3M Machine Sanding Test

Hopefully the pictures work this time, they show up for the "preview post" so I think it will work.

This test vehicle did not have any deep scratches but as a whole had some very consistent swirl marks along with some previous rotary holograms. I started out by using an ETG to check for paint thickness consistency and then decided on trying the p3000 trizact disc.

After the first hit of sanding I could not report a loss in thickness on the ETG in mills which was pretty astounding. After sanding I worked my way starting with the least aggressive 3M pads and polish in an attempt to see how mild the sanding marks were, ultrafina - machine polish - rubbing compound .

Ultrafina cleaned up the haze, as shown below, but left many of the sanding marks. The machine polish and the black 3m pad removed almost all of the remaining defects but still left some fine marks from sanding. The rubbing compound and the white 3M pad was a powerhouse as far as defect removal went. When it was all said in done it was only .1 mills thinner then when I started and I had 100% defect removal.


I really wanted to be able to keep all of my sanding equipment together on my cart and after installing the regulator on the sander once I decided it needed to be mounted to the cart... I fabricated the brackets so that the regulator can pivot. With the U-joint and the pivot on the regular you can walk pretty well anywhere around the cart without binding up the hose at all.











The Test Panel






After one hit of Ultrafina at 1400 rpms a lot of the sanding haze was gone but the sanding marks still existed





Perfection






Here is one from last week. I am rather fond of that car after working on it...

 

Nice. Air sanding is very additive. I could never imagine hand sanding again.

 

Air sanding rocks! I tend to sand to often, lol.

 

AGREED. air sanding seems like cheating compared to hand sanding.

 

I use the Trizac discs on my Porter Cable. Works awesome. May have to add air to my new shop now, though!

 

You use your PC to sand with? How does it compare to air sander? Wet or dry?

 

Nice :wicked:

Question though are these types of sanders done by water base or dry sanding?

I'm looking forward on setting my garage up accordingly for all my new toys :cheerl:

 

Very nice!!! I can't wait to see the setup the next time I visit the shop. :thumb:

 

It is what 3m refers to as "damp sanding." You just keep it wet enough to make the sander run smooth, you should be able to see a light clear slurry after one pass. I am not sure the forum rules permit it but here is a link to 3M's instructions, if it is an issue remove the link. The DVD that ships with their kit is very helpful and down to earth, it is also available for download off of their site.

Step 2 3M US

 

Very interesting stuff here
I'd really like to see more pics and hear more stories of air sanding at work

 

Nice setup. I eventually want to get an air sander setup myself in the future.

 

Can you use these sanding discs with a rotary polisher?

 

Does anyone here sell air sanding equipment?

 

I found the old Makita box and it's apparently supposed to be a sander/polisher, so I guess it should work with this 3m stuff. :shrug:

 

I would not use it with a rotary. It does not seem like a good idea at all.