So i started wetsanding today.....opinions?

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NorcalZ71

New member
Well i decided today was the day i would take the plunge and see if I could handle wetsanding my baby. a little background, this is my 94 Chevy z71 ext cab, midnight blue/indigo metallic whatever they called it that year, original factory paint, 12" lift 38s, 20s, etc, etc.



Anyways, i know wetsanding you have to be real careful to not take too much, which i was, and also on older paint and factory paint be careful not to burn through clear.



I just tested it out with some 2000 grit 3M paper soaked for 20 mins prior in warm water w/ NXT wash in it. I had a squirt bottle of water with a little bit of soap in it to keep the panel wet, and a foam sanding block. Just did the lower portion of the door below the body line on my drivers door, as i have some fairly visible scratches from when i debadged the truck. Tried it on a small little spot, about 8"x8", and then went to buff it out. I have a rotary but suck with it, so just to try it i went ahead and used an orange pad with my PC + Meg #83 (i need to upgrade my product supply but im a little broke in college at the moment). Anyways, worked it in on 2 then bumped up to 6.....and the sanding marks disappeared COMPLETELY (as far as i can tell lol).



I was pretty stoked with the results, went ahead and did that whole panel below the body line so about a 3'x10" section, then buffed out, again, no problems, all OP gone (there was very little so it didnt take many passes with the paper) and got most of the scratches out (that didnt come out with just the PC). Im real happy with how easy it was, much less scary than i thought, but is the fact that a PC easily removed 2000 grit sanding marks a bad sign? maybe really soft clear? this is my first time doing this and it was honestly 1000x easier than i expected, unless ya'll think its a bad idea, i plan to do pretty much the entire truck to eliminate 13 years worth of little bity scratches and the factory OP, as i loved the shine it left even after just one pass with the #83, plan to follow up with a lighter polish and then AIO and SG for durability since i dont get much time to do maintenance when im back away at school.



only issue i had was one little spot where i got basically a reverse dent, the panel is warped ever so slightly out rather than in which i forgot about and i burned a speck into the primer, not too worked up about it though as its right in the middle of a bunch of little rock chips from my 38s
 
try to snap some tomorrow, just of the semi-finished product and befores? weather was kinda cold today so i just tried it on the spot and then packed it in.
 
Yeah, pics would be great.



I wetsanded my headlights to remove some oxidation from them and was able to polish out 2000 grit sanding marks by hand with OHC (new version) using a terry cloth towel, followed by Clearkote's Blue Moose Cutting Creme using an orange Cyclo cutting pad (all pads listed used by hand), then DACP using another orange pad, then Optimum Polish and a green Cyclo polishing pad and Poli-Seal using a Meguiars foam hand pad. Came out crystal clear!



Yeah, me posting pics would be great too, right? ;)



I agree, much less scary once you do a section and polish out and see the results. :)
 
Scottwax said:
Yeah, pics would be great.



I wetsanded my headlights to remove some oxidation from them and was able to polish out 2000 grit sanding marks by hand with OHC (new version) using a terry cloth towel, followed by Clearkote's Blue Moose Cutting Creme using an orange Cyclo cutting pad (all pads listed used by hand), then DACP using another orange pad, then Optimum Polish and a green Cyclo polishing pad and Poli-Seal using a Meguiars foam hand pad. Came out crystal clear!



Yeah, me posting pics would be great too, right? ;)



I agree, much less scary once you do a section and polish out and see the results. :)
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haha right on, coming from you scottwax im definitely feeling better about the situation. i just kinda went for it, said if i screw up this little spot it'll be cheap to have a pro fix it, but it turned out better and easier than expected, im eager to see the whole truck shine like it probably never has before
 
This is so weird that you all brought this up because tonight I was going some practicing with my old trunk. I've got a 98' Cypress Green Pearl Civic EX and I replaced the trunk with a VIS carbon fiber( Stock trunk had a small dent in the bottom of the trunk under the license plate and some bad bird/water etchings.) I used Gold class shampoo and water along with 2000 grit sandpaper to wetsand many spots on the trunk, some as big as 10x10 and every sanding mark came out with PC and Orange pad along with Meguiars #2 Fine cut cleaner. It was alot easier than I thought and I was shocked the PC took them out so easily.
 
