wet sanding

JJDH · #1 03-29-2009, 10:06 PM

one of my vehicles are black. is it a good idea to wet sand? it is 6yrs old,also has alot of swirls from multiple detail jobs over time..trying to bring it back to life. any suggestions

johnnyd2723 · #2 03-29-2009, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJDH

one of my vehicles are black. is it a good idea to wet sand? it is 6yrs old,also has alot of swirls from multiple detail jobs over time..trying to bring it back to life. any suggestions

Have you tried to clay bar it? You can get a more aggressive clay if it's really bad.

JJDH · #3 03-29-2009, 10:13 PM

yo johnny, how those goodyears u bought from me treating u? no, i havnt used a clay bar, what is it?

esf · #4 03-29-2009, 10:24 PM

A clay bar is used to remove embedded contaniments from the paint. It won't do squat for your swirls. I guess I should ask what you consider to be a detail first of all. Also depends on how aggressive the details were. It's kind of hard for anyone to say if wet sanding is safe or not without knowing the history of the paint itself. You need to make sure there is enough clear left to actually wet sand. Then you'll need to compound the wet sanding marks and follow up the compounding with a finer polish. I'd probably find someone with a paint guage to see how much is left before you go digging in.

JJDH · #5 03-29-2009, 10:36 PM

ok, iwas gonna try myself, it has had prolly 12 buff jobs. now it is swirrled up, and the wife keeps scuffing it, its a ford explorer

johnnyd2723 · #6 03-29-2009, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJDH

yo johnny, how those goodyears u bought from me treating u? no, i havnt used a clay bar, what is it?

They're real good man. Did real well in the snow and I love the ride. But I am ready to put my other wheels on for summer (it's snowing right now though

)

ESF knows a ton about detailing so that's some great advice. I had some light swirl marks in my paint last spring. I clay'd it then used the Meg's Deep Crystal 3 step system. It took them all out. The first step in the DC system is a paint cleaner. It will remove light swirl marks and is pretty user friendly for the novice. Step 2 was the polish and then step 3 is the wax. I used the Porter Cable DA with orange pads (should have used the less aggressive blk pads because my paint is in pretty good shape and the orange left some halograming, at least that's what I belive happened)

There are some heavier swirl removers available but ya' got to be careful.

JJDH · #7 03-29-2009, 10:43 PM

cool, i guess i will wing it, have to learn sometime...lol

johnnyd2723 · #8 03-29-2009, 10:50 PM

I'm no expert but PM me if you run into any problems or need any help.

Thanks again for the tires

Later

esf · #9 03-29-2009, 11:07 PM

Meg's terminology can be confusing. They use the terms cleaners and polishes a little different. From what I understand, they use the term Pure Polish, which is what they consider DC2, like other companies use the term glaze. I might be wrong here but that's how I understand it. And their cleaners are both chemical and abrasive.

If you're just trying to remove swirling, you don't have to resort to wetsanding. That's really extreme. Go to Walmart or parts stores that sell Meguiars and lok for SwirlX or ScratchX2.0. Use a new quality terry cloth towel (if doing by hand) and work it into the paint and remove. Check your work and repeat if necessary. You said it's been buffed but what has it been buffed it with? What kind of buffer? What polishes or compounds? What kind of vehicle are you talking about. Different vehicles have different paints, some hard, some soft. If you're using one of those cheap orbital buffers that you can get for for less than $50 or whatever they cost, you might as well do it by hand.

Carlsson3 · #10 03-30-2009, 08:38 AM

Wet sanding should NOT be recommended for the factory clear coat. Last resort if then. Try Meguiar's Ultimate Compound by hand if you do not have a DA or rotary. This is an excellent product and readily available where Meguiar's is sold.

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G17216

glc · #11 03-30-2009, 08:46 AM

I would not do anything harsh without having a professional look at it first. If it has swirls from a detail job, the job was not done properly. It might help if you could post pics.

RollingRock · #12 03-30-2009, 01:00 PM

JJDH · #13 03-30-2009, 02:34 PM

i will post some pics of te vehicle. it is a 2002 ford exploder. i have had the dealership detail it a few times, also a place called ultragloss did a number on it. now the paint is 7 yrs old, has swirls and the wife has rubbed a few things with it, it is lookin worn scecially in the sun,then the swirls are really noticeable, i will look into doing what u guys have suggested, i will also see what kind of pics i can get