Wetsanding and buffing single stage paint

Ive had smootger asphalt than my driveway paint job turned out. Its BAD. 

incredible amounts of orange peel, some heavy sags and runs, etc. 

All my own doimg.

Theres a half gallon of paint sprayed on it. So thickness shouldn't be an issue, but it might be. Dunno.

After viewing 20 YouTube videosand a hundred forum threads, i went and got a foam sanding block, 800/1000/1500/2000 grit wet paper, a variable speed porter cable da, and a white foam pad. 

Im still in step 1 on body panel 1, which has heavy orange peel and a few fisheyes.

Im looking for tips, tricks, and methods. Ive almost got the decklid paint flat (have some spots) at 800 grit with the foam block and soapy water.

First tip i need: how to tell an area is done under the soapy water slurry. Currently im going through paper towels and wet rags at an alarming rate. Has to be an easuer way.....

All I know is the wipe method. 

You could spray a light coat of a contrasting paint on it, but that might be a bit extreme.

There is the stuff you wipe on for body work to show low spots (it's a powder), but I suspect that would wash off prett quick with soapy water.

In reply to aircooled :

That gives me an idea! I have a waterblade i use for wiping water off the cars when i wash them. Winder if that would be the ticket?

That sounds like a good idea.  If nothing else, you can get a lot of the water off and get more life out of the towels.

There are little rubber squeegees for just such an occasion.  Wet sand, squeegee, repeat.  Just be careful not to burn through the edges.  You may want to run a strip of masking tape along the edges so you don’t sand/polish them.  A little orange peel usually isn’t as noticeable as burnt edges. 

I wet sanded an ZJ cherokee. By hand. 

Lots of work, but worth it. I started behind the license plate so it would be hidden if I screwed up. It’s easy, just work. I used a garden hose trickling the water, no soap. I squeegeed the spots as I went to check progress. 

My arms felt better after a week haha. 

Wally said:

That’s  the answer.  Sand until when you wipe the water away it’s a uniform matt finish. 

When i see tge reccomendation to stay away from the edges, theres no measurement for the safety zone. Is it 1/32, 1/4, 1 inch????

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

I use a strip of 3/4 tape. 

1/2 -3/4" on the edges to start learning. Be careful working above sags because the paint will be much thinner. You'll want a nib file to make quicker work of drips and sags.

In reply to NOT A TA :

Whats a nib file? 

One of the videos i watched had a guy using a straight razor over them. Much like a spoke shave or block plane in woodworking. Made it look like a non ussue, so i had planned on just straight razor planing.

Keep a bucket of soapy water handy, lubes the ride when sanding.

i ran a strip of 3/4 wide painters tape around the edges. I had already worked right up to the edges here, so hopefully i didn't scew up.

Since the Miata is pretty much all curves, do I need to worry about working the gentle rounded parts of the body?

Also I have a five gallon bucket of soapy water as well as a spray bottle of soapy water but I've been using to lubricate the panel and the papers.

I know it's hard to see but this is one of the spots that I believe needs sanded more with 800 grit to get the shine completely gone before moving on. Am I correct?

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

Unless you regularly shave with a straight razor don’t do it!  Even then don’t do it. That is more than a U tube skill. That’s an art form.   Just block sand the runs off using a slightly coarser sand paper.  

Oh, and always always always use a rubber block sander. Otherwise you’ll get finger print grooves in the paint and it will turn out terrible.  

Be patient.  This cannot be rushed.  This will take days, weeks,  maybe a month or more depending on how many hours a day you can devote to it.  Put good tunes on the radio*, get comfortable, I have a series of different height chairs, stools,  on wheels and as I get towards the bottom of the car I put the car up on jack stands.  Bending over focusing on your work is very hard on your back. 

* I use tapes and a record,  I want that short mini break every 15-20 minutes so I can get up and stretch.  Wear good disposable gloves.  With the steady water you need to keep your sand paper from clogging  your fingers will wrinkle like prunes and actually start to hurt.  Plus they will do you no good feeling your progress.  

I wear one glove on my sanding hand but keep the other hand free to feel,   Just make sure you squigee. Dry the area before you feel, and keep a dry towel handy to constantly wipe that hand dry.  

Wrap the end of the hose with a rag to it does scratch the paint ( and helps keep it in place so it’s always washing over where you are sanding. 

Just got the little pinpricks out, and tried the waterblade. Perfect use for that tool! Makes it a LOT quicker and easier than the towels.

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

I don’t use tape at the edge of the hood and where the fenders join the hood . Those are relatively flat spots. Where once you remove the tape you’ll have an I sanded edge showing. I use care and a light touch. 

Where I do use tape is the ridge  or body lines.  

In reply to frenchyd :

Would it make sense to untape the edges when i get to 1000  or 1500 grit and then sand them? Less material removed than the 800 im using now, so less chance of blow through, and still some surface levelling to match the rest of the panel. Or am i overthinking it again?

Dusterbd13-michael said:

In reply to frenchyd :

Would it make sense to untape the edges when i get to 1000  or 1500 grit and then sand them? Less material removed than the 800 im using now, so less chance of blow through, and still some surface levelling to match the rest of the panel. Or am i overthinking it again?

That sounds pretty reasonable to me.  Avoids over-doing the edges but doesn't leave them totally un-sanded.  

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

Honestly that looks pretty friggin smooth to me. Once you sand up to 2000 and cut/buff, you won't even notice that. I've been getting away with worse on my Datsun, though the metallic in my paint really helps hide the flaws. Shiny A. F.  is such a good cover up.

I've been doing everything by hand FWIW, sometimes using a small foam block when doing 1000 grit for the big flat areas. Edges by hand has been working for me, usually with the paper rolled up a bit. 

My current plan is to do the whole car with 800. Then 1000, 1500, 2k, polishing compound, and glaze. Then wax. Im doing everything but the polish/glaze/wax by hand. Though it would be great to use a sander, but im afraid of removing too much material.

It it smarter to do tge whole car one stage at a time, or do i go panel by panel to completeness?

Im working at it slowly on conference calls and webinars today.

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

i would do one panel to completion just to dangle a carrot in front of myself, then do the rest of the car one stage at a time.

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

I don't know much about the topic and I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I seem to recall that the last automotive paint that I sprayed indicated in the instructions to not apply any wax for about 6 months so that the paint could fully outgas.  That may or may not apply to the stuff you used and it may just be an old wives' tale, so take it for what it's worth!

In reply to wae :

Oooo. I need to look into that. Base clear is supposed to be was ready in 7 days, urethane in 60 days. Have no idea about rustoleum and valspar.

Angry: my fear is that ill find a way to screw up the one completed panel and have to redo it.....

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

I did a couple small panels to completion, and it REALLY motivated me to do the rest. Sooo satisfying.