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Wetsanding the Camaro!


The Ryan

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So the camaro has had a deep scratch in the roof for about six months since the fantastic staff at S&J Chevrolet didn't listen when I asked them not to put those magnetic car tags on the camaro. The result was a deep scratch (about 10") across the roof of my camaro. They offered to have a "detailer" buff it out, but no one touches my paint but me!

 

Since I was doing my winter strip and prep, I decided to get out the sanding gear and get rid of this ugly beast thats been staring at me for months.

 

Here's the scratch you can see how deep and long it is between the florescent light reflection:

Scratch.jpg

 

This guy was really deep, I've been hitting it with SHR monthly with no progress, I hit it with 2000 grit to get started:

2000g.jpg

 

Followed up with 2500 grit, then finally 3000:

2500g.jpg

 

1 pass with SHR to buff out the sanding scratches:

SHR.jpg

 

After using the SHR there was still a mild reminisce of scratch left so I hit it with the 3000 grit again:

resand.jpg

 

And like magic after one more pass with the SHR, Scratch-B-Gone!

nomorescratch.jpg

 

The camaro is ready for our southern california "winter" with a fresh coat of MSW, and 1 coat of Americana.. :thumbsup:

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I've had some experience in the past with wetsanding; it can be a bit nerve racking but its something I'm experienced with so its no big deal. It's definitely not something I recommend for a rookie or even intermediate for that matter - leave the wetsanding to the experts guys.

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Nice correction Ryan.

 

it can be a bit nerve racking

 

A definite understatement! A huge :snap: moment when that wet sandpaper touches the car!

 

It's definitely not something I recommend for a rookie or even intermediate for that matter - leave the wetsanding to the experts guys.

Very true.

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Southern California has no winter. Thats why I go there a few times each winter. Hell we really don't have a winter in Seattle most years. Still need SO CAL a few times a year. The days are too short up here in winter. So you just get that Camaro ready for your so called winter.

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Its actually fairly simple process, but unless you have a $2500 paint gauge its hard to tell how much clear is actually on the car. I normally would only use 2500 or 3000, but in this case the scratch was deep and required 2000 to get it all out. It was nice to see some of the GM orange peel go away during the process. It would be nice to wet sand the orange peel out of the car, but I'm not quite that daring.

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I soaked the paper for about 30min in water and used WCW as surface prep on the clear.. Actually it made a great combo.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The WCW had enough lubricity huh? I have a deep scratch on my trunk lid i've been itching to do.Going to keep that in mind.

BTW,what did your clear thickness measure after the correction. (mm's?)

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Measure? I don't have no stinking measure.. Too much dough. That's why I didn't go beyond the 2000 grit. My rule is if the scratch isn't down to the base coat wetsanding will probably remove it. Yes there is risk involved; but if you take your time wipe and check your progress often you should be ok.

 

You can't go sanding on clear coat like you would with a piece of wood. It's delicate, don't use too much pressure, the harder you press down on the sand paper the more clear you are going to remove. Very light strokes - take your time and you shall succeed.

 

Again if your going to go this route just make sure you know there is always a possibility of removing too much clear and hitting base coat. Especially with factory finishes! Re-painted vehicles tend to have a ton more clear coat to work with.

 

It's kind of like a tattoo artist - don't mess up because it's forever! At least re-painting isn't as painful as tattoo removal - probably just as expensive though.

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I might add when wet sanding use a sanding block to keep surface flat! If you use your fingers you will get high and low spots.

 

6561.jpg

 

I picked up one of those when I was at the PBE store for 3M Adhesive Remover!

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