Palmer

So, a hood I have fell over on my wifes Acura a while ago. She was pleased.

In order to maintain domestic tranquility, I decided to fix it by wet sanding the clear coat.

First, the supplies: (not required, just what I had)

1500 wet dry sandpaper
2000 wet/dry sandpaper
Foam Wet sanding blocks
"Dobie" teflon-safe pan cleaning sponge
3M heavy-duty rubbing compound
3M perfect-it 2 rubbing compound
Pinnacle Fine Swirl Remover
Orange Lake buffer pad
White Lake buffer pad
Porter-Cable Buffer

First I washed the whole car, and clayed the fender where the damage was. Here are pictures of the scratches.





The hood fell, and kinda slid down the front of the car. Stupid wind.

To wetsand, you NEED to used some sort of soft sanding block, and not your fingers. If you use your fingers, it will cause un-even pressure, and make low spots in the paint. Worse case, you will burn through the clear coat right into the paint.

To prep the sandpaper, put it in a bucket of water, with a couple drops of car wash in it. Let the paper soak for 15 minutes or so. This is also the water you will be using to lubricate the sandpaper with, so make sure the bucket is clean. You don't want to drag a chunk of sand or grit aross the paint while you are sanding.

Once the paper is ready, wrap it around the sanding block. I wound up using the "dobie" pan thing, because I felt like the foam blocks were a bit too firm for my liking. I'm sure there are other foam blocks out there in different hardnesses, but I could not find any. The sponge worked perfectly.




I started with the 1500 grit, and with JUST THE WIGHT OF MY HAND, started to work the paint. I slopped plenty of water on the fender, then I started sanding slowly in straight lines, but quickly switched to alternating 45 degree angles. I would work up one way, switch angles, and work back down. I stopped, and dried the panel off every 2-3 minutes to see how even my sanding was, and to check progress. KEEP THE PAINT SOAKED AT ALL TIMES. The water acts as a lubricant, and a "cleaner" for the sandpaper. This is where it pays to be VERY patient. If you screw this part up, your paint will be damaged. All we are doing is working with the clear coat.

I wound up doing most of the top of the fender and feathering out near the edges, so the "repair" would not be so obvious.

Here is what it looked like after a few cycles of 1500 grit:


Then a few cycles of 2000 grit:


Looks great, eh? At this point I was wondering what the hell I was thinking trying this DIY.

Then I hit it with the "heavy-duty" rubbing compound, and the white Lake buffing pad, speed 3 on the PC buffer:

After I got done with this, I was expecting a bit more shine. Pants-shitting over ruined paint almost commenced.

Next step was the "perfect it 2" compund, and the orange Lake pad, speed 4 on the PC buffer:

Ok, looking a bit better now. I was scared there for a bit.

Then the Pinnacle fine swirl remover:

Much better!

Then I washed and dried the panel again, just to get rid of all the dust and crap, and let it dry for a bit.

After that came the Klasse AIO polish, and Klasse Sealer glaze:



Finished product:





Now that's the best looking fender on the front of the car. It's going to drive me nuts.

eddy

That looks AMAZING! great work! I have favorited this so I can remember the process in the future.

JO

great write up man. i may need this soon

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Palmer

A couple things to add:

My paint was scuffed, not scratched. This is NOT going to work on damage that has real depth, like a scratch.

Also, the heavy duty rubbing compound is like a 3000 grit sandpaper, so try that first. You will need a couple finer grades of polish to bring it back, but it still will remove less clear than wet sanding.

scottieboy561

gonna do my entire 91 like this all the scuffs are pissing me off. great write up.

2004busa

This will def come in handy for me!

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I think we're gonna need a bigger mustard...

Cspence

That looks great!

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Muzdaman

I will need this later, thanks.

blindboxx2334

I need something like this for my headlights.. haha..

oh btw.. how much did you spend in polish?! isnt that stuff like 10 bucks a bottle!?

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flickr - fsu666ftw

94MB_MK&&

just bought something similar to this, spent about 65 in total. compound, glaze, and polish.

great job bro, hope mine turns out as good.

The White Miata

ok, i'll ask the question...

how is your hood?

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Palmer

Yes, most bottles were more than that. Still about $375 cheaper than my deductible. Plus, I can use this stuff on all my cars.


Haha, The one that fell on the car?

Well, it was a junkyard hood that I fake rusted out, and stuck on my saab to make fun of VW kids at a car show.

I cut it into chunks, and put it in my trash after the show. So, it's doing fine.

1vicissitude

Someones got to do it

TurboTyla

very nice... This is what i do on a daily basis now. just recently got a job detailing/wet sanding/buffing cars at a local body shop.

Love the job/ and the place. I am still learning some things but i am glad i got this job

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alex09

great work

johnmatt

I wouldn't have went as far as sanding it because now you're going to see the orange peel on the surrounding areas. Buffing and polishing compound would have been fine IMO

freedomgli

Thanks for the writeup. I've never gotten past the 2000 grit pants-shitting over ruined paint stage of the process. Now I know to keep going until it shines like new. I spray bombed some parts on my motorcycle about a month ago so the paint should be hard enough now to tackle this process.

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Palmer

I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you. I do a fair amount of work like this, and it was beyond that point.

FYI, the rest of the paint looks great. Pretty much what you would expect on a car that was north of 45k when new.


Nice, post pictures! Remember to use a pad for the sand paper, espcially on all the curved surfaces.

Max_Power

How does it look a month later?
Is it still shiny on this area or will require a bit more often polishing?

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Chris
Autokonexion Kevlar bumper and fenders 2096lbs
FM 2.0L Stroker+GT2560+V-mount+1000cc ID+E85+22psi->335 whp
Ford Motorsport Tremec T5z 5 speed transmission
275 Hoosier Koni 3011 coilovers 900 Lbs/inch springs - Daily Driver

Palmer

Looks just fine.

The clear coat is still there, it's just a tiny bit thinner.

I followed the wetsanding with some pretty nice product, so it looks just like the rest of the car, and has held up just fine.

TURBOKID

A nice little trick to use is wrapping the sand paper around a paint stick. The stick (also soak it in water) stays flat but curves with the body panel letting you have more area to cover and a more even sand.

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90 Miata - a work in progres / 78 Electra - low rider / 84 T-Type - speedy / 05 Corolla - DD gas saver / 85 Riv - factory convertible,caddy white,sunday car / 82 Malibu - blue bomber

Palmer

You mean a paint roller cover?


That's a great idea.

TURBOKID

what I mean is a wooden paint stick from home depot or any paint store. When the wood soaks up water it still stays flat but it allows for curves.

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90 Miata - a work in progres / 78 Electra - low rider / 84 T-Type - speedy / 05 Corolla - DD gas saver / 85 Riv - factory convertible,caddy white,sunday car / 82 Malibu - blue bomber

acitydweller

nice work!