Help, I went to far while wet sanding

[builthatch]

Well I got my self induced bugger job fixed at the local bodyshop. They match the paint perfect and I can't even tell where my wet sanding freenzy started or stopped. What I'm not so sure of is my critical view of a finish that is not like glass. I can see little imperfections such as ripple at certain angles maybe a dip here and there but it's not like it one sheet shrink wrap covering the color. Am I wrong thinking that for 300 bucks my booger would be erased and be replaced with a perfect finish? What they did was fix my error and clear coat the whole roof. I don't know if it's possible for a person to be that precise with a wave of a spray gun to make it as even as a robot would at the factory. For 300 bucks I guess I shouldn't complain because the color was dead on but my concern is the clear coat finish. Should I have them smooth it to a glass smooth finish or am I being anal about it? I don't know because I'm ignorant to the results of a good paint job. Any insite will help me avoid looking like an ass or accepting what I paid for. Like I said it looks good and if you didn't know it was recoated, your average person wouldn't even notice.

Ach, I want to wet sand it and make it mirror like again, I wish I could buy another one and start over. ~

can't finish this now have to go, sorry for the typo's and disorganized sentences. I am not very good at putting things in writing quickly. bye

probably needs to be wet sanded (ironically enough) and buffed.

[ROMEO]

If I'm not mistaken, when ever you do this kind of repairs you need to let it cure and polish to be able to see the finish product, but if you say that it looks very good now, I'm sure is gonna much better later...

Try no to beat your self for this, just learn from it, and don't let it keep you away from trying it again, there is nothing like the pride you will fell when you finish a job on your car, I always like to do all the work on my own cars my self, (suspension, engine mods, lift, etc), like they say "Is not yours unless you put it together..." Anyone can pay someone to get something done, but just think how would you feel once you get the paint to look the way you want it???

Now just take a short break from it, do some reading on this forum to learn a better technique and just take your time next time, have fun, and enjoy your car, that it is very nice BTW...

[Perfections]

Here's another way you can fix it, tape off as previous mentioned, then use an airbrush, much better control of the pattern and amount being applied, test on card board to perfect your skill before trying on your car

[87rx7chick]

wet sanding is always tricky. the way that automotive manufactures paint the car is very different then painting it in a booth yourself.

when the auto manufacture paints it it uses minimal paint, the paint is literally as thin as hair in some cases. the orange peal is not just clear coat, the orange peal/texture is caused by each and every layer of paint. from sealer to primer to color to clear. and when you sand the bumps you are sanding not just the build up of clear, but all the layers that mounded up to cause that surface.

when i painted my rx7. we painted it with 4 layers of color. between the 3rd layer and 4th layer we did a quick sand of the whole surface of the car to knock down any orange peal that was forming. sprayed a light 4th coat of color. and then 4 thick coats of clear.

the painter knew i would be learning on this car so he gave me alot of clear to work with.

with stock paint jobs you have next to nothing to work with and have to be extremely careful, you cant just say your stock paint isnt flat enough and then go at it with some sand paper.


in most cases you can repair imperfections in the paint. but to wet sand the whole entire car and expect a show quality flat as glass finish, is asking to much of the stock paint, at least in most cases.

honda, actually sprays their clear coat while their color coat is still wet, thus pulling color into the clear coat, so i have read.




if you use clear to repair you may still see it afterwards, but you will at least have protected the edges of the exposed clear and color. preventing any oxidation or pealing of the clear coat. .
good luck!

[A4 1.8tqm]

Well I got my self induced bugger job fixed at the local body shop. They match the paint perfect and I can't even tell where my wet sanding frenzy started or stopped.

I wish you tried to do it yourself...

Am I wrong thinking that for 300 bucks my booger would be erased and be replaced with a perfect finish? What they did was fix my error and clear coat the whole roof. I don't know if it's possible for a person to be that precise with a wave of a spray gun to make it as even as a robot would at the factory.

Yes, you are wrong to think that. Generally a paint shop does not sand and polish the paint to perfection, leaving orange peel behind.

For 300 bucks I guess I shouldn't complain because the color was dead on but my concern is the clear coat finish.

