I keep hearing the term wet sanding. And I know it is exactly how it sounds.

But what do you use and in which kind of step do you wet sand.

What kind of sand paper??
Do you soak the sand paper? or get the paint wet? or both?

How long should the process take on a normal piece of body in good condtion?

Do wet sand by hand or use a power sander? or either one works....

I already looked at the auto craftsmans site.

I wanna hear from someone who has actually done it before and the problems they had so I know what to avoid.

Anyone out there who can help?

 

Use the search button and ull find tons of info

 

ok thanks, and anyone else who wants to add to this thread please tell me what you did on your project.

 

When wet sanding you can sand the primer, base or clear coat. When I wet sand the primer I like to spray down a fine mist of guide coat first. By doing this it helps you sand the panel evenly. Do not use a power sander. you will go right through the paint. I use a 600 wet/dry grit paper for the primer. I like to get a 5 gallon pail full of soapy water. Fill the pail almost to the top and if the water gets low, fill it up again. By having the pale full all the sediment and grit on your paper will sink to the bottom and not put scratches in you panel. Soak the paper in the water for a couple of minutes before sanding. This will soften the paper so the edges dont scratch the panel. I use a clean sponde. Make sure everything you are using is clean and free of grit. You must use a pad. If you use just your hand your fingers will leave uneven marks on your panel. I use a soft and medium soft pad when sanding depending on the surface. On a rounder surface I use a soft pad and on a flat surface I use a harder pad. When sanding I hold the sponge in my left hand and the in my right (im right handed) switch if your left handed. I hold the sponge above my work so the water will rum across were im sanding. This will continuously clean the area your sanding. I like to use lots of water. I also take the panel off the car to keep the rest of the car from gettign dirty. Sand just a little area at a time. Keep your pad flat and hand flat and lightly sand in one direction and then another, making an X pattern. Sand until all the guide coat is gone. This was you will know you have evenly sanded the panel.

Now sanding a base coat is a littel differeny. You do not want to use a guide coat. You also want to use a finer grit paper like a 1000 wet/dry. Soak the paper in water for a little to soften it up. and gently sand away. You cant sand all paints thought. If you sand a metalic paint you will ruin it. You can however sand solid colors. Use the pail and sponge technique I explained before and gently sand teh panel by doing little areas at a time.

When you wet sand a clear coat you want to use about a 1600 grit wet/dry paper and use a pail and sponge. Remember to use lots of water and little areas at a time. After this you should be ready to buff and wax.

I know this sound like alot, but with all projects the more you put into it the more you will get out of it. I hope I explained this well. If I forgot anything, someone just ask.

Good luck!

Joe

 

Ok I understood everything except what the guide coat is. What is it?

Also is wet sanding supposed to make everythign smoother finer? How do you know if your doing it right? I'll practice and figure it out but i'm really stumped on the guide coat. but the rest i understand thanks.

 

A guide coat is typically a light dusting of paint that is a contrasting color to the base paint.

As you sand off this light dusting carefully, the high and low spots will jump out at you pretty obviously. You use it as a 'guide' to see all the spots that aren't flat and need a little work.

Note this is usually done near the end of the primer stage, and I wouldn't guide coat the color or anything above it.

 

alot of people don't use a guide coat....but when you want something straight as an arrow....like a restoration project, a guide coat is a must

 

i just did it 5 minutes ago, i do it alot considering im a painter. I SAND BY HAND ONLY BECAUSE a power sander can cut REALLY fast and you bust threw the clear. so i start with p1500 3M wetdry paper, soak the paper, the car, plus a spray bottle soaking it, the wetter, the better. than move to p2000, and buff after that. just cut the clear alittle on an old paint job, if its fresh, cut it down till its slick.

 

another thing that can be done while wetsanding is using soapy water (dish soap). The soapy water almost acts as a "lubricant", the sand paper will glid over the finish. I've also used a spray bottle....for a light, constant, mist of water.

 

are you sking about wet sanding pirmers, or wet sanding clear?

