Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics Wet Sanding

Just got some body work and paint done at a dump paintshop. Bodywork is acceptable but paint has orange peel all over the car. This is a base coat clear coat paintjob. Can this be wetsanded and cleaned up? I heard that is the orangepeel is in the base coat, the car will have to be reshot with the clearcoat, is this true? Also, is wetsanding something a home mechanic can do? I consider myself mechanically inclined. Thanks for any info.

When i painted my motorcycle I wet sanded it. what kind of paint did you put on? do you plan on clear coating it? With my bike i just sprayed it as well as I could, layers waiting about 45 minutes between. then I let it dry for about 4-5 days but probably alot. Your will take alot longer because it is so cold now. I had quite a bit of orange peel so i wet sanded it. I would recommend that you use a spray bottle with little bit of dish soap(not dishwasher). the pick a direction you will sand because you are gonna be doing it for awhile.

I went sanded with 1500 2000 then 3000. I tried 1000 but i had trouble getting that deep of scratches out. Then go buy a megurires foam pad and a all cotton pad that fit onto a drill. Wet sand first, making sure you clean it all the time to make sure you are not sanding grit into your paint. When you cannot see any more orange peel you will use the cotton pad. that is to clean it up a little if you see any orange peel left go back and sand some more.

then you should use the foam pad with a cutting compound and watch your speeds or you will burn through you paint. It should not have any scratches and should be able to see your pretty little face in at this time. Then you have to use a hand glaze and I would polish it by hand. At that point it should look pretty good and do not polish it for a couple months or you paint job will get foggy.
joe

How long ago did they do the work? Most places warranty their work for ~1 year. Other do longer... Pics would help too. Oftentimes, the base coat is kinda dull, and doesn't have much luster, and the clear is what makes things shine. The other type is a combo base and clear in one coat.

I'm assuming that what was done to your car was base, then clear (two layers), and that the clear is pealling. Is this right? If so, I doubt wet sanding will help much.

If you plan to wet-sand the whole car, with no prior experience, I say don't touch it. If it's just a small section, give it a try. Practice on an old riding mower (really old) or anything to see if it's something you think you can do. Just my advice.

~Eric