# Ok to leave wetsanded surface days/weeks?



## alcarp (Apr 28, 2010)

Just so you know, I'm not rolling in with a full car wetsand for the first time, as Ive done it before (take a look at a thread I created)

I don't get long periods of time to detail the car like i used to (8month old child).

So I am going to try and wetsand one side of the car (wing/front door/rear door/rear quarter) over a week or so then polish it up in the next week in 2(ish) hour stints. Then the same for the other side.

The car is a daily drive which I do 30 mile round trip to work, just wondering if there would be any detrimental effect by leaving the paint unbuffed during the week while I'm doing the rest of the car?

Many thanks
Alan


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## Dixondmn (Oct 12, 2007)

As an educated guess I'd say you could be open to a whole world of problems based on a massive number of variables, namely contamination penetrating the finish and making the whole process more difficult than it needs to be.

Most concerning would be lack of protection from water.


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## Jem (Aug 10, 2007)

If it was me, I would work on one panel at a time, wetsand and then polish but not worry too much about refining to a really sharp finish and then wax or seal. Then once you have all the panels wetsanded you should be able to refine the finish to the whole car in a pretty short time.


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## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

alcarp said:


> The car is a daily drive which I do 30 mile round trip to work, just wondering if there would be any detrimental effect by leaving the paint un-buffed during the week while I'm doing the rest of the car?
> 
> Many thanks
> Alan


Basecoat/clearcoat paints, especially "new" paint is very impermeable, this means non-porous and less prone to chemical attack of all types.

No sanded paint, is "opened-up" paint and more prove to any kind of chemical attack and even oxidation.

That said, if it's just a week or short periods of time, when you compound the sanding marks out you're remove any other damage, (if any). Then of course, polish and seal.



Jem said:


> If it was me, I would work on one panel at a time, wetsand and then polish but not worry too much about refining to a really sharp finish and then wax or seal. Then once you have all the panels wetsanded you should be able to refine the finish to the whole car in a pretty short time.


I agree...

If it were me, I'd sand and buff a panel at a time. It will also make the job seem easier. Even after the compounding step you could apply a wax, sealant or coating for the protection, forget how it looks because you can get the "look" part as a last step by polishing the entire car and then re-sealing.


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