Learning to wetsand - Aug 14, 2006

Well, since the finish on the truck has so much texture to it, I'm going to get a chance to learn how to wetsand and polish. This may seem bad, but I'm glad to have a chance to learn this. Especially since my truck is not meant to be a show car, so a few dings in the body, or orange peel in the paint isn't going to bother me. Anyways, as for wetsanding.
So far I've been using a hose to keep a light spray of water going over the paint. I start with 1000 grit till the surface is almost completely free of orange peel. Then I go to 1500 till it is completely free of orange peel. I then finish it with 2000 to make it smooth enough to buff out.
One problem I've been having, and I think it comes from the 2000 grit stage, is small white specks appearing in the finish. They can't be scratched off. I think I need to start lifting the 2000 grit more often to clean off underneath it, but so far I have not managed to rid myself of them.
The pictures below show my first buffing efforts. I didn't have the best compound to use for that though. I just had turtle was polishing compound. Not my first choice but this area is unseen when finished and it gave me an idea of how well my sanding is coming out. Next weekend I'm gonna try it with some 3M or mequire's products. I've also start out using lambswool pad, then finished it off with a foam pad. But as I said before, I only have the one compound so I think that's also why the swirls are showing.
One other note, If your running a hose constantly while doing this wetsanding. Do it over the grass, at least that way some of the water is going to good use.