i just painted my buddys camaro with an acrylic enamal single stage [solid color no metalic]it looks good but has a small amount of orange peel he wants to wet sand and get it real slick what would be the best process to get a good finish almost forgot we just painted it so how long should we let it dry before we color sand

I would check with Len at http://www.autobodystore.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?index before you go wet sanding acrylic enamel. That stuff takes a while to completely dry. Len owns a body shop runs an excellent paint and body forum with several experts providing answers.

Single stage you should wait at least a month for all the gasses and things to evap. and the paint to cure before you wash/sand/buff or anything to the finish.

After the paints cured just get some wet sand paper and rubbing compound and your good to go. Or if you are lazy like me go get some 3M finishing compound from your local A/B store and buff it out. Meguires No. 7 is good too. The compound is about $7 and comes in a squirt bottle, its a tan color, best stuff in the world to use. BUT! since its a one stage paint you must be very very carful not to buff through it, its very easy to buff through one stage paint.

HK

[quote]Originally posted by CARGUY:
<strong>i just painted my buddys camaro with an acrylic enamal single stage [solid color no metalic]it looks good but has a small amount of orange peel he wants to wet sand and get it real slick what would be the best process to get a good finish almost forgot we just painted it so how long should we let it dry before we color sand</strong><hr></blockquote>
i work in a chevy body shop,use to be a painter.first question is.did you bake the finish after you painted it?if so they you can wet sand immediately,i suggest using a 2000 grit wet sand paper,then use 3m finese polish to rub out.then put a good coat of wax on it in 30 days.if you did not bake the finish they wait about a week to wet sand with the same process.

no we didnt bake it so i guess we will wait thanks for the info

I'd wait until your paint quits beading water before I decided to wet sand it.The solvents in the paint are what causes the water to bead.If its still beading water,that means your paint isn't fully cured and you could very easily ruin your paint job.

When wetsanding add a few drops of dishwashing soap into your bucket of water, This will keep your paper from loading up.

Kevin

THIS QUESTION IS THE BIGGEST REASON THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER NEVER USE ANYTHING BUT BASECOAT CLEARCOAT PAINT. SINGLE STAGE PAINT NEVER REALLY DRYS, IT'S NOT REALLY MADE TO BUFF, IF YOU GET A RUN YOU CAN'T JUST SAND IT OUT LIKE YOU CAN WITH CLEAR.

JUST ONE GUYS OPINION THOUGH