School of Wetsanding/Buffing/Polishing [Machine & Hand]
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From: South Chicago
School of Wetsanding/Buffing/Polishing [Machine & Hand]
After reading several threads where theres always a question about some sort of post paint work ive decided to make a thread explaining a how to about all. Ive been doing body work, painting, and post paint work since I was 17 so take it from me.
Ill be using a customers rear scion hatch garnish that I debadged, filled, and refinished. The following tools you will need are listed below.
+ Wet sanding paper
+ Rubbing compound
+ Polishing compound
+ Clean water
+ Small squeegee
+ Polishing cloth
+ buffng tool
- Orbital buffer w/ assorted pads
- Angle grinder w/ buffing attachment & assorted pads
- if hand buffing just an extra polish cloth will do
+ Clothes you don't mind dirtying
+ Clean organized working space
+ And a drink!
Wet sanding paper
A type of paper used to finely sand panels (in most cases after a fresh paint job). Wet sanding paper usually ranges from 400 grit to 3000 grit. I use 400 - 600 grti to remove runs, 800 - 1000 to sand entire panels after a fresh paint job, and after I hit the panels fully with 8 - 1000 grit I always go over it with 1500 - 2000 because I use light rubbing compound. Its a much safer way to assure you that you dont go through the paint.
Rubbing compound
A special paste that is sued to remove wet sanding marks, blemishes, hazing, and abuse to paint that polish wont remove (deeper scratches and scuffs) If your wet sanding with 800 - 1000 and elaving it at that you want to use a heavy duty rubbing compound which is almost like liquid pasty sand paper. I hate tath stuff, tis very messy and rough so tis easy to ruin a job. its always best to go over the 8 - 1000 grit sand paper with 1500 - 2000. If you do that then you can use a light rubbing compound (3M perfect-it III). About $30 a bottle.
Clean Water
Dont use a bucket, dirt gets cought in there and it ruins everything. Use a squirt bottle or hose. I like a spritzer bottle with some dish soap to lubricate the paper.
Small Squeegee
Used to remove the water to see if your done sanding that area or not.
Orbital buffer - Teh best way to buff and polish but if your not experienced with it don't try it. Buffers are the fastest way to f up paint. Unexperienced users almost always burn through the paint.
Random orbital Sander / polishers - No they wont work well... They don't have the power and rotation to remove the sanding marks.
Angle Grinders w buffing attachments - Work the same as buffers but use it on small parts where a big buffer wont reach.
Hand Polishing - The best way fro beginners! Takes 10x longer though...
[b]How do I know what sand paper to use?[b]
Runs. If you have runs what you want to do is wrap the paper around the sanding block/squeegee and bend it with the lump facing the panel. Slowly sand the run (only the run)with 400 - 600 grit depending on the size of the run. Once its mostly leveled out you can go over it with 800 to blend it with the rest of the clear coat if not remove it completely.
Stock clear coat? Dont risk it, go over it with 2500 or 3000. The stock clear coat looks great so your objective isn't to smoothen it out to remove orange peel its most likely to give it a sharper polished image.
600, 800, 1000 is to level out the paint so the cc is not a distorted blurry image.
1500 - 3000 is mainly used to go over the coarser grits to set it up for light compounds. And its also used to wet sand already wet sanded panels (stock panels count) Even though stock panels aren't wet sanded by the factory the way they get it so nice is one thin coat which is thick enough to over the entire panel with out going over it again.
Lets begin!
Start off with getting a nice space to work, I use a horse (industrial stand) with MDF board over it, masking paper over that to keep the board clean.
I will be wet sanding buffing and polishing a customers 2006 Scion tC hatch handle I debadged.
My first step was wetting the garnish with light soapy water and wet sanding it with 1000 grit sand paper. make sure to keep the pane nice and wet. It keeps the sand paper lasting 100x longer than if you did it dry.
Every now and then squeegee the panel to check it out. if it looks like this your doing fine. The object is to get it all one smooth hazy color with no dimples in the haze. Dimples are low points that aren't sanded yet and need to be leveled out.
Once your done with that go over it with 1500 or 2000 (2000 is recommended) and the finished piece will look like this.
next step is rubbing compound! If your using a machine buffer keep it at low settings .Dont exceed 3200 RPM. I never go over 2K. it Taks longer but is much safer.
If I'm in a hurry Ill buff at 6000 rpm but only on big panels 9hoods, doors, etc. The thing about buffing is to add moderate pressure to push the compound in the scratches and at the same time keep the buffer moving. never buff with the rotation spinning towards an edge. If you grab that edge you can tear through the paint. Always have the buffer spinning off the panel. The next thing is to keep the buffer flat, never sue the edge, again you'll go through the paint. The last thing thats important is be super careful on corners, edges, and body lines, very easy to rip through that paint.
