A wet sanded 2006 GTO, your thoughts?

asphalt, is that because your friend is working with hand sprayed paint jobs he does, or is factory paint like this as well? That guys car from the thread I posted looked almost orange peel free in his pics, and he just wet sanded the clear.

 

Sorry Dontsleeponit I haven't detailed a GTO just yet

Well I haven't gauged many vehicles my self, but I'm used to hearing 7 to 9 mils is the norm I know my Lexus has an average of 8 to 9 mils

I'm honestly not a 100% on the paint having orange peal I'll have to ask my friend...I'll be heading down to his shop on Friday and I'll try to take pictures for you guys to see what goodies he has in his shop :hippie:

Oh and yes my friend also was telling me that he puts at leat two coats of clear coat on vehicles he works on...I wonder how many coat can you put on a vehicle...I know show vehicles have a generous amount of clearcoat but I wonder how much..:thinking:

 

It would be both.

 

Nica, yes the color does lay flatter. He still wet sands each coat to make sure everything is completely flat. You can put as many as you want, but after awhile it will cloud. Also he sands inbetween each coat of clear, I have seen him put down about 8 coats of clear on show cars, alot less on race cars because of weight. Some show cars he has put more.
I have to agree with you about finding a good bodyshop, there really isnt that many its all about quanity because of the insurance jobs they do, plus people are as picky as we are. As long as they get the vehicle back and it looks close to what it was to begin with they seem to be o.k. with it.

 

GREAT JOB ON WETSANDING THAT GTO
jkjkjkjk haha


I would highly recommend against this. Your factory clear is thin to start with. If you sand it down you will be loosing a measurable amount of clear. IIRC the UV protection that the clear gives the paint below it is in the top portion of the clear. don't do it unless you are prepared to get it resprayed.

Since it is your own car, you pretty much have unlimited time to work on it. I wouldn't go much more aggressive than 2500 if I was going to do it. 2500 or 3000. If you used 3000 grit it might take a while to do it. Sand in one direction. Straight sanding marks are easier to remove than X sanding marks. On show cars they usually spray on a few extra coats of clear so you can safely level it like Asphalt rocket said. Be very careful doing this if you do. It is worth investing in a Wet Wedge (water fed block) and some unigrit/Nikken papers. Also remember that you should NEVER sand anywhere you cannot get a polisher into safely. All too often you read about someone sanding under their door handle or something crazy like that. 8-10 strokes squeegee and inspect. There is a reason why they makr the paper so fine. It is so you can remove only as much clear as necessary. If you do choose to wetsand it, only use a bucket to soak your papers. (use Meguiar's #00 for lube). Use a spray bottle with a M00 and water solution to wet the surface.

It is really hard for me to explain how dangerous this is through a keyboard. There are pros out there that will do it for you, but I would just say....DONT DO IT...but if you don't listen to me, be careful!

 

Lots of good info from everyone, much appreciated.

I am seriously not considering doing this to my own car, at least not anytime soon:thinking:

Just from seeing the results that guy got, it got me thinking... but I guess Id rather have clear coat integrity.

 

I dont think its worth it either, I have MASSIVE OP on my Bimmers and the Bimmers I have worked on. If you simply polish correctly, it still brings out an awesome reflection!

IF a flawless finish is what you are looking for and if you are planning to dump the car after 2-3 years, SAND THAT SUCKER!

Otherwise I would just leave it.

This makes me want to sand my M5. I know Im going to dump it when the new one comes out.

 

Don`t think I would sand it, not worth the risk and time used. Buy a audi next time, never had OP on my cars

 

:applause: Joe you had me worried! Don't do it :badidea: You don't want to be using this guy anytime soon :booboo: hehehehehhe

 

Honestly if I had a car that had a known good amount of clear coat, I would go for it after some practice panels.

I would start off on the wing, I could always go spoiler-less if I screwed up lol

 

I wouldnt do it, the GTO has unusually low amounts of clear coat. The UV protection will be removed, maybe not with the wet sanding, but what if you need minor corrections down the road.

I measured the GTO to 114 microns averaged, which is horrid.

the only cars GM usually lays the clear on good is the Corvette, and the Cadillacs.

 

Most cars have an average of 4.5 mil thickness, industry standard clearcoat application is 1.5 to 2 mil. The UV proctetion on the clear coat is in the very top layer of the clear coat. Most manufacturers recomend not removing more than .3 -.5 mils of paint when polishing. Now think of how much you will be removing on sanding alone then polishing the paint. Factory clear coat in my opinion is not meant to be wetsanded to remove OP. I believe you will shorten the life of the paint considerably.

 

THATS IT!! IM GOING TO JOES HOUSE WHEN HES SLEEPING AND HIDING HIS SAND PAPER . I DONT TRUST HIM:shakehead:

 

The reason for that cars have "orange peel" is to make the paint last longer, you know when you guys take the car in a automatic carwasher
b/c most of the wear and tear will come at the tops in the clearcoat.. If you see what I mean?

I think the manufactures can make the car free of orange peel, if they want...

 

Good idea :idea:Trhland!! I hope you did that today! If you did I hope you didn't smack him too hard. :slap: j/k Joe

 

Friend's don't let friends wet sand a Pontiac GTO, Holden/Vauxhaul Monaro.

too thin of a CC

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: really great job on wetsanding that GTO!!!

 

I have sanded hundreds of cars including my own personal Tahoe. If this is a car that you are not using as an evey day driver than sand away get some 3m 2500 grit and a soft block and go to town but if this is your only car than I would leave as much clear on that car as possible.

 

+1 I agree with Perfection, take 2500 and soft block just take your time you dont even have to take it completely flat and you will have a huge difference in the look. you can totally see that the lower panel is almost flat and your door and rear quarter is like op to the max, i wouldnt be able to stand that!

you can be safe at wet sanding so you dont go through, i think its more on the polishing end you want to be careful and slow with.

1500 and then 2000 might be a little much though? esp for a noob

 

There are things to know about wet sanding before thinking its a great idea. Yes it looks great to have completely flat paint and yes its fun to do. To be "safe", I'd suggest for those who have zero experience, borrow an electronic paint thickness guage. Just an little insurance policy. Measure before you sand and then again part way through so you can mentally guage what you are doing with each stroke. 9.999 times out of 10 you will be doing just about nothing, dont panic.

Next, its important to point out that clear paint has U/V protection built into it. The U/V protective chemicals rise to the surface while curing. By westanding out orange peel you are removing most of the U/V protective properties. You have to be sure to keep the vehicle waxed in the sunnier climates as there is an increased chance of paint fading. On a vehicle you plan to keep, you have just reduced the amount of times you can "correct" dramatically.

I only do wet sanding to repair damage. I dont like performing it on factory finishes for cosmetic reasons. There is no refinisher on the earth that can get paint applied as thinly as the factory.