Proper way to wet sand car.?

[JDMDRIVEREK]

Wus up ClubCivic..?
I wanna sand down my car an primer it b4 SpringFling. I have 2 1/2 months before the deadline.

So if i can get any valuable info it would be awsome.

?'s are:
What grit do i start with...
What primer should i use...Im gunna rattle can it..
an get it profesionally sprayed after...

My color is gunna be graphite Gunmetal flake.

Please. lmk thanks....

 

[s_crowley 17]

I know this is not what you want to hear but have you tried to search google? I mean come on man... dont be lazy.. you can find out faster than it took you to type this thread up...

This took me 1 minute:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2182233_wet-sand-paint-car.html
http://www.autodetailingnetwork.com/detail-articles-kleen-car/2009/7/30/wet-sanding-using-a-powerful-yet-dangerous-tool.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090507210424AAq1hNI

 

[JDMDRIVEREK]

Yeah, that was kinda lazy....
my bad, but i do appreciate thelinks...

 

[JCCLARK]

Rattle can primer is the worst possible paint product you could put on your car.
It's a 1K lacquer paint that no painter will use.
If I had to paint a car that had rattle can primer on it, I wouldn't do it unless
it was all stripped off first. It's the weakest worst stuff to paint over.
I guarantee all my paint work, but not over rattle can stuff. No way.
You're better off painting over the original paint.

 

[JDMDRIVEREK]

Either way i cant find a proper way to wet sand my car. every post i find either on youtube or google has a different answer. so im not trying to be lazy but if anyone can find a specific an correct post please reply it here for me...
I at least wanna know what grits to start with. I dont need to go to the metal i just wanna go with that dull look to get it all smooth until next month when i can possibly get it painted...

Thanks...

 

[JCCLARK]

400 is the coarsest if you're going to paint over it.
If you're going to primer first, you can go coarser, like 150.
The more coarse you go the straighter (flatter) it will be, not to be confused with smoother,
you can get it smooth with really fine paper, just not as straight.
So it all depends on what you're doing.
The best straight jobs are coarse sanded first , primed, coarse sanded again,
then primed again and sanded finer before painting.
This procedure is the difference in a quality and el-cheapo paint job.

 

[JDMDRIVEREK]

I just wanna sand the car down to make it smooth. I probably wont primer it right away because i dont have a spray gun or anything but i know someone who does an it will be 2 or 3 days before i can get it profesionally sprayed. Im basically gunna sand it down a good bit an my girls step dad is gunna primer it for me...I wanna sand my front bumper -fenders- rear bumper etc...& I basically wanna know which grit to start with..?

I wanna basically be in the under construction class at a show..Spring Fling because my car wont fully be complete....Ill probably spend $5/$600 on the paint it self...not including body work....Peach's paint & body here in F.L does a great job an offer's a price match or better than any other shop...

Whats Coarse mean..? grittier?

 

[prodigy803]

$600 on a paint job? What is that Macco's top competitor. You get what you pay for bud. I got mine sprayed for $1600 and I did all the body work and part of the prep and it came out horrible.

 

[PhntmSk8r]

$600 wont even cover GOOD materials for painting a car (product from 3m, ppg, etc.)

To do whats known as a "complete" in the auto body industry is realistically a 5,000-8,000 job dependent on dents, how many panels need to be stripped, etc.


Here's your rough average from a reputable painter, or shop.

$250-300 a panel for materials, add another $80 to that panel if it has any dents. On your average 4door sedan there are 13 panels (fenders, bumpers, quarters, doors, roof, hood, decklid). Then you go to the labor side of it, which is tearing the car down (windows, bumpers, doors, trim, moldings, mirrors, etc.), fixing dents, sanding/prepping the car, etc. etc.

Point is; it's not cheap to do it right.


As far as wet sanding, as JCCLARK said it depends on what you're doing.

Obviously, wet sanding to buff you'll want to go 600 if you have a MASSIVE "oops" in the clear so you can get it knocked out straight/flat. Then 1500, then buflex (2500 equivalent) to finish it off and get the sanding scratches out.

Where as wetsanding to respray a car you'll want to use 400 or so, then seal/prime over that. You cannot base (color) coat anything under 600 or you'll see sanding scratches in the new color. Sealers will cover down to 180 (on D/A sheets), 320 blocking. 2k high build primers will cover/fill as low as 36 grit.