If your using a wool pad you want to go over it with a coarse foam pad. When using any foam pad do a few sprays of detail spray on the pad. Dont dampen it, just make it moist. This keeps the apd cool and keeps the friction minimal. Friction = heat, heat = soft paint, soft paint = easy to move or burn it off. Detail spray reduces it almost 100% depending on speed.
If your hand buffing then your safe. Just rub with pressure and keep a good speed when rubbing that compound in. It will take several wipe on and rub off sessions so be patient. In time you will see progress.
The object is to remove all hazing, blemishes, and scratches. When you see light swirl marks at close distance but it looks great from further away your done buffing. The next step is polishing.
Same techniques go to polishing as if you were buffing but when your polishing you want very light pressure if any at all. Dont go too fast otherwise the polish will chalk up. And only sue a few drops at a time otherwise itl dampen the pad too much and itl be too soggy.
If your hand polishing just wipe in the polish in nicely with pressure and take another cloth ad wipe ti off after it hazes usually 10 - 15 seconds)
After that your ready for some final glaze and tis ready to go!
Buffing and Polishing isn't something for the average joe, it takes many many days weeks and months to get it down perfectly to be a pro at it. I wouldn't suggest anybody try this with a machine until thy at least try a test piece just to get the hang of it. Try it on junk yard cars ,try it on your parents or sisters cars or even neighbors (shhh) but don't try your stuff unless your willing the risk. Ive been doing this professionally since 17 and still now and then burn through the paint. Super easy to mess up. Especially on a 1980 cadi limo door
The last thing is.. Those of you who think spray canning a lip kit is the bestest thing because you can do it so cheap and save hundreds of dollars by doing this all yourself. You are waaaay wrong! Many spray can primer and paint their lip kits and say its just as good. No way... In order to get a perfect long lasting result yu need to have it sprayed through a gun because there are certain materials that cant be sprayed from a can. For example... A good adhesion promoter will cost at least 80 dollars a quart (40 in a can) If it comes from an auto zone or online for $20 bucks it wont work. There are certain materials you desperatley need to spray adhesion plastic parts fro paint that cant be put in a can. Another thing is base coats. 95% of what you get in a can isnt urethane automotive paints , the ysay they are but they wont last long in the weather. Not only that they have early paint failure (premature pealing)
Clear paints. The only clears that will last is clears that have to be mixed and used with in a certain time because they have to harden. Clears don't dry, they harden. Its made to mainly protect paint. Clear are basically an acrylic sheet (like resign, but thinner)
Lastly if you are going to paint your own stuff. Use materials that match. If you use a urethane primer use a urethane base and clear. Many people use a lacquer primer, the cheap touch up stuff over that, and then a urathane coat from a can that has a special core that when you brake the seals it mixes the chemicals. All that = early paint failure because the coats don't adhere to each other. I wont go deeper into this because this is already toooo long.
My point of the DY painters, if yru rattle canning your stuff and want to wet sand buff and polish. Give it a few days to fully dry. Since there is no activator in the paints the paints wont harden, they will just dry but always remain somewhat soft. So you want t oat least let it dry as much as it can before you start toughing the paint aggressively.
last note! Never buy paint mixed with clear. Always buy a separate can of clear if you want to have a somewhat glossy coat. And always practice before you do your stuff!
Ill be using a customers rear scion hatch garnish that I debadged, filled, and refinished. The following tools you will need are listed below.
+ Wet sanding paper
+ Rubbing compound
+ Polishing compound
+ Clean water
+ Small squeegee
+ Polishing cloth
+ buffng tool
- Orbital buffer w/ assorted pads
- Angle grinder w/ buffing attachment & assorted pads
- if hand buffing just an extra polish cloth will do
+ Clothes you don't mind dirtying
+ Clean organized working space
+ And a drink!
Wet sanding paper
A type of paper used to finely sand panels (in most cases after a fresh paint job). Wet sanding paper usually ranges from 400 grit to 3000 grit. I use 400 - 600 grti to remove runs, 800 - 1000 to sand entire panels after a fresh paint job, and after I hit the panels fully with 8 - 1000 grit I always go over it with 1500 - 2000 because I use light rubbing compound. Its a much safer way to assure you that you dont go through the paint.
Rubbing compound
A special paste that is sued to remove wet sanding marks, blemishes, hazing, and abuse to paint that polish wont remove (deeper scratches and scuffs) If your wet sanding with 800 - 1000 and elaving it at that you want to use a heavy duty rubbing compound which is almost like liquid pasty sand paper. I hate tath stuff, tis very messy and rough so tis easy to ruin a job. its always best to go over the 8 - 1000 grit sand paper with 1500 - 2000. If you do that then you can use a light rubbing compound (3M perfect-it III). About $30 a bottle.
