wet sanding and buffing car
 

spent a couple hours today wet sanding and buffing the left rear fender and rear bumper today. tree looks better now. didn't do anything for me.

before
http://www.tredalign.com/images/wets...sandbefore.jpg

started with 1000 grit
http://www.tredalign.com/images/wets...d1000start.jpg

found a run in the clear
http://www.tredalign.com/images/wetsand/wetsandrun.jpg

moved to 1500, 2000, and finished with 2500
http://www.tredalign.com/images/wets...sandfinish.jpg

buffed with 3m rubbing compound and polish
http://www.tredalign.com/images/wets...tsandafter.jpg

Amazing difference! Is that base coat, clear coat or just enamel? The last time I painted anything(in the 70's)was with lacquer, but we were going to epoxy on the aircraft by 1978.

base/clear. 6 coats of clear.

I tried my hand at wet sanding on the blue car a while back. Turned out fairly well, but it is definitely a lot of work. Had I not gotten discouraged by all the tiny scratches I saw on the deck lid area that took place while the car was at Aaron Scott's place, I would have done the entire car.

I will tell you this, though, it's pretty darn scary looking at the finish right after the sanding is finished. Connie saw it and she looked at me like I was nuts to do that, believing it will NEVER look shiny again.

As long as the clear coat is thick enough, then you can make it as slick looking as ice. And once you get that blasted orange peel out of the factory paint job, it really turns out looking pretty darn good.

Yeah, it's hard to believe you're not destroying the paint job at that point! Re-clearing the headlights is the same way.