 

Do you wet sand every layer or just primer or jsut color or jsut clear? do all or one? big difference???

 

That's a perfect question... what exactly are you attempting to accomplish here?
Painting the car? Or just buffing it out??

 

i'm starting from completely scratch. fresh off the drawing board.

I never took on a project such as this. I decided to get the car stripped of old paint. treat the certain areas of rust spots and get it prepped for paint.

I asked all the questions to see if its worth taking it on myself or paying someone. budget is always tight. So i wanted to do as much as possible before sending it to someone.

I was asking if you wet sand every layer as u went a long or just wet sanding one layer is sufficient to get a nice job done.

 

I usually block out the primer until i get it where it flat and smooth using 400 grit wet/dry paper then I'll usually go back over it with 600 grit wet then spray the base coat. I usually don't sand the base coat especially if it's a metalic or pearl base. Then clear coat,if your going to wet sand the clear I would recomend 3 coats of clear. Then do like Bigmaciroc said to finish the wet sanding. Then buff.

 

ok makes sense except what is Bigmaciroc? I got everything except that and thanks for the advice guys.

which paint gun do you guys recommend?

 

Bigmaciroc was a guy who answered some of your questions. lol I personally still like a good high pressure gun, like a sharpes or something like that. Most people now use an hvlp gun, but I'm still old school. Go to an Auto paint store they will help you out. Good luck, it's alot of work....

 

ok sounds good thanks alot, if the body is ready for paint.... and you pay a shop just to paint the car.... like 2 coats of primer...3-4 of base color coat then 3 coats of clear.... what is a fair but good price in a tight budget?? 2,000-3,000 reasonable?

 

Bobby what kinda shape is the body in? For 2-3 grand you should be able to get a nice job unless there's alot of boby work to do. I used to own a bodyshop, and I hated it when someone wanted to do the basics and just wanted me to paint it. You have to know, that for a good job the prep work makes the whole job.

 

i need to save money or as much as i can. its just a project toy i dont need it i jsut want it. ya know. and being 22 years old i'm willing to do a lot of the work. i'm good with my hands. i'm willing with help to get the body ready for paint. the shop can help tweak curtain things that i did i jsut wanan shed a lot of 60 dollars an hr labor off. thats all. I just know a shop can do a better paint job then i can. so im asking if i get the body good n ready is 2-3 grand a fair price for labor and materials for a nice paint job.

 

Well, you can figure about 700-900 for materials and the labor to get it taped up and painted.. I guess for 2-3 k you should be able to get a decent job.. So your labor rate is 60.00 an hour ??

 

im using 60 as an average, i haven't shopped around for a shop yet, Im far from that point. Winter will be pausing my efforts till spring time.

I'm just trying to figure out the best way to go about all this the smartest way best way and cheapest way with still a nice looking job in the end.

never turns out that way but i figure the more questions i ask i can hopefully avoid problems others have encountered. isnt that the reason for this forum site? so i was just curious if im being practical i guess work and price wise

 

Yes this what this site is for... I would say learning all you can before you get going is a good idea... I just wantrd you to understand whay you are getting into, I'm not trying to lecture anyone.

 

oh i know i jsut get very passionate about it because i want to do a good job with this car. Mostly on my own on this thing so i feel the weight that comes with thing. I appreciate the advice. The two preivous owners didnt take care of the car. The engine is mint. Body is mostly in good shape but becuase of leaks the floor pans need some attention not rotted through but still need to take care of the surface rust. and gonna need a patch job with sheet metal and a welder which is ok becuase my uncle owns a welding shop so free labor there. just the paint job is my only concern really so there ya have it. anmd sorry i'm jsut very passionate about my handy work

 

One suggestion:
Practice on something before attempting to paint your Camaro (another car, a panel, something). I learned a lot from painting a Jeep I used to have, a lot can go wrong if you aren't experienced.

Something I feel should have been mentioned. Be very careful wet sanding near any edges or sharp bends. If you aren't careful you can easily sand through.

 

good point, thanks for the tip