Clean Water
Dont use a bucket, dirt gets cought in there and it ruins everything. Use a squirt bottle or hose. I like a spritzer bottle with some dish soap to lubricate the paper.
Small Squeegee
Used to remove the water to see if your done sanding that area or not.
Orbital buffer - Teh best way to buff and polish but if your not experienced with it don't try it. Buffers are the fastest way to f up paint. Unexperienced users almost always burn through the paint.
Random orbital Sander / polishers - No they wont work well... They don't have the power and rotation to remove the sanding marks.
Angle Grinders w buffing attachments - Work the same as buffers but use it on small parts where a big buffer wont reach.
Hand Polishing - The best way fro beginners! Takes 10x longer though...
[b]How do I know what sand paper to use?[b]
Runs. If you have runs what you want to do is wrap the paper around the sanding block/squeegee and bend it with the lump facing the panel. Slowly sand the run (only the run)with 400 - 600 grit depending on the size of the run. Once its mostly leveled out you can go over it with 800 to blend it with the rest of the clear coat if not remove it completely.
Stock clear coat? Dont risk it, go over it with 2500 or 3000. The stock clear coat looks great so your objective isn't to smoothen it out to remove orange peel its most likely to give it a sharper polished image.
600, 800, 1000 is to level out the paint so the cc is not a distorted blurry image.
1500 - 3000 is mainly used to go over the coarser grits to set it up for light compounds. And its also used to wet sand already wet sanded panels (stock panels count) Even though stock panels aren't wet sanded by the factory the way they get it so nice is one thin coat which is thick enough to over the entire panel with out going over it again.
Lets begin!
Start off with getting a nice space to work, I use a horse (industrial stand) with MDF board over it, masking paper over that to keep the board clean.
I will be wet sanding buffing and polishing a customers 2006 Scion tC hatch handle I debadged.
My first step was wetting the garnish with light soapy water and wet sanding it with 1000 grit sand paper. make sure to keep the pane nice and wet. It keeps the sand paper lasting 100x longer than if you did it dry.
Every now and then squeegee the panel to check it out. if it looks like this your doing fine. The object is to get it all one smooth hazy color with no dimples in the haze. Dimples are low points that aren't sanded yet and need to be leveled out.
Once your done with that go over it with 1500 or 2000 (2000 is recommended) and the finished piece will look like this.
next step is rubbing compound! If your using a machine buffer keep it at low settings .Dont exceed 3200 RPM. I never go over 2K. it Taks longer but is much safer.
If I'm in a hurry Ill buff at 6000 rpm but only on big panels 9hoods, doors, etc. The thing about buffing is to add moderate pressure to push the compound in the scratches and at the same time keep the buffer moving. never buff with the rotation spinning towards an edge. If you grab that edge you can tear through the paint. Always have the buffer spinning off the panel. The next thing is to keep the buffer flat, never sue the edge, again you'll go through the paint. The last thing thats important is be super careful on corners, edges, and body lines, very easy to rip through that paint.
If your using a wool pad you want to go over it with a coarse foam pad. When using any foam pad do a few sprays of detail spray on the pad. Dont dampen it, just make it moist. This keeps the apd cool and keeps the friction minimal. Friction = heat, heat = soft paint, soft paint = easy to move or burn it off. Detail spray reduces it almost 100% depending on speed.
If your hand buffing then your safe. Just rub with pressure and keep a good speed when rubbing that compound in. It will take several wipe on and rub off sessions so be patient. In time you will see progress.
The object is to remove all hazing, blemishes, and scratches. When you see light swirl marks at close distance but it looks great from further away your done buffing. The next step is polishing.
Same techniques go to polishing as if you were buffing but when your polishing you want very light pressure if any at all. Dont go too fast otherwise the polish will chalk up. And only sue a few drops at a time otherwise itl dampen the pad too much and itl be too soggy.
If your hand polishing just wipe in the polish in nicely with pressure and take another cloth ad wipe ti off after it hazes usually 10 - 15 seconds)
After that your ready for some final glaze and tis ready to go!
