Wet Sanding Tips

I never knew how to properly wet sand until a few years ago when I started making banjos.

Currently I'm building the DynaStar LexxJet from Apogee. It's a big model with plenty of surface to prepare.

This single 1" X 3" piece of 400 grit sandpaper was used to wet sand the entire rocket.

Some things you may not know about wet sanding -

• A few hours before you wet sand, let the sand paper soak in the water. The paper should be fully saturated to help release the small amount of paint you are sanding off. Don't worry, the paper will not fall apart after soaking in the water. Any paper marked "Wet/Dry" will be fine sitting in the water bowl.
• Some add a drop of dish soap to the water. I've read about wet sanding using oil. I just use water.
• Don't wet sand primer coats! You run the risk of water getting into and swelling the tubing and balsa. Dry sand the primer coats.
• Wet sanding works best on final color coats that have had plenty of time to dry.

Take the sandpaper out of the water and shake off the excess drops. Sand a small area at a time, keep an eye out for drips. Dry off the areas as you go with a paper towel.

Unless you have excessive "orange peel", you should only wet sand a little of the roughness off the surface.

The real results from wet sanding will show when you spray on the final coat.