Well I just got my car back from the paint shop on Saturday and would like to possibly do a little wetsanding to it. I don't have a rotary buffer but do have an orbital. Now I've done a few searches and I see an orbital really isn't suggested, but I'm not looking to take out any major inperfections cause there really aren't any, just looking to get the most shine out of it. I see that most people use a terry bonnet on there orbitals but I can get a wool bonnet for it. Think that would make any difference? Also, since I'm not looking to take out anything major, I was thinking about justing going straight to a 2000-2500 grit and then maybe finishing up with a 3000 grit? After the wetsanding, i was looking at 3 more step.....using a good 3m compound, then switching to a terry bonnet and using a 3m machine glaze, and then finally using 3m hand glaze by hand ofcourse. Do any of you guys have any suggestions or ideas on what I'd like to do?


Tom

 

Buy a good buffer the orbitals suck for what you want to do!

 

I would wait a month before you do anything to allow the paint to cure properly. I am not a bodyman but this seems to be a standard waiting period.

Hopefully someone else can help you with the other steps

 

Thats not true I know some "bodymen" that wet sand and buff 16-24 hours after painting!

 

my hok said 24 hours then wet sand it helps it cure and its a little softer to work with at the 24 hour window. i used finish film on a da and then a mikita buffer with a wool pad with surefinish polish and then a soft wool pad and then nxt tech wax with microfiber towel. i got my buffer for like 180 and it came with the pads, good deal from autobodydepot.com.


oh and important do not use any wax yet on your new paint only polish. wax will seal the paint and not allow it to finish curing, and that can cause major problmes for you down the road. so anything you use this time read the bottle make sure it is polish with no wax. you can wax in a month or 2.

jeff

 

2000 grit will do well..
I'd suggest wet sanding it as soon as you can, and then let it sit for a few days before buffing.
Get yourself a nice rotary to do it. Orbital buffers are not for polishing a new paint job after wetsanding..
It doesn't hurt to wetsand over a spot after you buffed it out if you missed a spot (it happens all the time) and then you can just buff it out again.

 

Can't go wrong with a PC (Porter Cable Random Orbit Buffer.. model 7424). Alot of professional detailers use this peice of equipment and its pretty easy to use.

 

i work at a body shop doing all electrical work but i have picked up tricks here and there from the guys and the paint reps. i was told to wait as long as i could on my iroc when i painted to let paint cure. you can buff and wet sand the next day but it will haze like a mother f ucker a few months after. the paint will be more durable if you wait longer to wet sand it. i waited a month before i did the front of the car and it was a bitch to do but its slick as glass. also about the hazing, any paint will do it, but if it was cooked in a paint booth that minimizes it. the stuff i have doen hazed over about 6 months after being done. i havent wet sanded and buffed the back yet (its been about 8 months since paint) and i expect it to take 2 to 3 times longer to do because the paint will be rock hard. but this will swirll mark less then if i wet sanded it the day after paint because the longer the solvents are int the paint the better it cures. when you wet sand the clear you realese most of the solvents present, which is why the w/s day after clear is not as hard, and the hazing is the rest of the solvent reaching the top.
thats how the paint rep explained it to me

hope that helped
anthony

 

thats funny, mine was wet sanded and buffed the very next day and it still looks awesome. it was painted almost a year ago now, never "cooked", just sprayed in the shop, set overnight and the next morning, wet sanded/buffed, and driven to a car show the next day.

 

If you want a buffer and don't want to spend much you could always get one from harbor frieght. They go for about 20-30 on sale all the time.

 

if the paint environment does not have much moisture in it it does help, also differnet paints require different amounts of add in products (thinner, reducer, hardner), and in our area up here we require more hardner or else the paint takes forever to dry due to the humidty. southern states have less moisture so they might not have required as much hardner. thats just what ive seen up here anyway.

 

You must have used an enamel paint then, on a base coat clear coat no matter were you live it will be at a good enough cure to color sand and buff in 24!

 

no it is ppg's concept line of paints. base coat it bdc 9700 black, clear is concept 2000 clear, primer was there epoxie primer and the k 36 filling primer. the guy who owns the paint store (who knows his product verry well) told me the longer i waited to wet sand the more durable the finish would be (harder to swirl mark). he said 10 days would be good enough but i got lazzy and thats why the back half of the car still needs done. the longer you wait though, the more of a pain in the *** it is to buff after sanding due to the finish being more cured.

 

First off PPG sucks second if you use 3m extra cutting rubbing compound on it 16 24 hours after you would not have got swril marks your more likely to get them now that you waited for it to cure becuase the paint isnt as soft! The damage you make would be harder to to fix!

 

whatever man, i did what the paint guy said to do, he's only been in the feild over 20 years

the stuff that has been orbital sanded and buffed doesnt marr when rubbed like the quick buffed stuff does.

as far as quality goes, ppg, dupont house of kolor, are all good. siekens (sp) from azko nobel really sucks.