wet sanding

this may seem very stupid but i have never done it before. How do you wet sand between coats and what tool do i need.

The only wet sanding you should do is at the clear coats-and then you dont have to do it till the end.

I use a couple different sanding pads that are sold at body shops.

One is soft like a sponge, and is used in sharp radiuses and on rolling surfaces. It will smooth the paint without taking thee tops off of high spots.

The other is harder for sanding off dust nibs, and leveling the surface. I use this for most of the sanding.

If I get a run, I wrap the paper around a flat paint stick. This is really hard, and will take the tops off of runs without cutting down the area around it at the same time.

Many people have gone to air sanding this "wet" stage. It is faster, but be careful you don't get into trouble and sand through.

A few other tips. Meguiars papers have more consitant grits. With other papers, it seems like there are always a couple "rocks" on the paper that are a little bigger, and you tend to get a few deep scratches on the surface.

Don't try to sand more than 2-4 square feet without changing the paper. It gets dull as you use it, and you will find it takes 2 or 3 times longer for the same size area.

While you are sanding, you can feel the surface with your hand to find spots that don't feel smooth. That way you don't have to dry it every time to see what you missed.

The grit you use will vary with the paint. A corser grit will cut faster and easier, but it's a wasted effort if it's too hard to buff. My paint stays soft longer, and I can use 1200, but some require much finer grits, like 1500 or 2000. Some guys like to use a second, even finer grit, to smooth it before buffing.

It's a lot of work to sand and buff, but it will give you a finish like glass, that cannot be sprayed on. :-) I do every job this way.

you can add a drop or two of dish soap in your wet sanding bucket helps keep the paper clean and wash off your panel with water be for you sand and make sure what when you wet sanding no dirt get between the paper and paint all way wash paper and panel keeps it flush of any junk if it is drit nibs i used a pad call a holly tearer that have big round holes in the pad then went over with a finer grit with a med soft pad i all way started with 1200 and went to 1500 on between coats 1000 grit

Also, every now and then, squegee the water off of the area you're sanding. If the whole surface is dull, you've gotten the area level. If you still have shiny spots, it's still uneven.

thank you all for your replies. is there a favorite tool brand that you would reccomend for the job. i have seen lots of different ones advertised and they all claim to be the best.

five gallon bucket clean. a clean spray bottle ..sanding 3m block med and soft a good arm and back alots of water and beer:3dSMILE:

Holly Terror block with black on one side and blue with holes on the other is good and Dura-Block makes nice ones. Like they said, get a soft one for corners, edges, and curves, a palm sized one that is med/hard and then a bigger one for big straight panels that is hard to keep it straight and smooth. If orange peel is too much then you can start with 800 and then finish with 1200 or 1500. Try to finish with the finest paper possible to help keep buffing time down.

thanks so much for the advice i will post pics as i progress. i am sure that i will have alot more questions.

The Dura-Blocks are the one's I use. I've seen the whole set of block advertised on eBay for as low as $32.00!!! A very good investment. For paper, I use either Mirka or Meguaiar's.

If starting from primer, get a can of Guide Coat and lightly spray it all over the vehicle. Then lightly water sand, without burning through corners, until all the Guide Coat splatter is gone. That will give you a nice smooth base to start with your color coats.