I was going through and wetsanding the top of my car today- first with 1500 then 2000 grit and buffing it out with a 6" rotary buffer and turtle wax fine buffing compound. it all seemed to be going well until the end. The paint is smooth as can be- but you can still see streaks from the sanding. I've gone over it several times with the buffer but still can't seem to get the streaks out. any suggestions? should i be using a less fine buffing compound? thanks guys

 

I usually do the wet sanding to at least 2500, on high dollar paint jobs, I go to 3000 grit Trizac before I even try any rubbing compound...

Couple other things, never had much luck with the small buffers but if that's all you have you can make it work... For buffing you might want to try a more aggressive compound first, then move to a fine compound. Do you have streaks and swirls, or are you still seeing sanding scratches? What speed are you running the buffer at? 3M and Meguiar's both make rubbing compounds that are a lot better then Turtle Wax products... Rubbing compound is just the first step in the buffing ordeal, after you get rid of the surface problems, then you might want to try a machine glaze product, then a machine polish product, then a hand glaze.....

 

ok. the right way to do it if you did the colors anding is: 1st step rubbing compund with high speed buffer and wool pad, 2nd since you have a dark color 3m foam polish should be use with foam pad and buffer running at about 3000 rpm (depending on what buffer u use) i makitta buffer. 3 hand glaze

 

what I'm seeing right now is just the sanding lines. there really aren't any swirls or streaks and if you look straight at the paint you really can't see anything. and I think the buffer was at like 2400rpm?

 

thats what it is... u need to use rubbing compound and run the buffer at higher rpm what the compound does is fill up the sand scratches you put in with the paper so low rpm u r just rubbing whatever you r using on the surface of the clear its not getting hot enough to melt the compound into the sand scratches

 

what speed do you think would be fast enough juanillox8?

 

bump-

-what speed do you think would be good for buffing the paint without burning through it?

 

i use 5000 rpm with the wool pad and rubbing compound and 3000 with foam polish

on the edges you gotta make sure the spinning rotation should towards the outside of the part that will prevent burns, also the amount of coats of clear will determine if the buffer will burn it or not....

use slight pressure while buffing and keep moving, dont stay in one spot

 

If your paint is shiny and you see sand marks..it could be because you didnt soak your paper.Wet sanding paper should soak for at least an hour..I like to let it sit in the bucket overnight. If you dont soak your wet sanding paper you end up with gouge marks.You may have also had dirt on your sandpaper.You wont be able to see it but you can usually hear it.
With the buffing...I like to use a little bit of water..I also use the process of a heavy cut pad, a light cut pad, and then a polish pad.
Also move in a pattern that is side to side then up and down...Hope this helps!

 

nope sorry but that is not true i dont know where you get that from but i've been buffin cars and rv's fore a living since 4 yrs ago and i never end up with "gouge marks" and i only use sand paper and a spray bottle a new paper cuts better than a soaked one (proved) sorry bsporty

BUMP

 

WOW...One "nope" would have been sufficent...and the attitude isnt necessary.
I never disproved anything that you posted previously in this thread.I just posted how I do things.If you dont want to soak your sand paper, then dont.I 'got it from ' all the painters that I have worked with that have many years experiance.The man that taught me to paint has been a painter for 25+ years.
I was just making a suggestion.I have worked in 3 different body shops over the past 10 years and every single one of them soaks thier paper, even prior to paint prep.You can search on line and everyone recommends soaking the paper for optimum and safe results.
Here a few links for you....
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...ad.php?t=36146
http://www.mre-books.com/autopaint/sandandbuff.html
maybe see this as an opportunity to better your skills.
I am not trying to offend anyone, but I dont want people to damage thier car.

 

lol na im sorry dude i didnt ment to sound like d**k i apologize i guess color sanding ALSO varies from state to state b/c i've work for different body shops also and no one soaks their paper, when i went to 3m detailing workshop class they didnt soak their paper either. but again i apologize i just didnt thought that would make a difference. but thanx for replying like you did, those kinds of replies makes people a better person...
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/b...ing/index.html
http://www.carcraft.com/howto/926/index.html

 

I wet sanded my car last summer for the first time ever and I soaked my paper overnight and the car came out great. Everyone I ever talked to about sanding said to soak it and to use wet soapy spray when sanding. I learned that this is a slow and tedius process with many steps to it. I used 1,500, 2,000 and 2,500 paper. While I had buffed many cars before it was my first time adding the wetsanding process and I will never paint a car without wetsanding it again, no matter how long it takes. The results speak for themselves. The first car show I entered after wetsanding I won Best of Show...here are a few pics of my experience.