2008 Atomic Orange Z06 wetsanded deep etching

The brand new 2008 Z06 was partially exposed to the elements at a dealership. The client noticed the deep water spot etching after he received the car. The dealership said they would have the body shop fix the issue for him, but he decided to go another route.

Upon arrival I noticed that the car was looking excellent inside and out. Another detailer had already clayed/waxed and did a wonderful job on the interior.

Here is a pic of some of the etching on the roof:



For entertainment purposes I started with my airvantage 3/32 throw air sander and some 4k sanding discs. As usual this finishing disc will only scuff a harder clear coat. Also tried the trizact 3k sanding disc which hardly produced a dent in the etching.

I then moved down to some 2k abralon sanding discs. Making 2-3 passes over the area you can see how deep some of the etching really is:



From there I stepped down to unigrit 1500 by hand. I followed that with the air sander and 2k abralon, then 4k abralon.



With the hard clear that the corvette is known for, some of the sanding scratches from using 1500 by hand did not come out with the air sander. I have since purchased a box of the new 3M trizact 1500 02069, wish I would of had them for this one.

I even tried the trizact 3k discs in place of the 4k abralon, no difference with this hard clear.

So when I polished the sanding marks out, this was the process I used:

3M ECC yellow edge wool @ 1700 mikita
Presta 1500 green edge wool @ 1600 makita
SIP Green german CCS foam @ 1600 mikata
Ultrafina blue euro 6" 3M foam @ 1600 mikata

Each polishing step was followed w/ multiple wipedowns of prep solve to ensure that each polishing step was worked long enough.

On the hood the etching did not appear to be as deep, so it got the 2K abralon followed by the 3k trizact.

This is a in process shot of the hood as I am polishing out the wetsanding marks:



Some after polishing shots of the roof:





After shot of the hood:



The rest of the car received a polish with ZPC/green german CCS/PC6.

The car was then washed via the 2BM with Zaino Z7 and a sheepskin mit.

Dried with pakshak WW dring towels.

I applied 2x of zaino Z2pro, followed by Z8.

Total time 16.5 hours over 2 days.

 

Wow, Great detail. That came out really nice. looks like you had to work for this one. I love corvettes...:thumb:

 

How musch does work go for like that in Atlanta.

 

Wow that paint is warm. Very inviting, you did an excellent job.

 

Cracking work, really brought the roof up good.

Mirka Royal 1500 dry discs might be worth a try on clear that hard, it's a long process of continually trying to clear the finish and pads when working it (as you don't have the water for a carrier) but might be another option for you.

 

Very nice! I love that color.

 

Beautiful! I'd be scared to start sanding on a brand new car, that's some skills!

 

I agree you have some awesome skills. I love that color and it really sets a Vette off. Zaino is looking good on it as well.

 

Thats a great turnaround you made there...good work:applause2:

 

Terrific work...I love the colour :worship2:

 

Awesome work... I'd be scared to do anything like that.

Did you take any pre and post paint thickness measurements? I'd be curious as to how much clear you removed during that process.

 

that looks awesome

 

Great work on it!. thats a real nice looking care

 

Awesome work!!

Shine looks great :thumb:

 

Great work as usual Bryan!

 

Great job Bryan, beautiful car, just not very fond of the color.

 

I agree great craftsmanship :applause:

Question on those sanding disks, when you were sanding was that dry sanding? I can't say I've ever used the dry sanding method always the wet sanding what's the difference between the two? If anyone could shed some light on this that would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you Buddy!

This would be a question better handled in a PM.

Thank you reflect!

Thanks Epoch! It seems that there is never a quick way to do anything when it comes to sanding. I now do have some of the 3M trizact 1500 which I believe can also be used dry. As you noted the sanding media would need constant cleaning via an air source. Thanks for your thoughts!

Thank you Juztang!

Thanks P1et! As far as the paint goes, you should have more clear on a new car.

Thanks for your kind words JL!

Thanks Hardstyler!

Thanks Carn!

Thanks Bob! Since I did not have a PTG at the time to use on composite/plastic, I had a talk with the client. I stressed that the areas that where wetsanded should not be cut to this extreme again. He told me that he only keeps his cars for 2 yrs and wanted the etching removed.

I now have a Deflesko PosiTector 200 Series (Advanced)

Thanks yukonon!

Thank you kogenx!

Thanks slangauge!

Thanks Denzil!

Thanks Rocket! I have been on the fence with this color since it came out on the vette. After working on it, I like it more.

 

Thank you Carlos! All the sanding I did was wet on this car. I have not done that much dry sanding myself, but sanding dry will cut faster. You also need to keep the sanding media clean with compressed air and wipedown the surface more often as you don't have the water to carry the sanding residue away.

If anyone else has more insite on dry sanding, please post up.

 

Oh okay it was wet sanding :thumb:

Question, how do you use the airvantage to do wet sanding? Do you simply spray the surface area with a lubricant and with the sand paper wet as well? I'm assuming you would but I'm just curious that's all.