wetsand your car with 600 if you want to paint base right over it. or you can DA with 800 if you are careful.

 

Okay.... so basically how much do I penetrate? Do I just scuff the paint up and not penetrate or what? What's DA? I'm guessing you meant to put 'DS' for dry sand, and you just hit the 'A' button by mistake.

Time for another noobie to bodywork question.... what exactly is wet-sanding? Is it just done when the paint is wet or is there a certain process used?

 

What should I look for that's an indicator that I can't just scuff up the paint, and that I actually have to strip that part? I'm already planning on having the hood stripped and the driver's fender stripped down and painted, but what about the other things?

Would it help if I got pics of the car in certain areas?

 

primer it or you'll likely be sorry.. if the paints are fully compatible it'll start peeling after a few months if not sooner.. oh and you should sand with 320-400 wet sand for best results for primer adhesion.. wet sand with 1000 for the paint coat

 

DA is a dual action snader. basically a power sander. also, wetsanding is pretty similar to regular sandgin but you keep the paint and the paper wet. there is special paper just for wetsanding. look it up online. if you have chips in the paint, you likely wanna go down at least that far. and if you can see metal you wanna strip it.

 

So what I want to do is wetsand the current paint on the car with about 360 grit correct? How do I know when I should stop sanding? Should I look for something or do I just go over it lightly?

Also, I plan on probably laying down 2 coats of primer. Is this neccesary, or is 1 coat usually enough? Also, for the part where I first shoot the base coat onto the primer, should I wetsand the primer or what?

After that I plan on probably 3 coats of base (probably white). Between each coat I should wetsand it with about 900 or 1,000 correct? What do I do on the final coat if I want to lay down some clearcoat. Should I just wetsand with something fine like a 1,500 grit and then lay down my 2 or 3 coats of primer or what?

Pics of the paint up close will be coming in a few minutes, batteries for digi cam have to charge......

 

Here are the pics. I wish I could get some better ones outside, but it's raining right now..... maybe tomorrow or something. The first 2 show the vandelism on the driver's side fender. Paint thinner was dumped onto the hood and splashed onto the fender. It didn't penetrate however, so I think with a lot of snading I might be okay.

The second 2 show the passenger fender, there's a bunch of fine little scratches along the fender in that one area where it curves up and meets the hood. They shouldn't be a problem though, they look like they'll come out very easily.

The last pic is just of the roof section between the t-tops and the rear hatch. It's nothing big, there's just some peeling/fading in that area.











There are the pics. Let me know what you think. I think everything should be fine, except maybe the driver's side fender, which is questionable. The hood on the car is definitely getting stripped, as you can see a small sectio of rust on it and it's just in very poor condition.

 

first of all you want to spray like 2-3 coats of primer. then wetsand that down with like 400-600. if its good you are ready for base. spray like 3 coats again or until you have full coverage. do not touch it inbetween or after. just clear right over it after you let it flash. 3 coats of clear should be enough. then wetsand with 2000 and buff it you want it to look real nice.
now, about your paint. i think all looks well. just keep wetsanding till its all smooth and every inch of every panel has been hit. if the primer doesnt feel to great after sanding it from the first 2-3 coats. give it another couple coats and do it again, till its ready for base.

 

did you decide not to repaint your car?

 

I think its orange anyway