Color Sanding with a DA Sander

[A.X.]

Being the kind of guy who likes to roll old school when it comes to body work, I have been hesitant to color sand any other way than by hand. Of course, color sanding with a DA Sander is not exactly new, but it's gaining more and more acceptance among us old school types who like to do everything by hand. I think that's because out aching backs, and numb hands have finally taken their toll on us. LOL!

Anyway, by using a Dual Action Sander, you can color sand in a quarter of the time it takes for you to do it by hand. We all know that sanding sucks, so anything that makes it easy is worth trying. The problem is, this is not for beginners. Color sanding is an art form, and to truly be good at it, one must start by hand. Jumping in with a DA is only going to cause you grief. Even if you are only using 1500 grit paper, you can still cut through to the color, or through the color on the edges, and not even realize it.

The paper available today in the 6" disc's, is far better than what once was. You can buy it in grits as fine as 2000, and even 2500 in some cases. You can get it in glue-backed disc's, hook & loop (Velcro), foamed-backed and wet or dry.

Today, I am using a foam backed paper made by Indasa. This is good paper, as it's cheaper than 3M, yet cleans itself very well. I hate paper that clogs up quick, and this stuff is very good, and durable. These foam-backed disc's were chosen because of the contours of a 77 Trans Am. I wanted to have a little bend while I more over the curves.

I do this dry, and use little to no pressure on the DA Sander. Pressure is simply not needed. This section of a fender was done in less that 30 seconds. By hand, it would have taken me about 10-15 minutes to do this much. By guestimations, you can do an entire fender in about 15 minutes with one grit. Of course that depends on the orange peel. The fender shown has a bit more orange peel, because of using the wrong temp reducer in too hot conditions. Sanding this fender by hand would take a long time!

With a little practice, and understanding for color sanding, one can really speed up the process with a DA. It's not just for hacks in collision repair shops who want to move 'em in and move 'em out.