The experiment requires that you continue.

[LegacyGT]

My wife was gone for the evening so I decided to be brave and try my hand at some manual wet sanding. The panel I was working with was white with heavy orange peel, so it was very difficult to photograph, especially under the lighting conditions that I had to work with, the following is my best effort to document my covert operation.


Heavy orange peel, no good.


Also some very major RIDS that need to be addressed. At this point I am hoping that they will be taken care of during the sanding phase.

First things first, I need to tape off the sides and high points on the panel I am working on, this ends up being more challenging than I was expecting. My tape was too big, so I decided to score it down the middle, the experiment requires that you continue.



The pannel is taped and ready to go:


Preparation of the sandpaper, Meguires 1000 and 1500 grit.


Wanted to test the new Flex Rotary and try to take out 1500 grit sanding lines. The experiment requires that you must continue.

Polishes that will be used, Menzerna Power Gloss on purple compressor, followed by Super Finish on LC Hydro-Tech tangerine.


This post sponsored by liberal amounts of ...


After the first two rounds of sanding, the tape lines disintegrated, but the experiment requires that you continue, so this will not set me back.


The surface has been knocked down quite a bit by now and I am realizing that sanding by hand is a very large undertaking. I sill have more work to do:


Another round of sanding, still more needed:


Finally, sanding with 1000 is done ... hopefully I have enough time to clean up before the wife comes home.


Uh-Oh, I think I sanded a bit too much on a body line, and I really thinned out the paint ... too late at this point, no matter what, the experiment requires that you continue.


Start polishing with the new Flex rotary and a purple compressor pad


Results of the first attack with Power Gloss and Kompressor (4-5 section passes)


The experiment requires that you continue .... more power gloss, another 4-5 passes:


Still not quite good enough, must continue, another round of power gloss:


The results are looking good:


Time for another sponsor message:


Now working in the Super Finish with tangerine pad, again 4-5 section passes. First look:


Looks good, lets go for another pass, then a jeweling pass at 600. Making sure to take breaks, this panel has the tendenacny to get warm quickly.


The final shots of the results after an IPA wipedown

[squish409]

Shiniest washing machine ever!

(nice work and wishing I had thought of that to practice on sooner)

[kronos]

Good idea. My test panel is my girl's car. Once I start, the experiment will require that I continue. Funny and informative post. Thanks!

[LegacyGT]

Shiniest washing machine ever!

(nice work and wishing I had thought of that to practice on sooner)

The experiment requires that you continue ....

OK, confession time. I was washing microfibers the other night and staring at the washing machine lid while I was waiting for the spin cycle to complete and I realized that I had the perfect test subject to try some wet sanding and compounding on. Yes, it was ...


And a lesson reiterated, wet sanding and compounding makes some serious mess ... I hope I can get this cleaned up before the Mrs. comes home:


So in summary I ended up wet sanding and detailing the top of the washing machine, I have no regrets.

I learned a lot during this process, especially high points in body lines, and how long it takes to heat up a 2'x2' section with a foam pad.

I would encourage others to take a look at home appliances as a testing ground to build confidence on wet sanding as well.

For anyone that did not get the title reference, there is a expirement that it was based upon the Milgram experiment which you can research here: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And watch the videos here:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2PGnHHnRMk&feature=related]YouTube - 1/3 ''Obedience'' Milgram's experiment (1962)[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzYAdGl_0mA&feature=related]YouTube - 2/3 ''Obedience'' Milgram's experiment (1962)[/video]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSiMM_GIiyA&feature=related]YouTube - 3/3 ''Obedience'' Milgram's experiment (1962)[/video]

and the ABC retry of the experiment
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwqNP9HRy7Y]YouTube - abc news Primetime Milgram[/video]

[jimmyjam]

Hilarious! I was wondering the whole time " what in heck is that" haha.

[BobbyG]

Well, you got me on that one BUT the basic principle are the same.

There is nothing wrong with experimenting and practicing on something besides your daily driver. Everything you discovered works the same on a cars finish. Keep in mind that you were working on a single stage paint without a clear-coat.

I'll bet your wife was very impressed with the superb detailing you did....

[BillE]

Just showed this to "Her."

The comment was, "Don't even think about it!"

Now, how come I can attack her car (which cost a whole lot more than the washer), but not the washer?

45 years of marriage, and I still don't get it.

Bill

[mdb917]

I think you see the theme developing.

You caught me by surprise too. I was trying to figure out a car/truck/SUV/Van that had a panel with ridges forming an "X". .

Enjoyed your use of humor and your "assistant" - the Laughing Lab was perfect for the job at hand.

As others have pointed out the principles and techniques are the same. The old adage is that practice makes perfect.

[TLMitchell]

And a lesson reiterated, wet sanding and compounding makes some serious mess ... I hope I can get this cleaned up before the Mrs. comes home:

Hopefuly you got the cleanup done lest the wife replicate the Milgram Experiment on you with a cattle prod!

I think Mike Phillips' beach towel trick could have been modified here.

TL

[aerogt01]

Now that's just creepy. Last night I was fixing my washer (poor college student with no money) with all the parts strewn about, and I looked up at the dryer which sits on top of the washer.

I looked up and thought "Man, that paint looks terrible."

The next day you post this. . .Nice job!