I have 2 small orange peel spots on my drivers side door, the body shop is booked for 2 months solid and I would like to get rid of them for next moths car show in my area.You really cant see them, both are smaller then a one dollar bill and you need to get on the ground to see it, but it bugs the hell out of me.Is this something I can fix my self where I dont need to bring it back tothe shop?

What should I use?

How Should I do it?

or

Just leave it? More work then its worth?

I can honestly say im a pro when it comes to buffing out cars, but when it comes to color sanding im not too sure.

I already have all the 3m shop products for the buffing process.

 

Using 1200 grit sandpaper (available at most auto paint supply stores), wet the area to be sanded. Wet the sandpaper. It's best to use a regular garden hose and keep the water running at a slight trickle (be careful not to bang/drag the metal hose end against the paint job). You want to keep the area wet during the entire sanding procedure. Hold the hose above the to be sanded area and le tthe water flow down onto the area.

With the sandpaper on the meaty part of your thumb, start sanding in a back and forth motion (not circles). Some people like to use a scotch-brite pad with the sandpaper folded around the pad. Stop the water flow and while the area is still wet and you're sanding you should start to see "white" or "milky" colored wetness. If you don't see any milky substance, you may need to apply more pressure. This milky substance is clear coat paint coming off of the car.

Re-apply some water to keep the area wet at all times. After working an area for 15-20 seconds. Wipe it off with a terry cloth and let dry. If you have a compressor and an air hose, blow the area dry and then carefully inspect the area to see what impact/progress you've made.

Repeat the process until most of the orange peel is gone.

Step down to finer sand paper.... 1500 and then 2000 to remove microscrathes caused from the 1200.

Finally, buff the area.

Words of caution....

Wet sanding is not difficult, butit's time consuming and plan on gettingwet. Just like buffing, the sandpaper will cut through the clear very quickly on raised edges. Try and avoid any raised edges, body lines, etc. If you have to work on a raised edge, do so with very very slight pressure. If during wet sanding you start to see the cars color being sanded into.... it'll stop being "milky white" and start being your base color, STOP immediately. This area of your paint will no longer be shiny as the clear is gone and it will have to be re-applied.

After the clear had dried on my '66, I spent a full sunrise to sunset weekend, every day after work for an hour or two, and then another full weekend to wet sand and buff. Work slowly and you're lucky to only have a small area to fix.

Dave

 

Well I am going to recommended using

1) a 2000 grit wet dry on a medium soft foam block..The block should be firm but not hard nor squishy.
2) Use lots of water and proper lighting and watch the water run off. it should come off in a very smooth sheet,
3) dont over do it using light pressure sand in smooth even strokes until you see a bit of the color run off in the water (no clear coat right?)
4) after you see the color run off check with water for dimples or high spots once its a nice even sheet and you no longer see the orange peal you should be set...if your not sure and you think it might be okay stop now and go to step 5. (dont over do it)

5) use a medium cut compound on your wool pad at about 700 to 1000 rpm use light pressure then check, it should have a nice even haze to it after one application of compound and maybe 20 to 30 seconds of buffing.
6) use a glaze and buff out the haze left from the medium cut using a foam pad
7) use a wax and if it looks good then you win if it looks like it needs a bit more then repeat with step 1.

(the water and lighting it critical you want to sand just until the last imperfection is removed try viewing it from different angle. keep the paint cool and frequently wash off the paint and check if it needs more)

Happy hunting...this method worked great for me just dont over do it and it will be fine

-Gun

 

This WON't work for a BC/CC style paint job. If you see color start to come off when wet-sanding a BC/CC paint job.... you've sanded off your CC and lost your shine.

Your step 4) WILL work for single stage paint jobs, but remember that 99% of the world is now using BC/CC. Okay, maybe not the 3rd world, but the modern world.



Dave

 

whoa holy **** do not use 1200 on that paint job you will screw it up
I would use 2500 if that doesn't work try 2000. I might even start with 3000 and see what happens.

 

yeah your right probably wasnt the best description. its more of a white with a slight tint of whatever color.

I remember when I wet sanded my blue stripes it left a white residue but i could see it had a blue color to it as well. It came out pretty darn good for my first painting experience.

-Gun

 

Yes. I understand exactly what you're saying and I should have covered thisbetter in my earlier explanation.

Wet sanding will leave scratches in the clear coat, period. The finer grit of sand paper that you use, the finer these scratches will be.

If the problem area is really bad/heavy, working with 2500/3000 will take FOREVER to beat down the imperfections and it may be easier to work "backwards".... smooth the imperfections down with a courser paper (like 1200-1500)... and then smooth the scratches out with 2000, followed by 2500/3000.

If the problem area is very light, starting with 1200-1500 will do more damage than good as it will quickly fix the orange peel, but then you'll spend more time fixing the fine scratches with the 2000-3000... so it may be best just to go straight to the 2000-3000 to knock down the imperfections and create less scratches.

With the price of fine grit sand paper, the OP may just want to wait until the body shop can fit him in. Figure $20-25 for apack of each grit, 1200/1500/2000/2500/3000. The money for materials adds up quickly.

Dave

 

Thats right, the paper adds up. Its not like they wont do it, its having to bring it back yet AGAIN. I may try and live with the area, when I get home im going to look at it some more if the sun comes out and make a decision on what to do. I didput some heavy cash into the job and I would hate to "F-IT" up because I was impatient. Like some say and im learning, nothing is perfect.

 

From your original post....

I understand why you feel that the car should be "perfect", but really, who's going to notice this besides you?

If you've brought your car back to the shop as many times as you've said, they've probably sworn off anything but insurance work where the only one they need to please is the adjuster....

If someone were ever to get on the ground and look up at the side of my car and start pointing out flaws, I'd probably step on their neck and ask them "hows it look now?"

Dave

 

Dave you always put things into a great perspective. I think more people need to thank you for the time and effort you put into all your posts! Thanks again, and great detailed info on the wet sand if I decide the peel need to go.