Wet Sanding

[JTS]

Who has been successful removing orange peel? I'm talking about a 2000 GM made product, factory paint. Are you able to knock it down with a rotary and compound or do you have to wet sand? Would you remove too much clear coat by the time you leveled the orange peel? I don't have a paint thickness cage.

[killrwheels@autogeek]

I had my Ram Air T/A wetsanded and it removed alot of the GM orange peel. I would never do it myself, and decided to live with it on all cars since. Kinda gives it character (hahaha)

[badazta87]

Wetsand with 2500 and some soapy water, then get out your rotary. be sure to use a wetsanding sponge/block and not your hand.

[Suprchargd]

Originally Posted by badazta87

Wetsand with 2500 and some soapy water, then get out your rotary. be sure to use a wetsanding sponge/block and not your hand.

Do you have to use a rotary or can a PC with an aggresive compund and a high cut pad work?

[badazta87]

Use a rotory first to get most of the sanding marks out, you just have to be careful around the edges ( always spin off the edges) and dont forget to keep moving. then follow up with the pc, should look like glass after that.

[TOGWT]

This kind of work should only be undertaken by a very experienced enthusiast or a professional detailer, the paint sections / panels that are difficult and involve risk are usually those that are close to the edges of a panel (as this is were paint is usually thinnest) or highly contoured areas. Flat areas like the trunk, hood or roof involve minimal risk.

Wet-sanding levels the paint (and removes orange peel, harsh acidic or alkaline marks, etc) it removes approximately 0.025- 0.03 Mils (a Mil is 1/1000th of an inch) of paint from the vehicle using 2000 -grit finishing paper, Bear in mind that a clear coat has a thickness of 1.5 – 2.0 Mils, removing more that 0.3 – 0.5 Mils of clear coat may cause premature paint film failure. As a point of reference a sheet of Saran wrap measures 0.95 Mils

A digital paint thickness gauge will allow you to measure the film thickness of the paint system which includes the e-coat, primer, base coat (colour) and clear coat, total thickness is usually 4.0 – 6.0 Mils. Check the paint system both before and after wet sanding and this will tell you how much paint has been removed. For these reasons all car manufacturers now specify that the paint thickness be measured in 0.1mil, or 1/1000th of an inch before and after any wet sanding or buffing. The following are the maximum allowable clear coat reductions the major USA car manufacturers will allow: Chrysler – 0.5 mils; Ford – 0.3 mils; GM – 0.5 mils without compromising their warranty

Caution- It is possible to wet-sand orange peel, but if you try to eliminate it completely you risk severely compromising the paint thickness.

Knowledge; [and the proper methodologies are the key to correct automotive detailing]

[ryandamartini]

^ I agree. Unless you already know how to do it, I would pay a pro to do it.

[sparkie]

If you wet sand your car, you have more balls then I do!

[JTS]

I think one would be living on the edge if they wet sand without a thickness gauge. Thanks for the good information TOGWT.

[davet]

I have been deatailing proffessionaly for 14 years now and still refuse to wet sand.It is someyhing that could go horribly wrong and I dont want to ruin my reputation if something does.I tend to refer people who want this done to a reputable panel shop.

Dave