HOW TO: Color Sanding & Polishing

[A.X.]

Color Sanding and Polishing is probably the most important aspect of a killer paint job. Almost all paint jobs will leave some defects and flaws, that can be fixed with a little sanding and polishing. The flatter the paint, the better the shine. It's that simple. The process of color sanding isn't an easy one, but the rewards are well worth the work.



The tools and materials needed are as follows. Sand paper, polisher, various pads, compounds and polishes, and sanding pads. Below is a pic of the main products that I personally use. There are a ton of products on the market, so one can pick and choose what's right for them. I use what i do, because these are the products that give me the ultimate shine. The polishing aspect is where all of you hard work starts to pay off.



Color Sanding


But before we even get to that point, we need to sand the paint. Color sanding is the process of flattening the paint to allow the light to reflect on a smother surface and provide a much better shine. Color sanding is done through wet sanding with micro fine sand paper. The starting grit of the paper depends on the surface you will be sanding. Very visible orange peel will call for more aggressive paper such as 800 grit, while a factory paint job will normally call for a 1500-2000 grit paper to start with. This is a judgment call, really, but an important one. When color sanding, you are removing paint, so if you start out too aggressive, you run the risk of cutting through the paint.



Depending of what grit you start, you will then need to move up in grit in stages. This is important because you will need to remove the sand scratches of the previous grit. 1500 grit paper will not remove 800 grit sand scratches very well. Moving from 800 to 1000 to 1200 to 1500 to 2000 will provide you a much better finish to work with, and a shine that is amazing. You can go up to the 2500 grit, but I've never found it necessary. Your compounds will clean up the 2000 grit sand scratches with ease.



One this I do recommend is using a foam sanding pad. This allows you to sand the surface more evenly. These pads are pretty cheap, so grab several of them! They last a long time, and come in handy for many sanding operations. They will conform to contours easily, and make sanding a lot faster. These sanding pads also work well as squeegees to help to keep track of your progress by drying the surface.







Your first grit will be the part where you want to cut the paint as flat as possible. You'll notice right away that the paint will have a glossy and matte finish while sanding. You know when the paint is flat,when all of those glossy low spots are gone. On a factory finish, this will happen very quickly, because the orange peel is minimal. You'll want to constantly keep track of your progress by squeegeeing the the water off and viewing the surface dry. The pic below is a flat finish after the first grit is used. This is what you want to see. No glossy areas!







Now, the rest f the process is spent getting those sand scratches out with finer grit paper. The cool thing is, as you progress through the grits, you'll notice the paint starting to become more glossy. The real gloss comes when you start to compound. But before you compound, wash the car thoroughly and clean off all of the sanded paint left behind. The cleaner the car, the less likely you are to scratch the paint while compounding/polishing.



Compounding/Polishing


Here's a pic of the materials I use for the polishing process. I always start with a compound and always finish with a finishing glaze. About a week later, I will apply some Zaino Bros polish for an amazing show car finish.







The pads I use are probably the most important part. I really like foam pads, as they stay clean longer, and provide a very slick finish. I always start out with a wool pad on new paint, because it allows the compound to cut better, and seems to go farther. My second pad will be a medium cut foam pad that really starts to bring out the shine. I'll use this pad with a medium cut polish also. I'll then go to a soft polish foam pad with a micro finishing polish that gives you a shine that is amazing. I'll finish it off with a soft finishing pad and some high quality glaze. This will lock in the shine, and the reflective quality is simply breathtaking.


This is a pic of what the paint looks like after the second stage of polishing, compared to a sanded area. There's a big difference, but this is not the end result. Notice how the pearl flakes start to really stand out, when compared to the sanded area.







That's pretty much the process. It's not a complicated procedure, but it is a lot of work. It's much easier on painted surfaces that have less orange peel, like a factory finish. This is also the same process used in blending spot repairs, fixing runs and bugs and dust in the paint, and many other paint flaws. I'll touch on those next.

[Burt Reynolds]

What type of dewalt polisher are you using?

