[rice4u]

im an amature detailer... just starting out and learning. one thing i really like is the wet sanding to remove orange peels and make paint even.

im not comfortable doing that to my paint yet, my question is:

can i use a cutting pad with a porter cable buffer and remove "some" orange peels with a rubbing compound? would this get similar effect as wet sanding the car? like i said im just not comfortable with wet sanding my new car paint...

[ceb]

Originally Posted by rice4u

im an amature detailer... just starting out and learning. one thing i really like is the wet sanding to remove orange peels and make paint even.

im not comfortable doing that to my paint yet, my question is:

can i use a cutting pad with a porter cable buffer and remove "some" orange peels with a rubbing compound? would this get similar effect as wet sanding the car? like i said im just not comfortable with wet sanding my new car paint...

Go to a junkyard and get a panel (hood, door or trunk) with a similar finish to your car and try out different products - including wetsanding - which is the only way of really removing orangepeel.

[MuttGrunt]

No you can't and no it won't give the same effect as wet-sanding a vehicle. I'm sorry but it just doesn't work like that.

Also take into account that orange peel can be in every single layer of the paint potentially, but you can only treat the clear-coat (which is most likely to be the worst as it is the thickest liquid sprayed).

[rice4u]

ceb-
the junkyard is a good idea for practice. i have considered practicing on my trunk, and if i destroy it, i'll just get a CSL trunk lol...

MuttGrunt-
sorry i think my choice in words are wrong. "one thing i really like is wet sanding to remove orange peels and make the clear coat even, to get a mirror finish"

[dday]

Originally Posted by rice4u

ceb-
the junkyard is a good idea for practice. i have considered practicing on my trunk, and if i destroy it, i'll just get a CSL trunk lol...

MuttGrunt-
sorry i think my choice in words are wrong. "one thing i really like is wet sanding to remove orange peels and make the clear coat even, to get a mirror finish"

I think MuttGrunts point still stands. If the base paint under the clear has orange peel as well having perfectly smooth clear won't give you a mirror finish.

[rice4u]

Originally Posted by dday

I think MuttGrunts point still stands. If the base paint under the clear has orange peel as well having perfectly smooth clear won't give you a mirror finish.

so did this guy repaint the car to get this finish?

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=141365

[lpphreakx06]

You'll need to rent/buy a paint thickness gauge so you know how thick the clear coat is. Wet sanding is not as easy as it looks, mistakes can be very costly.

[dday]

Originally Posted by rice4u

so did this guy repaint the car to get this finish?

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=141365

No, and you might get results like that. That guy took a lot of care to measure paint depth etc though. As an amateur detailer myself there's a lot of stuff I feel comfortable taking on. Wet sanding is not one of those things. If you mess up you're looking at a very expensive fix.

Honestly if this is really important to you I'd pay a good detailer to do it for you. You might practice on the trunk and do alright, but if you mess up on the hood or another panel the cost to repaint it is proably going to be greater than the what you would have paid to have someone wet sand for you.

[rice4u]

DDAY, you said i cannot get mirror finish, even if i get the clear coat is flat and smooth if the paint underneath has orange peels.

im just trying to say the orange peels we SEE on the car is only the clear coat. im sure its not perfect on the actual paint level. however clear coat being even will reflect light, resulting in a mirror finish. the paint underneath is only for color and does not need to be PERFECTLY flat.

i fully understand the risk of wet sanding, and if i was going to do it i would never do so with a power tool as the guy in the link did. i know the risk, thats why i don't feel comfortable doing it especially because i don't have anything to measure my paint thickness.

detailing is a hobby, im just learning and hope to one day be able to have the skills and knowledge to open a business. what i am seeking is not only the result, but mainly the experience and knowledge. this is why i will not pay for someone to do this for me.

[dday]

Originally Posted by rice4u

DDAY, you said i cannot get mirror finish, even if i get the clear coat is flat and smooth if the paint underneath has orange peels.

im just trying to say the orange peels we SEE on the car is only the clear coat. im sure its not perfect on the actual paint level. however clear coat being even will reflect light, resulting in a mirror finish. the paint underneath is only for color and does not need to be PERFECTLY flat.

i fully understand the risk of wet sanding, and if i was going to do it i would never do so with a power tool as the guy in the link did. i know the risk, thats why i don't feel comfortable doing it especially because i don't have anything to measure my paint thickness.

detailing is a hobby, im just learning and hope to one day be able to have the skills and knowledge to open a business. what i am seeking is not only the result, but mainly the experience and knowledge. this is why i will not pay for someone to do this for me.

I didn't say you couldn't, just that you might not be able to. As MuttGrunt mentioned IF the base coast has orange peel as well then you might not get it perfect. Obviously there would be a very significant improvement. If you want to become a detailer I would look into some classes. Seems it would make much more sense to learn from someone skilled than trial and error on your own car.

[MuttGrunt]

Ok, this thread has some good discussion going on. Great link to the detailingworld write-up on the gentleman that did all that outstanding work on that M3. I'd also like to mention to be careful as the write-up had, for a lack of a better term, some flaws. While it was outstanding and the work speaks for itself, some of the things said / pointed out aren't quite 100%. Without proper knowledge, you can really get yourself into some trouble when working on a car, let alone wet-sanding one.

To add some clarity to what you already said above, orange peel in layers under the clear-coat CAN be seen even if the clear-coat is 100% perfectly flat. Keep in mind that clear-coat is a protective layer that first and foremost is made to add gloss. If you've ever been to a paint booth and have seen a car prior to clear-coat, you'll notice how matte the finish is.

While I'm not quite ready to post up too much information on this (still have a final photo shoot to do), I will give you a preview of my own write-up of a complete wet-sand on an E92 M3 in Jerez Black.

Passanger rear fender after 1500, 2000, and 3000 grit:



Driver rear fender after the same:




Passenger side rear fender being polished out / refined:






AND inspection:




The most surprising thing I've learned on these cars is the high amount of orange peel under the clear-coat. In the following picture, you'll see what I'm talking about on the left hand side of the pic:




Again:




The orange peel effect you're seeing is all underneath the clear-coat. While the finish isn't 100% mirror, the improvement is HUGE with a massive difference in how the vehicle looks. The full write-up will likely be posted in a month or two, depending on how things go with the photographer.
I hope this helps you to understand what I mean a bit better.

[rice4u]

MuttGrunt, thats amazing... i understand i wont get 100% mirrior, but i do know that it will be a night and day difference regardless, if done properly. im sure no one is expecting 100% perfection mirror, that would require perfect sanding and polishing after every layer of paint and clear.

i have done a lot of reading, i can only learn so much from reading, i need to get some hands on. i'll be ordering a porter cable with some pads to practice and experiment on from autogeek along with some polisher and sealant soon within the next week if anyone can give a noob any advice. before i get bored and order some sand paper lol...

MuttGrunt, is that your own personal work?

[TOGWT]

As already stated get a junk hood and practice wet-sanding.

The real skill to wet-sanding is practice, practice-did I mention practice... and get yourself a PTG so you can tell how much speed / pressure is relative to paint removed