Color? The damage was only to the clear, did they actually repaint they roof or just shoot a layer of clear??

Should I have them smooth it to a glass smooth finish or am I being anal about it? I don't know because I'm ignorant to the results of a good paint job. Any incite will help me avoid looking like an ass or accepting what I paid for. Like I said it looks good and if you didn't know it was re-coated, your average person wouldn't even notice.

Ach, I want to wet sand it and make it mirror like again, I wish I could buy another one and start over. ~

Probably not, the chance of the paint shop workers having the same high standards that we Autogeeks have is low. I guess you could try to have them sand the orange peel (for free), but expect to do some polishing to fix all the rotary holograms that they will (likely) leave behind.


I agree with rx7chick, factory paint is very thin and after market is much thicker (generally). If you do want to wet/damp sand it is a good time to do it, the fresh paint is very workable making for easier sanding mark removal. Just don't wax/seal for 30-60 days from when it was painted. It's a good idea to stop by a Professional Detailer or Paint Shop and ask if they can take a couple paint thickness readings for you. If you compare the new paint vs factory you should find it to be ~3x thicker.

From there damp sanding with your DA is totally feasible, get a 3M Hookit 6 Inch Soft Interface Pad with 3M Trizact 6 inch P1500 sanding discs and 3M Trizact 6 Inch Foam Discs P3000. I know, the discs are expensive, you may be able to find them sold individually at an auto body supply shop. The combination of the 3 items I linked with a DA polisher will make sanding away orange peel a pleasure.

Orange Peel/No Orange Peel


Orange Peel half removed/fully removed. You can see all the "low points"
of the orange peel texture have not even been touched by the sand paper,
the "low point" is the level the rest of the paint needs to get sanded down to


Sanded with Trizact P1500 grit, I skipped the 3000 and compounded from here.


Sun shot after finishing with 3M Ultrafina


My write up from the above process:
Orange peel correction, hand vs Pnuematic palm sander (long post)

A couple articles from Mike:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...tml#post363818

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...ang-twins.html (I really like this one .)


Good luck!

[87rx7chick]

GREAT POST!!! thats how my paint looked before/after i sanded it.


a great tool to use is a 3m squeegee. it looks like a big thin square of rubber. o'riely's carries it and most paint supply places should carry it too. they are cheep.

using one makes quick work since you can quickly wipe away water to reveal a dry surface and find your highs and lows as shown above.

[A4 1.8tqm]

Thanks!

Great post from you as well! I use my California Jelly Blade (I have the original shaped one) for the exact purpose. A spray bottle of clean water conditioned w/ DP RWG and the Water Blade is perfect for quickly checking your sanding results.

[sohail99]

Hmmm... I'm kinda in a similar situation as the OP!

I had gotten a panel repainted by a body shop and the orange peel was horrendous!!

So I wetsanded and removed almost all of it. But still I felt that the factory paint on the adjacent panel had a way better Distinction Of Image(This was after I had compounded and finished the panel with M105, M205 and Po85rd)

So, I figured that it needs just a little more sanding with a fine paper.

So I got hold of a 4000grit sheet and started to work on a test panel to find out whether I could refine the DOI further or not.

During my second pass over the test panel I discovered the color of base coat on the sandpaper.

I stopped immediately and kinda cursed my pursuit for DOI which ruined the clear!

Now I have a few spray cans of automotive acrylic laquer. Can I repair the defects myself?

There arent readily visible as I kinda masked them with a glaze and sealant. But the DOI bug has bit me hard and I really need it to match the DOI of the factory paint.

Can I perform self-repair and continue pursuing the perfect DOI or just repair and leave it like that?

P.S. I am aiming for a show car finish!

[arenared]

I'm sure others more knowledgeable can comment, but be careful with prep and material compatibility. Quite a number of years ago, I tried this method on clearcoat failures, and they worked, but only temporarily. After a few years, the paint crazed.

[yakky]

As thin as modern paint finishes are, anyone that reaches for sand paper (or even a heavy compound and heavy cutting pad) without using an electronic paint thickness gauge is foolish.