So who has any experience with it?
I'm giving it a shot on the '86. The car was repainted last year but looks very poor so I'm working on smoothing it out a bit. I'm not trying to make it perfect but it has to be better than it is.
I'm wet sanding with 1000 grit sandpaper first then going to 1500 grit and then finally 2000 grit. After that, I worked the area with Meguiars Scratch X, followed by Meguiars polish and then wax.
The results are good but I can still see some scratches in there from sanding. I guess I didn't work enough with the 2000 grit.
I know you are supposed to use a good buffer for polishing but since I don't have one, I'm doing all the polishing by hand.
So how have you all accomplished this? I'm looking for any tips you have.
Here are a couple before/after pictures.
Here's how the overall car looks right now.
(http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/14/1czf7.jpg)
Here's how the fender looks after color sanding.
The part above the body crease was not done but the part below it was done. That should give an decent before/after affect.
It's blurry but you get the idea...
(http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2371/1atb6.jpg)
(http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/1404/1bry3.jpg)
You are doing a great job. I personally found out how to do it, got a job in a bodyshop. Sand it good with 2000, not too much. Use an air powered polisher, or something that you can easily work in that polish with. It might even take a couple times by hand, that could work. Try polishing the spots a few times by hand to see if they get better. The fender looks awesome.
You’re definitely on the right track but having a high speed electric polisher and the correct compounds is the only way to go. Even a cheap Harbor Freight polisher will do the job and you can pick one up for like 30 dollars or so. Otherwise you will be at it for ages.
Yeah I didn't get a chance to work on it today but the hand polishing is getting old quick.
I think I'll check out harbor freight for a buffer. There's a store not too far from me.
Thanks for the input.
You can make anything look respectable with an electric polisher. Kinda like the Firebird I worked on today. Hard to tell the paint is spiderwebbed, but hey it was already sold. When you get around to it, lets see some pics of the final outcome.
That's comin out good. I have a spot on the rear left quarter I have to do. A nice sized rock from a truck tire dinged me pretty good. I got it blended in, but it needs to be sanded a little more to be as close as possible to the rest of the paint.
I agree with everyone who said you have to use a polisher of some sort. You'll never get it done by hand, not unless you're the Karate Kid. Personally, I wouldn't start with anything coarser than 1500, not unless the paint is really bad. I've found that even 1200 can leave scratches that are almost impossible to get out. The type and hardness of the paint will have an effect on that too, but 1500/2000 has worked well for me. You are using lots and lots of water, aren't you? You can't use too much water, and keep the surface clean, and change your paper a lot. Oh, and don't even consider handsanding without using a block of some sort. Stroke on your car for a few days and you'll see why guys can charge big $$$ for nice paint jobs. Good luck, and post more pics!
I agree with everyone who said you have to use a polisher of some sort. You'll never get it done by hand, not unless you're the Karate Kid. Personally, I wouldn't start with anything coarser than 1500, not unless the paint is really bad. I've found that even 1200 can leave scratches that are almost impossible to get out. The type and hardness of the paint will have an effect on that too, but 1500/2000 has worked well for me. You are using lots and lots of water, aren't you? You can't use too much water, and keep the surface clean, and change your paper a lot. Oh, and don't even consider handsanding without using a block of some sort. Stroke on your car for a few days and you'll see why guys can charge big $$$ for nice paint jobs. Good luck, and post more pics!
I agree with everyone who said you have to use a polisher of some sort. You'll never get it done by hand, not unless you're the Karate Kid. Personally, I wouldn't start with anything coarser than 1500, not unless the paint is really bad. I've found that even 1200 can leave scratches that are almost impossible to get out. The type and hardness of the paint will have an effect on that too, but 1500/2000 has worked well for me. You are using lots and lots of water, aren't you? You can't use too much water, and keep the surface clean, and change your paper a lot. Oh, and don't even consider handsanding without using a block of some sort. Stroke on your car for a few days and you'll see why guys can charge big $$$ for nice paint jobs. Good luck, and post more pics!
And because of that I will never use a polyurethane paint EVAR AGAIN!
Thanks for the tips and comments.
I know my pictures on here suck.
I'll post the pics of the final results when I get this thing finished. I haven't worked on it at all in the past few days.
Heh, it didn't seem like it would be too bad doing it by hand but that mentality quickly went out the window.
I have been using a steady stream of water from the hose. I have a sanding block but it isn't flexible enough to not burn edges. So I have my paper wrapped around a couple wax applicators. That has been working fairly well. It's given me even pressure and the ability to work in the creases.