Wilburbeest

I wouldn't think of doing this on stock paint so yes it was repainted. And I doubt I will get good with a rotary without experience so I'll consider buffer trails a minor setback that's quite fixable, either with more trial and error or a PC:patriot: Probably correct that 2000 before the 2500 would have been a good idea, but M105 on the rotary seemed to take out even the 1500 marks pretty easily. I just used some 2500 to make it that much easier. I certainly don't see sanding marks left except for on a few spots I need to touch up. What would you recommend for a finishing polish? What I have right now is some Meguiar's #9 swirl remover, which after some searching around found that apparently #82 (almost the same thing but breaks down slower) would have been a better choice for a clear coat but the #9 is still ok.....oops. is there something else that would be less likely to leave trails though? Also I've been working mostly on the 3rd speed of the Makita with a white foam pad. Does that sound about right?

Allow me to revise my response to this. I believe I must be on some really good @#$, and the planet was earth! Junkman, I'm not sure if you're gonna want to slap me, shoot me, salute me, or all 3, but I ended up doing it anyway. Sanded with 1500, stepped up to 2500 in some of the more touchy areas and finished with a Makita rotary borrowed from my neighbor. I'm not quite done yet, BUT no significant damage has been caused aside from one of the mirrors, both of which were expected to have to be resprayed anyway due to some complications when they were shot but I thought I'd try a last ditch effort to save them before respraying them. Turned out the issues were too bad to fix with sanding. Keep in mind this whole project was done with 2 guys working out of a garage, and all finishing work done by me exclusively with ZERO previous experience. The worst thing I have caused so far is some buffer trails (Definitely not the worst I've seen, but more noticeable than I'd like.) that I will be attempting to fix tomorrow/technically today. If I just can't seem to get a swirl free finish with the rotary I'll be picking up a PC from Adam's for the final finishing:) I will say as a side note, I WILL NEVER SAY WHAT I HAVE DONE HERE WAS A "GOOD" IDEA, NOR WOULD I RECOMMEND IT TO ANYBODY. I did it willing to accept the risk involved since there was no other feasible way of getting it done at this point. This probably should have been from a bit further back in retrospect, but here's a flash shot. I think you can see just a bit of the buffer trails I'm talking about in it. More pics after the project is finished, or at least the rotary portion since I don't know if I'll be able to get the finish I want with the rotary/my skill level yet:thumbsup:

Bahaha, I feel ya man. I have my stock dog-eared hood that I can practice on, but this particular project I'll likely have a professional do;). I DO want to learn this stuff, but I think when I get a secondary car that I don't care so much about (my toy is also my transportation), which will probably also be my first full paint job attempt, would be a better time. In that case if it goes awry I'm fully ok with it because not only would I be using much cheaper materials, but experience is what you get when something doesn't go quite exactly right. But if I screwed up this job I'd be liable to kick my own ***

Pardon me for asking! Holy $#%! dude, I don't know if the belittlement and down-talking was quite necessary, but point taken. I appreciate the straight answer though:lol: What would make me consider it? Well I happen to do A LOT of DIY projects and have done many with no previous experience. Partially because I love to learn new stuff, and partially because I am often working on a budget. Not to sound ****y, but the results are often people with higher experience levels complimenting my work. This project though is one where I know there is an art to it, so I thought I would ask SOMEBODY WHOM I RESPECT for a good solid opinion as to if I should even think about it. As for the painter, it is an old body guy that's helping me out for very little return on his part. So for the wet sanding he told me he would be willing to teach me, but I have to do the work or hire somebody if I want that done. If this was a shop then yes I agree I would need a new painter. However, this is not a shop project other than a couple things like some fiberglass work to the hood (only in budget through a hook-up) and probably the wet sanding. And yes he knows what he's doing. He has two GORGEOUS classic chevys sitting in his garage, both of which he did the same paint process on that mine will receive. Thanks again for the straight answer:rockon:

I have watched the videos and I have to say they've helped me out a lot! I was wondering your input on my situation though. My car is going to get repainted pretty soon, and afterward I was going to attempt to wet sand/buff it. The guy that is painting it, as far as I can tell, is very good at spraying a smooth finish, so I imagine there won't be any crazy orange peel or anything like that to work with considering he will be using a very nice clear. However, here is the hitch. I have never wet sanded before and am a bit leary of taking on an entire car..... and one that happens to have $720 in materials on it. The painter says he is willing to show me the basics. In short, do you think I would be totally off my rocker to attempt this? Or if there is very little orange peel, would I be better off just spot sanding if I find any dust in the paint (there will probably be a spot or 2, its a garage job) and only buffing the rest? Also, if I were to use the PC to buff out the damage, what pads would you recommend?