So what are you saying that worn or oxidized paint can be corrected by soap and water?
I don't believe that is accurate... you have to scratch the surface with graded degrees to reveal a high gloss finish.
I agree wetsanding is a tricky process but I never suggested you touch your pride and joy with sand paper. I suggested you get an old car or even a hood from a junk yard to learn the process.
In my defense even with the Ajax which I have used and the job came out immaculate... better than most cars I have seen at that time and I was around serious car guys during that time. It is similar as using this product but with a sponge instead of a scouring pad...
http://www.sgcardetail.com/Presta-13...-Prodview.html
This product was used at the shop instead of using 600 grit sand paper. To sand a car we used that sand paper with a scotch scouring pad
and approximated 600 sandpaper surface.
600-800 grit is reserved for paint prep (preparing a car for paint)
1000 grit is a finishing cut and is reserved for quickly knocking down orange peel yielding a smooth flat surface
1,500 grit removes the scratches from the 1000 grit
2000 grit or heavy polish will remove the scratches from the 1,500 grit
3000 grit or or light polish will remove the scratches left behind by the heavy polish or 2000 grit sand paper
wax and glaze fills in the scratches left behind by the 3000 or 2000 grit or polsh
Yes when you polish you are scratching your paint
If you used a sponge instead... I am willing to bet it would give you a 1000 or 800 grit finish without the risk of burning your paint (very similar to ajax).
And like ajax, it too removes orange peel and strips away old wax and prepares your surface but without burning through your clear coat (which is the danger when wet sanding).
I get making jokes but I offered my advice and experience in all good intention.
If you want to make fun of me then please at least get the facts of my post correctly.
1. Any wet sanding or flattening of the clear whether through a scouring product like scuff stuff or ajax or 1000-3000 grit sand paper is a precursor to polishing.
2. I never advocated any beginner to step to their car with a piece of sand paper in their hand. I advocated practicing with old panels from junk yards.
3. My intention was to share some methods I had come across for other people who were into detailing an restoration.
4. The Ajax trick was for cars that were A) white and B) badly oxidized and probably were candidates for a paint job. This was just a way to possibly salvage the paint.
I was a car dealer from 1991 to about 2009 and I have restored plenty of cars so what I am telling you was born from experience and knowledge from my time working in a custom body shop.
One more piece of wisdom I learned while working at the shop...
TAKE 300 good Body shop men and you will get 300+ methods for painting and detailing cars...there are so many different ways to approach this restoring painted surfaces.
Soap and water, wax and sometimes even polish won't correct badly oxidized paint or badly weathered paint. More extreme measures must sometimes be taken...
Most people automatically assume you need to paint. This method may just do what you need...at the very least you may just need to apply clear coat instead of reshooting color.
In the case of show car applications.
if you didn't pay $10,000 for a show car finish but wanted something close, the wet sanding approach that I outlined could get you very close to a show car finish.
For those of you who know what wet sanding is but never went this deep maybe it sparked an idea.
There are people who make a living just wet sanding and then polishing cars.
polish removes scratches right?
so if the scratches you make are finer than the scratches your polish is meant to address then what is the problem.
most people do not know how to wetsand... what I detailed was a method that was taught to me by shop owners who specialize in high end cars.
The method, when followed, yields professional results even from a novice.
They let me wetsand my first Lexus after only a few months at the shop.
Do you think they would touch a Ferrari or lambo or Porsche with sand paper if it wasn't going to work?
Removing orange peel is something that shows your paint is a custom paint job.
Get any custom paint book and you will see that wet sanding is advocated and taught.
If your car is already shiny and you are content then my post is meaningless...
If your paint is old worn and you are considering a paint job that could cost $3,000 and still be substandard
then maybe you may want to give these techniques some FURTHER INVESTIGATION...
ie videos, stop by a body shop, practice on old panels. etc.
If I could try it on my Audi, which at the time was less than 8 years old, I was floored by the PERFECT finish.
using AJAX then you may feel you would never do it but Bad advice I don't know...
My advice was try it on some old panels, ie. junked cars or panels from a junkyard and see how it comes out...
How is that bad advice? Any lesson learned, even if discarded, can never be a bad thing.
Maybe I am different... someone tells me something that they claim they did and I will explore it, figure out why it worked, and investigate especially if it is supposedly something that can save me money time and effort.
so once again wet sand.
Originally Posted by Hornung418
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