...what is the purpose of wetsanding. I've heard people talking about but I have no idea what the purpose is. Sorry to sound like I know nothing but I have yet to do any body or paint work to my car.

 

Check out this thread. I have an address for a really good sight on prep too. I forget who it belongs to but it's one of the guys here.

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...light=wet+sand

 

The purpose of wetsanding is to sand out any last imperfections such as trapped dust or orange peel in the paint surface using an extremely fine grit of sandpaper such as 1500 or 2000 grit. The result is the mirror finish that everyone seeks. However wetsanding IS sanding after all and can leave very very tiny sanding lines of its own, so that is followed by a compound and polish. Compounds and polish are ALSO sanding but in a liquid or paste form and are even finer than the sandpaper, leaving a glass or mirror smooth surface. The "sanding" lines that the polish leaves are imperceptable to the eye so that is usually the last step.
Waxes are just a water resistant top cover to prevent damage to your smooth unprotected paint. Wet sanding, compounding and polish actually remove paint, just in smaller and finer amounts as you move "up" the scale so to speak.
Well now you know....

 

Here are a few additional things that I think you should consider:

If your car isn't perfectly straight, colorsanding will make any body flaws stand out terribly.

Original factory paint is usually too thin (especially after this many years) to colorsand safely. If you have a factory paint job that is perfect, but you want to colorsand it, scuff and spray on a few coats of clear, then wetsand.

Be real careful around edges and on corners. It is real easy to go through the clearcoat at these places. It may be better to tape the edge and sand up to the tape, and only use compound to the actual edge. This is especially true if you've never colorsanded before.

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate this. Now I'll know something about it when I try to do it, hope I won't mess it up.