[hiltman]

A.X.,

I removed the gold pinstripes (painted on) from my Jeep Grand Cherokee several years back. It was going rather well until I reached the last section (rear quarter). It turns out, the Jeep had been slightly wrecked before and had some paint work done. I believe that the last section had clear coat over the stripes. Anyhow, the method of using 'goof off' and rubbing with a soft cloth towel was not working too well. It took sandpaper to get the stripes off. And now the black paint in that area is scuffed similar to the sanded picture above. So, I assume I can actually rectify this situation using color sanding. Where do you typically purchase your supplies? Thanks,

John

[freebird67]

A.X. Ill agree that colorsanding is important but even more is the bodywork. The flatter and straighter your panels the better the job will look. A friend of mine has done a pretty extensive how to, if you dont mind I can post the link.

[hiltman]

Freebird... I've been reading up on everything I can find on the subject of body work. Feel free toPM the link if it can't be linked. Thanks.

[A.X.]

It can be linked. I don't mind.

But to answer the question, I get my supplies where I can find them cheapest. Usually online. No point in paying more for the exact same product.

[freebird67]

Its a 3 part series he did so here are all three links.

1. http://etac-airbrush.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2577

2. Etacology :: View topic - Part 2, Colorsanding

3. Etacology :: View topic - Part 3, Buffing

[freebird67]

If the pics dont show up for ya just right click and click show picture.

[A.X.]

he and I agree a lot.

I have heard some painters say that they can spray a flawless finish that needs no sanding or buffing and has zero orange peel! I disagree! Dont take my word for it, go to a show like the Grand National Roadster Show and ask around. Find one that is not colorsanded and buffed to perfection! If by a wild chance you do find one, I bet you its not in the final eight judging and is definately not the winner! There is a reason for colorsanding and buffing and that reason is NOT because the painter doesnt posses the skill to spray it perfectly.

I could not have said it better!

[A.X.]

Now here is a little trick. Using the same pad and what compound is left on it I will spray the paint surface with water. Without adding any compound to the pad start buffing again. This makes a finer polishing paste and will remove all the heavy swirls and bring the finish out to a much deeper finished appearance.

Great Tip! I'm gonna use it tomorrow when buffing the bird.

[A.X.]

Now here is a little trick. Using the same pad and what compound is left on it I will spray the paint surface with water. Without adding any compound to the pad start buffing again. This makes a finer polishing paste and will remove all the heavy swirls and bring the finish out to a much deeper finished appearance.

Great Tip! I'm gonna use it tomorrow when buffing the bird.

[A.X.]

One thing on using the DA to color sand. I do not recommend it to Noobs. It's too easy to cut into the edges and take the paint off. I recommend doing it by hand, until you get a good feel for what's being done.

And if you're going to use a DA, make sure it is a DA sander, and not a drill or rotary sander. You're end up cutting the shit out of your paint. With a DA, you'll need a really good air compressor too, or you'll be stopping a lot, waiting for the thing to catch up.

[hiltman]

I've got a bitchen air compressor, but haven't got the garage wired for 220 yet. I bought a Sears Craftsman DA sander. I think it will work well, but I'd imagine that the palm DA sanders are better (more comfortable) than the handle DA sanders. I saw a yellow and blue one (top of the line) for 200 - 300 bones. So, I guess I'll have to work up to that one!

[freebird67]

Yes AX is right about the sander. If you are a noob Its not recommended to do it. Your paint is one area you dont want to rush unless you like doing things twice.

[A.X.]

You pick the DA sander your are comfortable with. Doesn't matter if it's a palm sander or handle. Neither one is better than the other, as far as sanding goes. When chosing a DA, or any tool for that matter, you need to pick something you can use comfortably, because you're gonna be using it a lot. lol! I use the handle type, because I like it. Not because one is better than the other.

[hiltman]

That's good to know. I've never used one... (noob), so I hope I picked a good one that I'll like. I think I'll practic on one of the fenders I'm going to toss.

[A.X.]

Check out my color sanding with a DA thread in this section for links to get good sand paper.