customer wants entire car wetsanded (help)

First off id like to thank you all for opening this and helping me.

My situation is this. I have a potential customer asking if we did wetsanding. He says that he recently got the car painted, but there were still some rough areas that he would like sanded down.

Im unsure of what to charge, or even how long a job like this will take.

here are the materials at my disposal that i would think would be necessary.

3m 1000 grit wetsand paper
3m 2000 grit wetsand paper

Menz PG
Menz IP
Menz FP
A 16oz bottle of Megs 105 given to me by RAG...
UDM
4 yellow foam pads
a ton of orange pads
white polishing pads
grey finishing

is this job something i can do wetsanding by hand? I have no idea how long, or how much to charge for this, so some help would be great. i would think 300+ for his car (mitsu eclipse)

thanks again

nick

 

Have you ever wet sanded before? If not, then Id at least practice on some panels first.

 

but is it something i should have him take to a body shop to be wetsanded, and i can polish it from there?



no i have never wetsanded something this big before... ive done some touch ups but thats it...

 

its going to take forever for the UDM to remove wetsanding marks (if its even possible?) You'll probably need a rotary polisher to remove them, IMHO.

Pete

edit check out this link:

YouTube - Wetsanding part 3 of 5

at around 6:24...its a meguiars training video, DA cannot remove sanding marks properly according to Mike P, an expert at Megs'

 

even with PG and a yellow foam pad?

i told him it would probably be best to have a body shop wetsand it for him, and i could compound and polish it...

but if itll be to hard to use a orbital to remove wetsanding marks ill tell him i cant do it. no sense in wasting both his time, and my time and products attempting it...

ill do some searches for wetsanding and using a UDM

 

Another option is to have a reputable place to the wetsanding for you, then finish off the polishing yourself. That way, the job is done well and you don't run the risk of sanding too deep.

 

i would not attempt this myself if you do not have experience with it.

 

It IS possible to do it. I did it with 1000grit with a PC+4inch yellow+PG. Took like 4 times to get rid of it but it matched the other panels fine

 

If I were you, I would squeeze some practice in before you take on a job like this.

 

May I kow did you do that on a single stage paint or a clear coat paint ? Also when you mentioned it took you 4 times to get rid of the sanding marks, you meant 4 times with PC+4inch yellow+PG or also includes 1 or 2 polishing steps in that 4 times. Because you mentioned you managed to match the other panels so I am curious to know . Thanks.

 

I agree 100%...you do not know how well a body shop will wetsand it..and what sanding marks will be left..it will be hard to remove marks from a bad wetsand with a UDM....it will take a rotary with wool to do the best job...

now if they wetsand to much and you try to correct the sand marks after..you do not know how much they removed from the finish and you chance a burn through....you have no paint guage...so its not a good job to take on....

AL

 

I agree with Al. Pass on this job.

 

alright ill let him know.

thanks for all the help =)

 

I wetsand vehicles and do not enjoy it much. An average car takes me about 30 hours and I charge $1K+. If you have to ask any questions about wetsanding period....don't do a customers car first.

 

It was clear coated and also had white paint. I know it was 100% defect free in those spots because I did the wetsanding before I polished the rest of the car :whistle:

And to make it clear, it was only spot polishing. As in touch up and stuff like that, not full car sanding. I'd be stupid to do that with a PC, it'll take too long haha. It was 4 times with PG and like 1-2 with IP after with an orange 4incher and PC. Color pretty much matched perfectly with the rest of the paint :thumb:

 

Wow! I assume that is wetsanding with a DA also?

 

yeah my friend who used to work at a body collision shop said that a job like that should be at least 800 dollars or more.

woo. glad i didnt take on this job lol. he would have been easily out of a car for at least 10 days if not more.

 

since I´ve done wetsanding really often all i can say is plan in about 10 hours with a DA sandig, go from 1500 wet to some 2000 abralon discs wet. After this you only have to touch it with a rotary and wool and all sandig marks are gone. I think 20 hours for everything with the right tools is needed.

Otherwise I wouldn´t do it, because you never know how much coats of clear are on the car and the chance of burning through is big, leaving another problem.


Let the Bodyshop wetsand and offer him to polish.

 

The body shop that my dealership uses would easily charge $1,500+ to do a job like this, and even though they're experienced i'd still be nervous .
I agree with everyone else here... pass, pass, pass :kilt: