# Wetsanding Do's and Don'ts



## johnsastra16v (Oct 7, 2007)

The paint condition of my car is really bothering me.
It's a red Alfa Romeo, and from a far it looks stunning when clean.

But from close up, the orange peel in the paint is shocking. I am 90% sure the car has been sprayed sometime in its life.

What are the do's and don'ts of wetsanding?

Are there any good threads for me to look at?

I will do one panel at a time, to reduce risk of destroying the whole car.

I'd love to hear your hints and tips

Thanks


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## JLeerdam (Jan 14, 2014)

Why don't you try orangepeel pads first? A lot safer to start with .


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## Guest (Jun 15, 2014)

Use a rubber flatting block as much as possible is the best piece of advice I can give. This will enable you to literally sand the paint flat rather than rubbing groves in which you would if you used your bare hand. 

Other than that try to flat in a uniform direction on large sections and for curved/shaped body panels try to flat following the curvature/shape it takes.

Sutty


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## johnsastra16v (Oct 7, 2007)

JLeerdam said:


> Why don't you try orangepeel pads first? A lot safer to start with .


Orangepeel pads??

I have a meguiars sanding block, and rotary and DA for polishing it back up with a good compound


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## Mini devil (May 4, 2014)

Always working in straight lines! Is some of the best advice I was given :thumb: 
And say if you start on 2000 always then go up by 500. So 2000, 2500, 3000.


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## S63 (Jan 5, 2007)

I'd advise practising on a scrap panel first.


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## Mini devil (May 4, 2014)

johnsastra16v said:


> Orangepeel pads??
> 
> I have a meguiars sanding block, and rotary and DA for polishing it back up with a good compound


The meguiars sanding block is perfect for the job, always makes sure you keep an even rubbing motion. Can also be used to wipe the water off after :thumb:


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## JLeerdam (Jan 14, 2014)

johnsastra16v said:


> Orangepeel pads??
> 
> I have a meguiars sanding block, and rotary and DA for polishing it back up with a good compound


Yess orange peel pads . You don't have them in the UK? They are made of denim like material. You use them on the rotary to effectively remove any orange peel. They cost €10 for a 2 pack and you need about 6 to 10 pads for a whole car. If there's a lot of interest i might try starting up a GB?


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

JLeerdam said:


> Yess orange peel pads . You don't have them in the UK? They are made of denim like material. You use them on the rotary to effectively remove any orange peel. They cost €10 for a 2 pack and you need about 6 to 10 pads for a whole car. If there's a lot of interest i might try starting up a GB?


Yes we have them here, I've been trying to get more people using them for a while. Think they are still scene as a gimmick, unfortunately


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

3M do a good rubber sanding block. Nicely weighted too.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Your standard pads and compound wont take out orange peel, you need the denim pads or wet sand.

Wet sanding can remove less than a machining session and you will be shut of the orange peel.


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## johnsastra16v (Oct 7, 2007)

stangalang said:


> Yes we have them here, I've been trying to get more people using them for a while. Think they are still scene as a gimmick, unfortunately


Where can I find them?


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

johnsastra16v said:


> Where can I find them?


Just send Stangalang a PM and he will no doubt sought you out very quickly. Alternatively, have a look at the CarPro site, they also sell them


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## alxg (May 3, 2009)

Don't use wet sand


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

lowejackson said:


> Just send Stangalang a PM and he will no doubt sought you out very quickly. Alternatively, have a look at the CarPro site, they also sell them


Car pro is the easiest place to source them for sure. Both grades and a number of sizes. Tried and tested


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## rhinoman (Jul 9, 2013)

i4detail have the denim pads too.


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## k9vnd (Apr 11, 2011)

Currently done three quarters of my own car with the megs paper's, panel at a time it's getting there. If it's something you think you will be confident to do then go for it and take your time, pdg advisable though.


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## Matty77 (Nov 7, 2012)

Yes denim pads will do the job but they also generate a lot of heat which can cause burn through if you're not careful, whereas wet sanding generates no heat at all and is also a slower and more controlled method of clear coat removal imho, so is perhaps the safer option of the two for orange peel removal for a novice. And yes, a ptg is a must!

I answered another post about this recently with pics of my own orange peel removal experience, here:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=4576154&postcount=8


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## johnsastra16v (Oct 7, 2007)

Matty77 said:


> Yes denim pads will do the job but they also generate a lot of heat which can cause burn through if you're not careful, whereas wet sanding generates no heat at all and is also a slower and more controlled method of clear coat removal imho, so is perhaps the safer option of the two for orange peel removal for a novice. And yes, a ptg is a must!
> 
> I answered another post about this recently with pics of my own orange peel removal experience, here:
> 
> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=4576154&postcount=8


that looks absolutely superb


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Matty77 said:


> Yes denim pads will do the job but they also generate a lot of heat which can cause burn through if you're not careful, whereas wet sanding generates no heat at all and is also a slower and more controlled method of clear coat removal imho, so is perhaps the safer option of the two for orange peel removal for a novice. And yes, a ptg is a must!
> 
> I answered another post about this recently with pics of my own orange peel removal experience, here:
> 
> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=4576154&postcount=8


They both have their pros and cons. Sanding too has a huge price to pay for the smallest of errors, and requires very clean conditions for prolonged periods. The pads are good honestly try them, the heat isn't massive, i demo them quite a lot. I think you will like them if you give them some time. 
It isn't op removal though, i say this categorically, its only reduction. There will be some left. Removal requires sanding for sure, like i say, pros and cons


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## Matty77 (Nov 7, 2012)

stangalang said:


> They both have their pros and cons. Sanding too has a huge price to pay for the smallest of errors, and requires very clean conditions for prolonged periods. The pads are good honestly try them, the heat isn't massive, i demo them quite a lot. I think you will like them if you give them some time.
> It isn't op removal though, i say this categorically, its only reduction. There will be some left. Removal requires sanding for sure, like i say, pros and cons


Hmmm I'm tempted...what are the chances of a demo at your upcoming 'up norf' meet?


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Matty77 said:


> Hmmm I'm tempted...what are the chances of a demo at your upcoming 'up norf' meet?


Yeah dude totally, i have the car pro ones here and a couple others. In fact I've got a panel or two i need to level out a little for some ongoing things, i will use these so peeps can see the quality. Like i say, reduction not removal, but man they are the next level in straight machine polishing no two ways about it


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## Matty77 (Nov 7, 2012)

Brill, I'll catch up with you at the meet then. Have you confirmed the location yet?


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Matty77 said:


> Brill, I'll catch up with you at the meet then. Have you confirmed the location yet?


I will send out messages soon. Its at my unit i just don't like putting it on the web.


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## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

stangalang said:


> Car pro is the easiest place to source them for sure. Both grades and a number of sizes. Tried and tested


My apologies, I thought when you said you had some you were referring to some kind of new ADS pad


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

I could give lots of advise on this subject. I will give you a few blunt pointers..

Clean environment.
Soak your paper properly.
Do not scrimp on paper, not all paper is equal.
Use a lube.
Check your work constantly.
Clean your work area and paper constantly.
Use a hard back block or DA interface for peel removal.
Use the lightest grit first, go harsher if needed.
Make sure you remove all previous grit sanding marks before moving up the papers.
As soon as you hear or feel something, the damage has been done, so go back to keeping everything clean all the time.
Be very careful on edges, probably a good idea to stay well away from them.

Being old school, not had much use with the denim pads, so can't really comment on them. But I am sure they can be just as good..


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## Matty77 (Nov 7, 2012)

dooka said:


> Make sure you remove all previous grit sanding marks before moving up the papers.


That's all good sound advice you gave there but I was a bit confused by this point. Could you clarify?

I mean, how do you remove the previous grit sanding marks _without _moving up to the next least aggressive grit?


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Matty77 said:


> That's all good sound advice you gave there but I was a bit confused by this point. Could you clarify?
> 
> I mean, how do you remove the previous grit sanding marks _without _moving up to the next least aggressive grit?


He means if you start with 2000, and move to 2500, don't move to 3000 before all the 2000 marks are gone. It may seem logical, but these are the things that happen when people are anxious and not nessacarily clear on hat they are looking for.

My honest feelings on this is DO get a trained and competent person to help, and DON'T attempt it on just Internet based advice. But if the op is going ahead, I'm glad everyone is pitching in with good advice


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## organisys (Jan 3, 2012)

Take a Peek here:










Jason Rose and Kevin Brown wetsanding using Megs pads.


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