Correcting orangepeel in new paint

[glen e]

Todd wrote about wetsanding recently, and when he speaks I listen. I`ve been afraid of it....but with all the right tools - oh well here`s my story:

I bought a new larger spoiler on ebay unpainted and for the first time, my painter returned it to me painted with a less than perfect job with orange peel. Called him and he said a new kid was spraying for him and to bring it back and he`d re- do. Having nothing to lose, I thought I would try wet sanding first to get rid go the peel and an all purpose polish to eliminate the sanding marks.

It worked out so well I am keeping it as is, it is glass now. So here`s the procedure I used:

a flex3403 rotary with a wool/foam hybrid pad , then orbital with white CCS pad
1000 grit wet sandpaper with Duragloss rinselss as QD lube
Menzerna FG400 as the main polish, Menzera SF4500 to finish it off to gloss it.

Literally 10 min of wet sanding, just enuf to make the whole surface matte and the orange peel gone.

Then the rotary with foam pad and FG400 - taking care to watch the edges - on speed 2.5 about 4 - 6 passes

Follow with orbital and white pad - done - these pics are without any wax or sealant at all. The magic , IMO is the foam/wool pad and FG400 - a deadly combo....



The tools


Lotsa Orange peel

after 10 min with FG400 & wet sanding

All done, the gloss/finish of the trunk is now the same, striations in spoiler are the plastic underneath.

[Trouble]

Todd wrote about wetsanding recently, and when he speaks I listen. I`ve been afraid of it....but with all the right tools - oh well here`s my story:

I bought a new larger spoiler on ebay unpainted and for the first time, my painter returned it to me painted with a less than perfect job with orange peel. Called him and he said a new kid was spraying for him and to bring it back and he`d re- do. Having nothing to lose, I thought I would try wet sanding first to get rid go the peel and an all purpose polish to eliminate the sanding marks.

It worked out so well I am keeping it as is, it is glass now. So here`s the procedure I used:

a flex3403 rotary with a wool/foam hybrid pad , then orbital with white CCS pad
1000 grit wet sandpaper with Duragloss rinselss as QD lube
Menzerna FG400 as the main polish, Menzera SF4500 to finish it off to gloss it.

Literally 10 min of wet sanding, just enuf to make the whole surface matte and the orange peel gone.

Then the rotary with foam pad and FG400 - taking care to watch the edges - on speed 2.5 about 4 - 6 passes

Follow with orbital and white pad - done - these pics are without any wax or sealant at all. The magic , IMO is the foam/wool pad and FG400 - a deadly combo....



The tools


Lotsa Orange peel

after 1st pass with FG400 & wet sanding

All done, the gloss/finish of the trunk is now the same, striations in spoiler are the plastic underneath.

Impressive!

Have you noticed any tracers from using 1000 grit only?

[glen e]

nope...if i had some present, i would have gone over it with 3000, but just polished more...

[Trouble]

nope...if i had some present, i would have gone over it with 3000, but just polished more...

Sweet !!!

Sanding discs or straight paper?

[colinpd137]

Awesome job bud

Sanding discs or straight paper?

x2

[glen e]

straight paper by hand......used duragloss rinseless as lube....

opti coating later tonight...looks good vs stock spoiler:

[Stokdgs]

Glen -
You absolutely killed it !!!
That is beautiful work !
I am so proud of you !

Yes, the Lake Country Purple Foam Wool Pad is my go-to pad and I have worn out dozens of them on Airplanes - and they really work great on that dirty, hard, urethane paint..

Awesome thought process and follow through !

Your car looks killer and is to die for !!! Love It !
Dan F

[Trouble]

Good for you !!!

You hear a most people say preserve, preserve, preserve! I say you only live once! Why should you have to look at that disgusting orange peel everyday?!?

By the time the clear fails you will have long gotten rid of that car I`m sure

[glen e]

Good for you !!!

You hear a most people say preserve, preserve, preserve! I say you only live once! Why should you have to look at that disgusting orange peel everyday?!?

By the time the clear fails you will have long gotten rid of that car I`m sure

Interesting point - I have been with this painter for about 8 years and he knows my detailing addiction/obsession - he always paints my stuff "heavy clear" - meaning a few more coats of very wet, premium Sikkens urethane, as he knows it will see more than one polish....NO fear here of burning thru...

[Trouble]

Interesting point - I have been with this painter for about 8 years and he knows my detailing addiction/obsession - he always paints my stuff "heavy clear" - meaning a few more coats of very wet, premium Sikkens urethane, as he knows it will see more than one polish....NO fear here of burning thru...

Sorry, I thought this was factory paint/clear

[mrclean81]

Great job. I hear people from time to time refer to the clear failing after so long...I have never..EVER known of clear coat failing because its been wetsanded. Ever. Not saying it cant, but Ive never had it happen. When I bought my Tahoe, I sanded 100% of the orange peel out of it. Not because I wanted to, but because it was a retired Border Patrol vehicle that had seen more air time than a 747. Fast forward 4 years of hardly ever being washed, let alone polished and waxed, and the clear is still holding up just fine and will for many years to come. Again, not trying to start a war here or deny "science", just stating my experiences.

[sprocketser]

Great job on the spoiler mate . Real nice ride that you got in there .

[Merlin]

Good Job. Very nice work!

_____________


Merlin

[ShaneB]

Looks great!

Just a heads up, you might want to wait to opti coat it for a few weeks if its freshly painted. A good rule of thumb is one month to allow any and all solvents to make their way out of the paint and allow it to fully cure. If you seal/wax/coat it, you trap the solvents inside and it will cause the paint to fail prematurely

[glen e]

This is marine urethane that was baked and gassed out...ok to OC....