Friday, February 6, 2015

Wet Sanding Part 3

These new paint formulations can drive you nuts!
Currently I'm using Rustoleum 2X painter's Touch. It's got a LOT of pigment in it and can cover with fewer coats. That thicker pigment can clog up the spray nozzle.

I think the spraying is going fine until I check the dried surface.
The picture at the right shows a small blob of paint.

Wet sanding will let you knock down that blob and get the surface back to a decent sheen.
Wet sand first with 400 grit. Don't sand too hard, you don't want to go into the gray primer. (Then you'd have to repaint again!)

Follow wet sanding with 800 grit, then 1000 grit, 1200 grit then 1500 grit.

It sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't too bad.
Most of the sanding is with the 400 and 800 grit. After that, the finer grits take less and less passes the finer you go. The 1200 and 1500 grit papers are more like a polish. The finest grits take very little sanding. You can go up to 2000 grit if you want. All the fine sandpapers are sold in auto supply stores.

After the 1500 grit, automotive polishing compound is used, applied with a wet sponge.
Keep rubbing the polishing compound until it dissapears on it's own, then polish off with a cotton cloth. I use old cut up T-shirts.

1 comment:

  1. I shall have to try this. After 400 and 600 grit sandpaper, I look at the model, and think I've taken some paint off - even after very gentle wet sanding. It's smooth, but no longer shiny.

    Perhaps I need to move up a few grits after that and see what happens.

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