Wet Sanding and Buffing

 

Let’s get into “wet sanding” or “color sanding” which are basically the same thing. Why, when and how we should do this depends on a few things that we cover here. Scratches, scuffs, imperfections, oxidation, stains, runs and trash in the clear coat are the main reasons we would. When we do this all depends on which one of the issues above we are dealing with. How we do it is by removing a thin amount of the clear, without going too far and ruining the finish.

Wet sanding is the fastest way to remove any of those imperfections we talked about and some times the only way besides painting the panel. Most cars you see will have a certain amount of orange peel and that is another reason you would do this. Leveling the orange peel down will make the finish look even better as it will be be smooth and free of any runs or sags that will pop when the light hits it.

 

Sand Paper

Sand paper ranges anywhere from 400-4000 grit when your wet sanding. Just like any other type of sanding, you will start off more aggressive and work your way up. I usually start out with 2000 and if it’s not aggressive enough I will go down to a 1500 for some stubborn areas then quickly step back up. You want to step up  your wet sanding leaving the surface with the finest scratches that you will be able to buff out easier.

The clear coat is what keeps your car shining and protects the surface from the UV rays. When you start this wet sanding process, you only want to remove about .3 mils from the surface, any more than that and you risk the chance of a repaint. If you go too far, your getting into the base coat and the only way to repair that is to paint it.

I put my paper in a bucket of water with a few drops of dish soap and let it get good and saturated for a while. If I’m hand sanding I always use a block because your fingers will dig down into the clear. Block sanding will keep the paper flat on the surface thus reducing the chance of making a costly mistake. When I need to use more water on the surface I will either dip the paper back in or use my spray bottle.

 

Scratches and Scuffs

These are the most common requests I get from people. When your wet sanding  these, remember that your removing some of the clear and in these areas you will have to consider the fact that the scratch itself has already had some clear removed. We aren’t really removing the scratches here, more like making them less visible. If they are down low on the vehicle I won’t be too aggressive with them because they are easier to hide.

 

Orange Peel

When you knock the orange peel down, or level out the surface by wet sanding, your making a nice smooth surface that you can buff and polish to a shine that you cannot achieve by buffing alone. Most show cars will have this done because they are competing for trophies and the paint job is the biggest single part of the car that you will notice first.

Sometimes you can buff out imperfections but you need to be careful with your choices of pads and compounds. Buffing will produce a lot of heat on the panel and you can burn through the clear faster than wet sanding some times. Use the same method here as with your paper selection, starting out with a lighter compound and maybe a foam pad first. If that isn’t working then try something a little more aggressive like a cutting compound and a wool pad but be careful here.

 

Options

Most people think that any guy with a buffer can fix any scratch but we know that’s not the case. If you don’t have much experience in wet sanding, then I recommend you get some fenders and doors from a junk yard and practice. Then before you do a customers car, try it out on your own and maybe some family members that trust you.

Once you get the hang of this, it can be a very nice addition to the services you provide or if your just doing this for yourself then you can save a lot of money. Either way, you will save money or make a lot of money if you do this right.

Darker colors will be the worst because clear coat will appear to look white and that will stand out on top of a dark color. Some scratches won’t come out by wet sanding  and simply put, need to be painted. I would go over this with the customer before I agreed to anything because you wouldn’t want to eat the cost of a repaint because you thought you could work magic.

The Work

This is the hard part as it is very tedious and time consuming and that is one of the reasons it’s a very good skill to learn because you can get payed well for doing this. The first thing I do is tape up all the corners, edges and molding that you could possibly damage and any pin stripes if you think you will get too close to them. I spray down the area I’m about to work and start wet sanding  the scratch at an angle, never going in the same direction as the scratch. This helps me to see when I’ve got the scratch removed a lot easier.

I stop frequently to check my progress. This is a very messy job and you will have to wash and wipe down your surface often. The white milky stuff is actually the layer of clear coat your removing while wet sanding. Wipe it down good so you can check your work and move on if your satisfied with your results. If your not removing the scratch at this point you will have to decide on trying to sand it out some more or moving on and not taking the chance of burning through.

I like to start off with 1500-2000 if I can. Remember, the finer the grit, the finer the scratch. There are times when I will use 1200,1000 or even 800 grit depending on the job and the color of the base coat. If you ever have to start out that aggressive, make sure to go back over that surface. This is how it would look 1000>1500>2000 and even 3000 grit if you need to. The process remains the same even though you have gone to a finer paper, you can still burn through while wet sanding.

 

Wet Sanding is done, now for the buffing

Buffing it out, this is always the best part for me. This is where you get to see all your hard work starting to pay off. After wet sanding, get all your buffing tools ready. I use a variable speed buffer set around 1000-1200 RPM’s because if you get it too fast it will produce more heat and burn through. This is equally as dangerous if not more dangerous some times than sanding because of all that heat. I like wool pads most of the time because they are bit more aggressive and I just like the feel of them but a foam pad is a little safer because they run a little cooler. Always start with a good clean pad and keep it clean.

Choosing the right compound is our next step. I won’t get too aggressive here if I’ve done a good wet sanding. The reason for stepping up to that finer grit paper was to keep my time here minimal and to produce better results with final shine. It’s a good idea to leave that tape on for this step as well. I work an area about 2 feet by 3 feet and don’t try to get ahead of yourself here. Pay attention and keep your eyes on the panel to make sure your not burning anything. Once it starts, it’s pretty much done and your painting that panel if not more.

Work the compound in slow and be careful not to sling it all over because your the one cleaning it up later and it looks very unprofessional. Try to keep your pad flat on the surface at all times and avoid running on the edge of your pad. Don’t work the area too long because it’s getting hot, buff it and move on to the next section.

 

Swirl Mark Removal

Now that we are done wet sanding and buffing, we will need to remove all those swirl marks we put in the clear coat. Some people will try to hide these swirl marks with wax and it cam be done but I can promise you that customer will either call you back very soon to complain or they will never call you again. The only way to do this is to use swirl mark removal compounds and pads. Skip this step and it can cost you big time plus it looks better if you do it.

Read the directions on whatever product you choose to use. This gets worked into the surface and it leaves a greasy film behind, don’t worry, that’s what it’s supposed to do. Don’t buff this stuff dry. Once you wipe it off with a micro fiber towel it will look awesome.

 

Wet Look

This is where you apply your shine. All that stuff before looked good but wait til we are done with this step. After you have finished wet sanding to remove scratches and any other imperfections, buffed back out and really clean looking, removed all the swirl marks, it’s time for the shine. Now everything we have done so far will make this step easier and it will look nothing like it did before we started. Applying the wax is simple, I use an orbital machine with micro fiber bonnets and it looks amazing when I’m done. There is no other way possible to achieve this look without going through each step of this process.

 

Now What?

Get paid or take your super shiny ride to the show and bring that trophy back. There are a lot of variations in getting paid, for instance you might want charge by the hour plus supplies or maybe by the job. If your good at what you do and chances are there isn’t much competition in your area, you can almost name any price you want within reason. Most people don’t like to do this because it’s very time consuming and the risks involved in damaging the paint but if your confident and you have the skills then wet sanding and buffing  is a very rewarding and lucrative business to be in. I’ve been doing this for over 25 years and I’ve enjoyed each and every job.

 

 

 

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