Wet Sanding Clear Coat

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rod7515

rod7515

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Was wondering what is the proper steps in finishing up the sanding and polishing of a fresh clear coat job. Last night I sprayed and clear coated my engine compartment and it has a few spots that I should wet sand and buff. Also what is a good buffer for doing this. I see a lot of car dealership body shops I go into that are using some type of what looks to be a 3" air gun with foam pads. Something that size would be nice for in the smaller engine compartment. Also what type of buffing compound. I used the Nason clear coat and did 2 coats as per the instructions. I have a few spots that I am not sure if it is a solvent pop or dirt but I think they can be removed. I would post pics of these spots but they dont show up in the pics I took but I did post them in the member restoration area under my "1966 Dodge Dart". Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Rod
 
I am no expert but shouldn't you wait a day or two before you wet sand and buff? It probably makes a difference what clear you use. Dewalt makes a couple great buffers. That's what most body shops on my route use.
 
Thanks toolman, Yea definitely going to wait as I have to buy a buffer to do this job. Are the dewalts the 3" type? I should have kept my headlight restoration kit from when I had my repair shop as it had a really nice gun with it. Guess I'll go look onlline for whats available.
Thanks
Rod
 
First off make sure you have a thick enough clearcoat for this.

I at least use 3+ coats, I first start off using 1500 grit, then I use 2000 grit to sand down runs and orange peal.
Once the area is smooth and level (but will be like a chalkboard finish). Then that's where I start buffing. Start with a courser compound then work your way up to a finer polish.

Here's a thread on this:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=195981

and:
http://autobodystore.com/forum/showthread.php?6228-clearcoat-sanding-and-polishing-what-went-wrong

Again I'm not an expert but I am proficient at this as I've painted several motorcycles before. I always used automotive grade urethane enamel on them, not cheap Duplicolor rattlecans (my friend did this once with disastrous results, tried to warn him).
 
if you can feel the dirt, its dirt. if you can't feel it, its solvent pop which you can't sand out. in the future, try using a single stage in areas such as engine trunk interior. catches a lot less dirt. you can buff out 1200 scratch but the finer you sand it, the easier. you can go as fine as 3000 and then buff to save time on a complete.
 
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