Getting Started

To remove paint blemishes you need to first wetsand the paint. Now, it may seem strange and uncomfortable at first to sand new, shiny paint, but that's what you have to do. Durring this process orange peel, dust and runs can be removed.

If you are planning to buff out a factory paint job to increase it's shine, you should skip the sanding process and go directly to the buffing stage.

Step 1.

Take a sheet of ultra-fine waterproof sandpaper and wrap it around a dense foam sanding block or wooden paint stick (shown below). Apply a liberal amount of clean water to the paint surface with a clean sponge and begin sanding using long back and fourth strokes. Sand one area first, then move on to another area. Use plenty of water. It will wash the "dust" away and prevent the sandpaper from loading up.

Under normal conditions, I generally begin with 1000 grit sand paper (sometimes 1200) wrapped tightly around a piece of paint stick. I sand the entire panel (or vehicle). Then I switch to finer sandpaper such as 1500 grit wrapped around a dense foam sanding block and sand the entire panel or vehicle again. Sometimes I may even go back a third time using 2000 grit and do the hood, trunk and upper portions of the vehicle.

Some bodymen, prefer to begin with 1500 grit and finish with 2000 grit sandpaper or finer. Either will work fine. I personally find that it goes faster beginning with 1000 grit. The course paper does a good job of leveling orange peel and dust nibs. Beginners will have more control starting with 1200 or 1500grit and finishing with 2000 grit. The finer the sandpaper you finsh sanding with, the easier your buffing will be, especially if your paint is fully cured. Most bodymen agree that 1500 grit is the minimum grit to you should end up with. Anything more course, you may not be able to buff out very well. At the same time, many of my bodywork friends feel that finishing with anything higher than 2000 grit is overkill. Others disagree. Feel free to experiment with different grits of paper. Find what's right for you.

Hold the foam sanding block at slight angle to the direction which you are sanding (1st small pic above). This will prevent the harder edges of the sanding block from producing grooves in the paint surface. Also, use a clean sponge to apply water periodically to wash the 'dust' away.

Properly wetsanded paint will have a completely dull finish with no shiny specks.The trick is to wetsand deep enough to remove all surface imperfections, yet not so deep to sand through the paint or clearcoat. A good technique to gauge your progress and gauge your sanding depth is to stop periodically and scrap the water off the paint surface using a clean plastic or rubber squeege. This dries the paint and allows you to see how deep you have sanded.

If I begin wetsanding with 1000 or 1200 grit sandpaper, I generally stop wetsanding when there are only a few shiny specks or spots left in the paint surface. Shiny spots are basically low areas that haven't been sanded yet. Tiny specks are the result of dust craters or possibly fisheyes. Unless they are really deep, they can usually be sanded out. However, it's best not to try to sand all the imperfections out durring the first sanding (with course paper). Leave some and get them out durring the next stage using finer sandpaper like 1500 grit or 2000 grit.

Be Safe, Not Sorry

If you have a few particularly deep specs you can't sand out, such as a few fisheye specks here and there, you should probably leave them. Under most conditions they won't be highly noticable after buffing anyway. The trick is to sand deep enough to remove the imperfections but not so deep as to wetsand through the clearcoat (which would be a total disaster!). If, after painting your vehicle you see some fish eyes or craters in your paint (or bug tracks to), apply a drop of clearcoat to the imperfection before the clear has hardened. This will fill the crater and you can sand it smooth.