ej8tunerman said:
This is so weird that you all brought this up because tonight I was going some practicing with my old trunk. I've got a 98' Cypress Green Pearl Civic EX and I replaced the trunk with a VIS carbon fiber( Stock trunk had a small dent in the bottom of the trunk under the license plate and some bad bird/water etchings.) I used Gold class shampoo and water along with 2000 grit sandpaper to wetsand many spots on the trunk, some as big as 10x10 and every sanding mark came out with PC and Orange pad along with Meguiars #2 Fine cut cleaner. It was alot easier than I thought and I was shocked the PC took them out so easily.
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sweet bro, we're either both finding out this is way easier than it always seems before you try it....or we're both screwed :lol: well maybe not you since its a practice piece. i cant wait till next week so i can do the whole truck, the OP although not bad from the factory is night and day after sanding
 
Thats real encouraging to hear, U had soft clear, On my previous car that had been repainted with ppg 2002 clear coat, it was super hard, very hard to buff out with 2000 grit sandpapers.

Here is a tip, if ever decide to westand do 2 things

1)try it in a small area first(sounds simple enough right? wish I would have known)

2)try to get some higher grip sandpaper just in case, like 2500-3000 grit sandpaper just in case



Post up some pics, im glad it worked out for ya
 
I have yet to wetsand a new car, but I've done more than a few older ones. IMO its easier and safer (if you use a pad, never westand with just the paper) than using a rotary with heavy cut or wool pad. Here is a pic of a 92 SC300 that had failing clearcoat in some places. I used 1000, 1500, then 2000 followed by 3M compound and then 3m MP.
 

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yakky said:
Here is a pic of a 92 SC300 that had failing clearcoat in some places. I used 1000, 1500, then 2000 followed by 3M compound and then 3m MP.
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Result looks gorgeous! So, does your sentence (that it had failing clearcoat) mean you have removed that clearcoat by wetsanding? I have a car with badly failing clearcoat (it is flaking off) and I am wondering (because of your sentence and result) can I make it at least semi-decent looking by wetsanding.
 
ZoranC said:
Result looks gorgeous! So, does your sentence (that it had failing clearcoat) mean you have removed that clearcoat by wetsanding? I have a car with badly failing clearcoat (it is flaking off) and I am wondering (because of your sentence and result) can I make it at least semi-decent looking by wetsanding.
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In the places where it was failing, yes I did remove the clearcoat. It was almost to the point that it was flaking, it was that white bubbly look in a few places on the roof and on the rear 1/4's. If it gets to the point of flaking, I think I would have a very hard time sanding that smooth due to the flakes. I tried it once on a Jeep and got ok results. Regardless, whatcha gonna do, ruin the paint? :D
 
I agree. I feel that wetsanding is safer and faster than buffing with a wool pad. Not as messy I bet either. Seems like you would have more control too.
 
justin30513 said:
I agree. I feel that wetsanding is safer and faster than buffing with a wool pad. Not as messy I bet either. Seems like you would have more control too.
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Actually in my experiemce the wool pad is 10 times easier to control then foam. I still hate foam pads.



However the lightest wetsending will remove more clear than the most aggressive wool pad.
 
yakky said:
Regardless, whatcha gonna do, ruin the paint? :D
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Exactly my thought :D Car will obviously need a repaint because of it, but it will take a while before I that gets done as I can not afford it, and in the meantime paint underneath seems healthy (to someone inexperienced with paint conditions, like me) so if I can make look OK that will be great, at least it won't be breaking my heart every time I see it.



Plus I am already "in the market" for wetsanding and supplies because I need to address few flaws on my other cars, so if I can achieve two things even better.
 
Just be carefull, the base coat is WAY thinner than the clear. A few good passes and you will be down to primer.
 
yakky said:
Just be carefull, the base coat is WAY thinner than the clear. A few good passes and you will be down to primer.
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Thank you for the warning. I did plan on being very gentle with it, doing just enough to clean up the flakes so it doesn't look awfull, but it is easy to forget yourself and get carried away, so reminder to be carefull helps.
 
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