I'm getting ready to wet sand and polish my truck and have some questions. I've read through the posts on here and am a little confused.
How far should I go with the wet sand??? 3000? 4000?
After the truck is wet sanded, do I go with the 3 pad, 3M process or do I go directly to Farecla G3 and the purple Meguires finish?
What will give me the best results?
The truck is straight and painted black. The paint job is pretty good, it has very little dirt and a couple small runs. There is 3 HEAVY coats of clear on it. I want this paint to be over the top, Show Quality.
It's taken me 3 years to get the truck this far. I don't want to screw it up now.
Please give me your suggestions.
-- Edited by Moobster on Thursday 19th of February 2015 09:24:35 AM
I do have a friend/ bodyman that will be doing it. He has experience wet sanding and polishing. He uses 3M products, usually finishes up with the second pad and his work looks really good, nicer than a new car on the lot. I have confidence in him. BUT, he has never done a SHOW finish, and I want to take this paint job "over the top"
-- Edited by Moobster on Thursday 19th of February 2015 09:42:06 AM
Take extra care not to sand or burn through the clear around the hangers as they can cause you a real headache. When I used to paint years ago (retired) I would use a 3M Micron paper for a nicer sanding finish but that was for acrylic paints no longer available in Canada. So not just the grit makes a difference there are different papers also when going over the top. I would find a person who has experience in high quality finishes when going over the top. I always said a body mans job is finished when it is ready for paint as a rule.
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Yes they are all crazzzy but me and you........... and I am not sure about you!!!!
I used 3M stuff on both my cars. Tape your edges off so you CAN'T burn through them. Start with the highest wet grit you can to achieve a shiny surface (you'll see what I mean when you dry the panel off ) and then I went with a 3000 grit hand pad, and then to the 3M pads on a polisher. Once finished go back over the edges by hand CAREFULLY! It's not rocket science but it is tedious…just don't get bored cuz that's when **** happens
If you do the job yourself ware rubber gloves if the paint activator has Isocyanides in it. When wet sanding you can reactivate the Isocyanides and it absorbs through the skin. I took courses at DuPont and that was a major topic some days if a person was not wearing gloves.
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Yes they are all crazzzy but me and you........... and I am not sure about you!!!!
Thank you for your replies.
The clear went on pretty nice when we sprayed it, but got some orange peel in the final coat.
The clear is smoother than on a new car on the lot, but that's not saying much. We can start with 1500 easily and thought to go as far as 2500.
Is it worth going to 3000???
The polish is more of what I was concerned about. Are the 3M compounds a good way to go??? They have a cut, a polish, and a finishing compound and 3 different pads to go with them. Is Farecla a better system??? G3, G6, then G9???
What would be the best, sealer or wax, to finish it???
Actually it is worth going to the 3000 pad. It produces a soft shine on the paint the REALLY shows ANY imperfection. The blue finish compound is almost like water and will spin off the foam easily so watch how much you use and where you aim it. As far as I'm concerned a 100% carnuba is the est stuff to wax and seal a paint job but only after it has had a chance to cure. Then I use a product out of the states called Final Detail. It's the best spray wax I have found.
Actually it is worth going to the 3000 pad. It produces a soft shine on the paint the REALLY shows ANY imperfection. The blue finish compound is almost like water and will spin off the foam easily so watch how much you use and where you aim it. As far as I'm concerned a 100% carnuba is the est stuff to wax and seal a paint job but only after it has had a chance to cure. Then I use a product out of the states called Final Detail. It's the best spray wax I have found.
Beautiful car!!!
The blue finish compound, is that the 3M stuff??? I will get some 3000. Thanks for the reply