Buffing and Polishing isn't something for the average joe, it takes many many days weeks and months to get it down perfectly to be a pro at it. I wouldn't suggest anybody try this with a machine until thy at least try a test piece just to get the hang of it. Try it on junk yard cars ,try it on your parents or sisters cars or even neighbors (shhh) but don't try your stuff unless your willing the risk. Ive been doing this professionally since 17 and still now and then burn through the paint. Super easy to mess up. Especially on a 1980 cadi limo door
The last thing is.. Those of you who think spray canning a lip kit is the bestest thing because you can do it so cheap and save hundreds of dollars by doing this all yourself. You are waaaay wrong! Many spray can primer and paint their lip kits and say its just as good. No way... In order to get a perfect long lasting result yu need to have it sprayed through a gun because there are certain materials that cant be sprayed from a can. For example... A good adhesion promoter will cost at least 80 dollars a quart (40 in a can) If it comes from an auto zone or online for $20 bucks it wont work. There are certain materials you desperatley need to spray adhesion plastic parts fro paint that cant be put in a can. Another thing is base coats. 95% of what you get in a can isnt urethane automotive paints , the ysay they are but they wont last long in the weather. Not only that they have early paint failure (premature pealing)
Clear paints. The only clears that will last is clears that have to be mixed and used with in a certain time because they have to harden. Clears don't dry, they harden. Its made to mainly protect paint. Clear are basically an acrylic sheet (like resign, but thinner)
Lastly if you are going to paint your own stuff. Use materials that match. If you use a urethane primer use a urethane base and clear. Many people use a lacquer primer, the cheap touch up stuff over that, and then a urathane coat from a can that has a special core that when you brake the seals it mixes the chemicals. All that = early paint failure because the coats don't adhere to each other. I wont go deeper into this because this is already toooo long.
My point of the DY painters, if yru rattle canning your stuff and want to wet sand buff and polish. Give it a few days to fully dry. Since there is no activator in the paints the paints wont harden, they will just dry but always remain somewhat soft. So you want t oat least let it dry as much as it can before you start toughing the paint aggressively.
last note! Never buy paint mixed with clear. Always buy a separate can of clear if you want to have a somewhat glossy coat. And always practice before you do your stuff!
Senior Member
SL Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 528
From: Birmingham
i do some light wetsanding to help level scratches when i do paint correction and i use a DA orbital fine. it just requires more time than a rotary buffer.
but the DA orbital i use is the Porter cable so it is a nice one.
but the DA orbital i use is the Porter cable so it is a nice one.
random orbital spinners is the one which shakes like crazy during spinning?
thats what i have.. i did a few polishing for myself it came out pretty damn good, and i couldnt mess up the paint with this polisher..
btw i seen a show in the tv.. the guys was polishind and he was using 2-3 different pads, cant remember how he did it and what pads he used.. oh and i think he sprayed something on the car during waxing.. it could be soapy water.. or i dont know.. any thoughts?
thats what i have.. i did a few polishing for myself it came out pretty damn good, and i couldnt mess up the paint with this polisher..
btw i seen a show in the tv.. the guys was polishind and he was using 2-3 different pads, cant remember how he did it and what pads he used.. oh and i think he sprayed something on the car during waxing.. it could be soapy water.. or i dont know.. any thoughts?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
SL Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,741
From: South Chicago
I use usually 4 pads after wet sanding.
Wool pad - removes the sanding marks real but puts in thousands of bad swirl marks
Coarse foam pad - removes the bad swirl marks and restores a glossy shine
Coarse polishign pad - shines the surface up more and removes any left over super small fine swirl marks depending on what polishes you use.
Then a super soft polishing pad with a final glaze polish to give it a show car shine.
What he was spraying was probably a detail spray. To reduce the friction of foam pads you want to keep the pads moist to keep the surface cool. Detail spray is the best way to go.
Wool pad - removes the sanding marks real but puts in thousands of bad swirl marks
Coarse foam pad - removes the bad swirl marks and restores a glossy shine
Coarse polishign pad - shines the surface up more and removes any left over super small fine swirl marks depending on what polishes you use.
Then a super soft polishing pad with a final glaze polish to give it a show car shine.
What he was spraying was probably a detail spray. To reduce the friction of foam pads you want to keep the pads moist to keep the surface cool. Detail spray is the best way to go.
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Fail, INC
SL Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 176
From: Moorpark California
so i just tinted my tailights and clearcoated them . . .there is a run tho but it is hardly noticeable. i am battling whether i should sand over it ( because i often mess up) or should i just leave it with a clear coat?
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 916
From: Cleveland, Ohio
I find your comment that random orbital buffers don't work theory interesting. Come see what I can do with one and you would be surprised.
A random orbital may not be able to remove at severe of defects AS QUICKLY, it will do a DAMN good job if you use it correctly.
With your limited experience of what, three years? I am not saying all your information is bad, but it definitely is biased. Don't give information that is not true, that is all
A random orbital may not be able to remove at severe of defects AS QUICKLY, it will do a DAMN good job if you use it correctly.
With your limited experience of what, three years? I am not saying all your information is bad, but it definitely is biased. Don't give information that is not true, that is all
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