 

[JDMDRIVEREK]

"Obviously, wet sanding to buff you'll want to go 600 if you have a MASSIVE "oops" in the clear so you can get it knocked out straight/flat. Then 1500, then buflex (2500 equivalent) to finish it off and get the sanding scratches out."

Thats what I want to do, Get it straight flat. & worry about the proper paint job later...
I understand it take's thousands of $'s to get a perfect paint job Right now i just wanna get minor blemish's out. On my roof between the roof/weather stripping & door is faded of clear down to the trunk and kinda under my rear window..Everything under that body line following from the fender's to the rear are fine along with hood & roof its self... I wanna get it a flat color by wet sanding an than when i have enough money ill send it to a shop for the final treatment an color..!

SOoO if i want the flat look finish without scratching to much into my paint i should use the 600-1500 Than 2500 to get it smooth..?

 

[Genuine Rolla]

I got my Dupont and PPG paint for under $200 both times.

 

[JCCLARK]

I got my Dupont and PPG paint for under $200 both times.

What kind? Their clearcoat is over $100.00 alone.
Their basecoat color is more than that.
And some colors like red will be $300.00 or more-for 1 gallon.
Then 2K primer is almost $100.00 a gal, and epoxy is more.
Reducer ai about $30.00 a gallon,
and there's a lot more to the list to paint a car.
you can probably paint your car with enamel a lot cheaper,
and it will be a lot cheaper paint job-that's why bodyshops won't use it.
They can't afford the come-backs that enamel will cause.
If you want a quality paint job-it's going to be more than $500.00 for materials, way more.

 

[JDMDRIVEREK]

well im actually getting my car primered in a flat black PPG primer. Im gunna pay $200 for it from my girl's step dad. He works with Mini trucks alot & old school's..an the primer he has is one of PPG's primer's you can spray right over a week or a year later with no issue's just a good wipe down & spray base coat & clear...
thats why im saying im only spending 4-$500 on a paint job because everything will be done...they only have to spray an clear it. And if they F that up there shop was never worth going to. But ive seen alot of people get their cars painted an ive seen a $400 paint job come out better than my buddy's $1300 paint job. I guess it depends on who paints it & actually takes their time to do certain things.. my car is black so im most likely gunna get it re-sprayed black so i dont have to worry about my engine bay and if i do get it re-sprayed a different color it will be M3 Gunmetal metalic...!

 

[JCCLARK]

For that price it's probably a epoxy primer-and that's what you want.
Epoxy primer is the only primer that's totally waterproof and will be ok
to leave for awhile before it's painted. And it's the one for kee[ing bare metal
spots from rusting. So make sure you're getting epoxy primer, and not a 2K (urethane) primer
and you'll have the best protection with no problems letting it sit awhile .

 

[JDMDRIVEREK]

Yeah, I checked 2X he said it's the epoxy primer. I basically wanna sand my car down just enough for the primer to stick, because my car is already black and that's what i want. I want my car to look like a Blackberry...Really gloss black with some flakes an maybe a red or lime green pearl to it...I have 3 dents total on my car...all no bigger than a gold 1$....So If i get a 1500grit an start wet sanding it will just come out in a flat color right..? I just want to sand through the clear a bit & make it smooth so i dont have to prime it right away.. It wont be primed until January or Feb. But i wanna start sanding down my bumper's-Fender's & Trunk...! so Im trying to figure out whats the best GRIT to start with to get it smooth & Dull Black for now....Make almost look like a new bumper or fender from an OEM replacement or something..! Im installing some side marker's so i wanna prep an sand while i cut....

 

[JCCLARK]

600 grit is what I always recommend for sanding before paint.
you can get away with 400 but it's a gamble, 600 is as aggressive as anyone can go safely.
Any more coarse than that and you risk scratches showing, especially with colors
like silver. I use 400 wet and get away with it, but when I used 400 dry I had some problems
with scratches showing. All papers are different, and even though they're the same grit,
different materials they use will affect the scratch. I have been safe with 600 no matter what kind,
so use 600.

 

[JDMDRIVEREK]

Ok so if i use 600 just to get it smooth and dull-flat black. will i have to primer it right away or can i wait a few days....?

 

[JCCLARK]

you can wait if it's kept clean and don't have any bare metal showing.
But if you're going to cover it with primer afterwards, then you can sand with
a coarser paper, primer fills scratches way better than paint.
I'd sand it with 220 to 320 if I were going to primer it.

 

[JDMDRIVEREK]

K. Well it wont be primer for another month or so but i wanted to started sanding the plastics such as bumper's Skirt's & spoiler...