Acrylic enamel finish sanding and polishing question

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Acrylic enamel finish sanding and polishing question
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Frank Harris from Long Beach & Big Bear on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 01:22 pm:

Just put the final coats of paint on #22 and although it is slick and shines it is not like a mirror. I would like to know which grades of wet or dry sand paper to use and in which order to use them. I have lots of wet or dry paper ranging from 100 all the way through the close numbers and jumping to 400 600 800 1000 1500 and 2000. Then I would polish with a rotary buffer.






I would like to know which wet or dry paper grit to start with. As you can see in the picture below the paint shines and you can see my reflection on the right side of the picture but there are slight surface irregularities that need to be removed.

paint


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Cassara Long Island, NY on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 01:44 pm:

Lots of variables including how much paint you applied. If you start off too fine no problem. If you start off too course you have to consider how much paint there is to work with. How much improvement do you expect? Your picture doesn't off the kind of detail to give you an answer. Experiment with a polishing compound on a wheel or start with a very fine paper 1500 and see how it goes. Point to be made, once you start there's no turning back. Good luck.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Semprez-Templeton, CA on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 01:57 pm:

Frank, Did you finish with a clear coat? Either way, I would not go with anything under 1000 (wet) prior to polishing. On enamel I usually wet sand with 1200 to remove the nibs, then finish with 2000 (wet) before buffing. Use a pad when sanding to avoid finger marks, and work back and forth in a straight line to avoid swirls. Take your time and try to get as consistent a dull sheen over the entire paint job as you can before buffing.

By the way, I love the color!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Greg Charland on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 02:34 pm:

Agreed block sand out with 2000 before polishing Complete surface should be a dull color any shinny spots are either imperfections in the paint or low spots. The end result is dependent upon the work performed. More pictures please.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bernard Paulsen, San Buenaventura, Calif on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 02:44 pm:

The final result really depends on your prep work, every step of the way, but as somebody who has supervised Pebble Beach candidates to be prepared for show, I will just answer your question.

If you have time and patience, start out with 1500, go to 2000. I have done 2000/2500/3000 on my Speedster, which turns into 3500 while it wears down, after which the surface is almost polished, but I have done this for other reasons. Polish with 3M Finesse, which is white, non-abrasive.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jack Putnam, Bluffton, Ohio on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 03:51 pm:

I have found a "new" and better way to finnish a paint job. My days of hand sanding are done. I first watched the video, (available on line)I thought it will not work.It does! It is made by 3M and called "3M™ Perfect-It™ Paint Finishing System". You start with a DA sander. It is available in a complete trail kit and will do an entire car.
I have nothing to do with 3M, but I found this product very worth while.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By steve miller- mississauga,ontario on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 03:58 pm:

A well done video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Do1N2gibU&feature=related
Several coats of paint is absolutely required. You will be sanding through it otherwise.I usually start with 400 if any orange peel is severe. Then 1000 followed by 2000. Buffing with Mcguires Ultimate brings up the shine.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By M Philpott on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 04:21 pm:

wet sand to a minimum of 1500 grit. Also take a look at how many coats of clear did you shoot?


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cameron Whitaker on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 04:37 pm:

From my experience, there's no such thing as using sandpaper that is too fine. If you're not sure, go finer! The only downside is that using finer sandpaper will just take more time, but it sure beats ruining a good paint job!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Don Booth@ Bay City, Mi on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 05:50 pm:

Here is my two bits....I just finished my '27 Fordor in Jet Black one stage Omni. With three heavy coats applied and dried I started with 1000 grit then 1200 grit then 2000 grit. After recouping from hand cramps and shoulder muscle spasums along with finger cramps and stiff neck, I used Wizards Magic Cut. Magic Cut is expensive but one bottle did the entire car and it really brought out the shine. I even got a excellent shine on the high build primer where it cut through the paint. So I'm thinking I painted that freak'n car a total of about 17 times. Its lumpy but man does it shine!!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Semprez-Templeton, CA on Monday, June 04, 2012 - 01:00 am:

I concur with Bernie in Ventura in suggesting 3M Finesse as a polish after the color sanding.

While I have never supervised a Pebble Beach candidate... I have restored a couple of 300SL's and too many Porsche's to remember. The process is straight forward if you take your time.

One trick used by the old timers is to use masking tape on any sharp corners, where machine polishing, can cause cut throughs. You can easily hand polish those areas later with excellent results.

The reason I asked about a clear coat is that polishing the clear coat saves the color finish as you will only be polishing the clear. Take your time and you will get a great finish!

Respectfully, John


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