1956 Chevy Bel-Air - Dampsanding, Cut & Polish

[Matt S.]

1956 Chevy Bel-Air - Dampsanding, Cut & Polish (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-sanding-cutting-buffing/25786-1956-chevy-bel-air-dampsanding-cut-polish.html)


This is a bit of a work in progress thread...I washed and clayed the car last night, and when I got here this morning Mike asked if I wanted a hand. We decided to damp-sand the entire car with 3000 grit and we are now going to finish it up with the products shown (can't tell you what they are just yet).

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...you can see this baby was in need of some real TLC! This repaint of 20-25 years old according to the owner, but my Defelsko gauge told me that it had anywhere from 12 to 18 mils of paint...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMG_1202.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMG_1213.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMG_1211.jpg


We started at 9:16AM, and finished around 9:42AM. Under 40 minutes to damp-sand an entire car this big, and we only used (2) sanding discs (1 each)!

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMG_1223.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/IMG_1238.jpg



:)

[Nissaner]

Looking forward to seeing the final product!

[JohnnyC]

Can't wait to see the out come and can't wait to find out the product line

[WRAPT C5Z06]

What speed do you use on the PC to wet sand?

[Mike Phillips]

What speed do you use on the PC to wet sand?

I think we were on the 4.0 to 5.0 Speed Setting, faster for flat surfaces and then bump it down a little for getting into curves and contours... Keep in mind you need to keep the disc rotating but it takes less power to keep a sanding disc rotative as compared to most foam pads.

:)

[jpegs13]

Beautiful car, can't wait to see the final results

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I think we were on the 4.0 to 5.0 Speed Setting, faster for flat surfaces and then bump it down a little for getting into curves and contours... Keep in mind you need to keep the disc rotating but it takes less power to keep a sanding disc rotative as compared to most foam pads.

:)
Cool, thanks. Cant wait to see the finished product! :props:

[Mike Phillips]

Here's a few shots I took with a Canon Rebel T1i


Here I'm using a small piece of detailing clay stuck to the hood to give my camera something to focus on and the using the flash to expose the swirls. Without the clay, a quarter or nickle, or my finger the shot would come out all fuzzy because the camera wouldn't be able to focus directly on the surface.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand002.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand003.jpg



This is a very nice 1956 Chevrolet Belair but the paint was thrashed...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand004.jpg


Damp-Sanding with Meguiar's Unigrit #3000 Unigrit Finishing Discs (http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-6in-finishing-discs.html)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand005.jpg


Matt and I used 2 discs to sand down the entire car...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand006.jpg


Here's Matt damp-sanding the roof...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand007.jpg


Hey Matt, I have to leave now... something suddenly came up...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand008.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand009.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand010.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand011.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand012.jpg


Normally you would want to wipe off the sanding sludge as you work around the car but it makes for a more cool photo to leave all the sludge on the car. Here we've wiped the car clean and we're ready to start compounding.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand014.jpg


#3000 Grit leaves a flat sheen that's easily buffed out...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand015.jpg


It's vitally important to always work clean, anyone that's worked with me before knows I'm a little on the D.O. side when it comes to working clean and that includes cleaning pads during the compounding process. To keep our wool pads clean we're gong to use the System 2000 Pad Washer (http://www.autogeek.net/system-2000-pad-washer.html) which works great for cleaning wool pads with a rotary buffer. I cleaned my pad once or twice for for each panel and then spurred it using a steel spur (http://www.autogeek.net/wool-pad-spur.html). And of course a pad washer is useless without the right non-foaming pad cleaning solution, for this we used the DP Polishing Pad Rejuvenator (http://www.autogeek.net/dp730.html).

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand016.jpg


Mix well before re-installing the base with the pump drive wheel and cleaning spurs...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand017.jpg


Ready to go...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand018.jpg



After compounding, polishing, and applying the first coat of a paint protection product, we "edged" the car, in this example edging means to open all the doors, trunk lid and hood and wipe out any compounding or polishing residue in the cracks and crevises...

Edging....
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand019.jpg


When you open the car all up for any reason and take a picture, this is called stretching, kind of like you when your spread out your arms and stretch out...

Stretching...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand020.jpg


I brought in 3 cans of Mountain Dew and by the time we were through I had one can left and I was sooooo thirsty, it was all I could do to set up these reflection shots not drinking the cold refreshing Dew in my Autogeek Insulated Tumbler... (http://www.autogeek.net/autogeek-tumbler.html)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand022.jpg


Fear not for the paint...
After taking the hood reflection shot, I cut a small square out of a Cobra Indigo Microfiber Towel and created the first official Cobra Indigo Microfiber Coaster.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand021.jpg



All finished in around 8 hours with two guys working in the garage... you know, 2 Guys Garage... in Autogeek's Show Car Garage (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/24175-list-all-autogeek-show-car-garage-videos.html)...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand023.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand025.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand026.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand027.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand028.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand029.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand030.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand031.jpg


Parting shot...

Time to close down Autogeek's Show Car Garage...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/866/56ChevyBelairDampSand032.jpg


:)

[jpegs13]

As I said before, Beautiful car. After the work you guys did, absolutly stunning. WOW

[rohnramirez]

Beautiful finish. :dblthumb2:

[Meghan]

Amazing work, the boys are back in the garage again today finishing up a few things on that beauty. I must say its really awesome to have that garage to work in, Max did a great job with building it.

Looking forward to more pictures from the boys!

[sullysdetailing]

Hmmmmm unknown products for this project. Maybe DP came out with a compound and polish????

Great work guys

[HighEndDetail]

Hmmmmm unknown products for this project. Maybe DP came out with a compound and polish????

Great work guys

DP used to have a compond/polish a few years back. I have them at home, I think the compound was called super swirl remover, can't remember the polish name.

[RaskyR1]

Great work Matt and Mike! The car looks amazingly smooth too! :dblthumb2:

[Matt S.]

Got it all finished up today. Unfortunately I'm very busy answering all my e-mails and stuff from the weekend (plus the phones don't stop ringing!) so hopefully I can get the rest of the pics up tomorrow! :)