by colorsanding and buffing.

You can colorsand and buff singlestage just like BC/CC but with metalic singlestage you're very limited on how much material can be removed. If you sand into the metalics on a singlestage this will show and also shorten the lifespan of the paint. Solid singlestage colors can be colorsanded and buffed with less worry but some colors will show differences if you sand through the very top coat-it all depends on if the pigment settles as the paint cures.

What color will you be spraying?

[blackjackbender]

a dark green like the bullett car or a black jade (another shade of green)

[Centerline]

I dry sand as well except I use an AirVantage DA that uses 1500 - 2000 paper. You can do a whole car in a couple hours with that sander.

[adtkart]

OK.... I am confused. Is the question about sanding before painting or after? There is a big difference.

I will very seldom wet sand before painting. After the paint is applied, I will wet sand and buff when necessary to get the finish results I am looking for. If I have to use paper with a grit courser than 1500, I will be planning on respraying the clear. I know some people will go as course as 1000, but in my opinion, unless the clear is really heavy, you will be removing too much clear to maintian the UV protection. It also increases the chance of cut thru to the base.

Now if the question is about sanding after painting, yes it is possible. Most wet sanding is done to remove trash particles, runs, or orange peel. A clean enough painting area, including the surface, person, and everything else in the room, could prevent the need for wet sanding. I have seen paint jobs done in brand new, top quality paint booths that required some sanding to remove "nibs".

If the question is about sanding before painting, that is something that depends on the person doing the work. There are plenty of opinions on that one. I have dry sanded with 400 grit on a sanding block, and sprayed over that and come up with a mirrir like finish. Some people believe that you need to go alot finer and wet sand to get those results. It also depends on the base coat that you are using. I have seen some that state that the surface should be sanded with 600-800 before painting.

JMO

Aaron

[blackjackbender]

Originally Posted by adtkart

OK.... I am confused. Is the question about sanding before painting or after? There is a big difference.

I will very seldom wet sand before painting. After the paint is applied, I will wet sand and buff when necessary to get the finish results I am looking for. If I have to use paper with a grit courser than 1500, I will be planning on respraying the clear. I know some people will go as course as 1000, but in my opinion, unless the clear is really heavy, you will be removing too much clear to maintian the UV protection. It also increases the chance of cut thru to the base.

Now if the question is about sanding after painting, yes it is possible. Most wet sanding is done to remove trash particles, runs, or orange peel. A clean enough painting area, including the surface, person, and everything else in the room, could prevent the need for wet sanding. I have seen paint jobs done in brand new, top quality paint booths that required some sanding to remove "nibs".

If the question is about sanding before painting, that is something that depends on the person doing the work. There are plenty of opinions on that one. I have dry sanded with 400 grit on a sanding block, and sprayed over that and come up with a mirrir like finish. Some people believe that you need to go alot finer and wet sand to get those results. It also depends on the base coat that you are using. I have seen some that state that the surface should be sanded with 600-800 before painting.

JMO

Aaron

before painting i will block in 180 then 240 and then finsh it off wetsanding in 500. I am talking about after painting, i just dont want to fubar a new paintjob.

[kenseth17]

After painting you don't have to like others said, but then you better have your gun setups, spraying techniques, and have a well lit, clean place to spray it.

[STATUTORY GRAPE]

All I do is give the car a whole extra coat of clear. That way I have room for any wetsanding that needs to be done. One extra coat doesn't cost that much

[roger1]

Originally Posted by blackjackbender

Thats how my body shop teacher has told us how to do it but I always have burn throughs. I just don't wanna fawk up on my paintjob for the whole car I can wet sand the primer no problem but wetsanding the clear/color I always sand through the clear/base to the primer. Could this be fixed by putting on a bunch of coats of base and clear instead of the 3 coats of color and 3 coats of clear im use to putting on?

the way i do it know I do 500, then 1000, 1500, 2000, and then finish it off with 2500

IMO, if you are starting with 500, you are not getting your paint/clear down smooth enough. Either that or you haven't flattened the surface properly with your primer. (And btw, I call it color-sanding when you are sanding the paint/clear prior to final polishing and it is always done wet.) 500 is WAY to coarse for color-sanding, and with 5 sanding steps, it's no wonder you are going through.

You may need to reduce down your mixture 10% or so to get the it lay down flatter. You've got to be really, really careful when you put more coats on than recommended because you are inviting solvent-pop. You don't wan't to risk that as it is a ROYAL PITA to deal with. And why would want to put on extra coats of base? OK, put an extra coat of clear on so you have less chance of going through that, but make sure you have given it plenty of flash time to avoid the solvent-pop.

Start out color-sanding with 1500 with a block and then go to 3000 Trizact with a DA. Then polish.

[blackjackbender]

ill try starting out at a 1200 or 1500. I have practice wet sanding but just suck at it. I guess if I started at 1200 or 1500 I would have alot less of a chance to have a burn through.


Once i start to prime in 2 weeks or so I will have to start a thread about my semi-newbie paint job progress. Ive painted fenders in my class, bumped dents in fenders, bondoed them and the whole process but have never taken it to a whole car yet. I was gonna have the car painted and I do the primer and body work but am running low on money and would rather be able say I painted the car.

thanks for the help,


Ty

[kenseth17]

roger is right, 500 is really to course for wetsanding prior to buffing. I will use up to 600 to knock out a larger run, and go over that with finer, but for the rest of the body I will start with 1000 if there are quite a bit of dirt nibs, 1500 if fairly clean. If it takes 600 to get it flat, its not spraying right or you don't have it sanded smooth before painting. Also stay away from edges and bodylines, it doesn't take a lot to cut through them if you sand on them or hit too hard with the buffer.