I took my mustang to a detailer to try and get what looked like water spots out on my roof and trunk lid. He told me he cant because it has been damaged proably by acid rain. He said it might only be in the clear coat and wet sanding might fix it. My question is could wet sanding fix this? Also what is wet sanding, and what is the process? Could I do it myself? Keep in mind the the only experience I have is waxing my car. How much does this process cost? And does anyone know of anyone in the Detroit area?

Sorry for all the questions but this is the best forum to get answers.

Thanks George

 

I would be kind of leary since the detailer told you it needed wetsanded right off the bat. Before I wetsand, I always try the least aggressive method first, like just using a buffer and a polish to get the water spots out. Most of the time waterspots will come out with just a polish.

Now sometimes the spots are etched into the paint and I have to wetsand. By wetsanding you are using different grits of sandpaper and taking some off the clearcoat off so that you can remove the marks. Also, after you wetsand, you will need a high speed buffer with an abrassive polish to take out the wetsanding marks. Then you will have to step down to a final polish with a polishing pad and the buffer. You won't be able to fix the wetsanding marks by hand.

I wouldn't recommend doing this yourself if you don't have any experience with it, I would take it to someone that has done this and is good at it. You don't want to get some hack that will mess up your paint.

The cost depends on how much work will be involved. I charge around $50-$60 an hour and you are talking several hours. The prices in your area will probably be close to the same if the place is reputable.

 

OK thanks actually the guy had to be one of the most honest guys around. He started and after 10 mins called me and told me he could not get the spots out with jsut buffing. And asked if i still wanted him to finish detailing it. Then told me about wet sanding. Since your taking off some of the clear coat does that lessen how long the paint will last or do you just have to keep a nice coat of polish on it.

 

If he wetsands and knows what he is doing, he will only take off a minimal amount of clear. This won't hurt anything as long as it isn't being done a lot.

 

thanks alot all the answers helped out tons

 

have a pro look at it before you try to fix it and screw it all up. Good luck

 

I agree with Juztang.

Wetsanding is not something you want to play with without experience. However, if you decide to do it, you need the following.

2000-3000 grit sand paper, in small squares.
Spray bottle filled with water.
Polish
Buffer
Wax.

When you wetsand, apply very minimal pressure and do not rub too fast. If you do it right, and polish that area well, it will turnout good if everything is done right. Good luck.

 

Good info, something I would add is.......make sure you use a flexible sanding block. If you wetsand by hand you are likely to wetsand unevenly, a flexible block will be a lot more even.

 

X2 Thanks for the back-up Justin. A Sand block would be ideal for this application. Your every day handy stores I.E Lowes, Home depot, etc. do not carry a grit that smooth.

You need to go to a Craft Shop I.E Michaels etc.

 

If you never wet sanded before I wouldnt try it on your stang because even 2000 grit can be too aggressive,besides the factory clear coat is pretty thin, you cut thru that and now your talking about having to reshoot it $$$ I would try what juztang said first