- Jun 7, 2013
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I sanded the clear coat on the rear bar and boot lid, orbital sander, p120, ( but if I was a new guy at this , I would start with p240, until you have the hang of it) when I get close to the paint I change over #1400 sanding disk, and just skim to the solid red colour, then #1500 sanding paper to finish off the clear coat,
Please note, when sanding clear coat, the dust is white, the paint dust is red, or whatever colour you are doing,, so it is real easy to tell when it hits paint, then I buff as quick as I can, because buffing brings out the faults, I really like Farecla G3 Regular grade, paste compound, ( because I can buff clean the tail light lenses, as can be seen in the picture,)
After it is buffed,
I use #1500 on the sander, and sand again until all small orange peel bumps are flat,sand all lumps or bumps, so far I have not really taken much of the paint thickness , Due to the fact that the sander is variable speed, yes I give it all it has got on the flat horizontal areas, but the concave sections like under the taillights it is easy to sand on a angle at very low RPM< , to the point where the disk is not spinning, please note I place the sanding pad slightly off set, and the sand paper sticks out a 1/16” on one side, so when I am sanding a concave shape, or in gaps and corners, I turn the disc around until the slightly protruding sand paper edge is touching the paint, and run the sander on the lowest RPM, the disc does not turn, but still vibrates and I work it up and down, and methodically work in and around each corner, I even turn the sander upside down and sand the high side of the concave, I am only sanding with the leading edge with minimum distortion of the soft disc padding,(I use my buff the same way, ) then I general hand rub, with dry #1500, always wipping the dust off to see and check the surface,
Tip with sanding oxidized or flaking clear coat, is it sands down a white clear coat colour very quick,P120-p140 oxidized clear coat is damage and soft depending on how badly damaged, until it is nearly about to break into the paint, then it " let’s go ", the last layer of clear has UV damage and is not really attached to the paint surface in most places,, Like it should be, You got to watch for that point, or dig in to the colour,
With that in mind I should mention that when sanding flat surface or horizontal surfaces, there should be no down ward pressure on the machine, they sand very well under their own weight, P120-P240, you only have to keep your hand on top of it to guide it, and both hands to hold while working vertical surfaces, no need to force the machine, and these sanders work much better if the holes on the sanding pad line up with the holes in the head, and i hold a dust cloth in my other hand, to remove the excess dust, which stops the sanding pad from clogging, and cut quicker for longer,
I Work the sander in one direction for the first cut, over a small area, then wipe the dust off and look over the hole area,then change direction and sand, Looking for dents that are “sticking up”, and not in, if you’re not watching you can quickly hit a meta spotl, I usually cover an area thinking I have passed the sander over the surface 3-4 times over the area,, then I wipe it clean, and check the surface, when I find a high dent, on the bonnet in particular, I use the clean flat end of a screw driver, to feel ( not look ) for a high dent, then press down gently but firmly, then I try to feel the bump again with the screw driver,, do same again if required, if not I just run the sander over it, and level the surface, but in my opinion is it is all about “ even” sanding over small areas, few feet square, never start sanding on the flaking edge or heavy oxidized areas, start on what looks to be good clear coat and work out or in to the flaking edges, and do not sand areas of exposed paint until all the clear coat is almost removed,
Please note the black arrows show a pinkish colour, this is a fine layer of clear coat still there, the white arrows show that I started sanding then remembered to take this picture,
Back asap,
Please note, when sanding clear coat, the dust is white, the paint dust is red, or whatever colour you are doing,, so it is real easy to tell when it hits paint, then I buff as quick as I can, because buffing brings out the faults, I really like Farecla G3 Regular grade, paste compound, ( because I can buff clean the tail light lenses, as can be seen in the picture,)
After it is buffed,
I use #1500 on the sander, and sand again until all small orange peel bumps are flat,sand all lumps or bumps, so far I have not really taken much of the paint thickness , Due to the fact that the sander is variable speed, yes I give it all it has got on the flat horizontal areas, but the concave sections like under the taillights it is easy to sand on a angle at very low RPM< , to the point where the disk is not spinning, please note I place the sanding pad slightly off set, and the sand paper sticks out a 1/16” on one side, so when I am sanding a concave shape, or in gaps and corners, I turn the disc around until the slightly protruding sand paper edge is touching the paint, and run the sander on the lowest RPM, the disc does not turn, but still vibrates and I work it up and down, and methodically work in and around each corner, I even turn the sander upside down and sand the high side of the concave, I am only sanding with the leading edge with minimum distortion of the soft disc padding,(I use my buff the same way, ) then I general hand rub, with dry #1500, always wipping the dust off to see and check the surface,
Tip with sanding oxidized or flaking clear coat, is it sands down a white clear coat colour very quick,P120-p140 oxidized clear coat is damage and soft depending on how badly damaged, until it is nearly about to break into the paint, then it " let’s go ", the last layer of clear has UV damage and is not really attached to the paint surface in most places,, Like it should be, You got to watch for that point, or dig in to the colour,
With that in mind I should mention that when sanding flat surface or horizontal surfaces, there should be no down ward pressure on the machine, they sand very well under their own weight, P120-P240, you only have to keep your hand on top of it to guide it, and both hands to hold while working vertical surfaces, no need to force the machine, and these sanders work much better if the holes on the sanding pad line up with the holes in the head, and i hold a dust cloth in my other hand, to remove the excess dust, which stops the sanding pad from clogging, and cut quicker for longer,
I Work the sander in one direction for the first cut, over a small area, then wipe the dust off and look over the hole area,then change direction and sand, Looking for dents that are “sticking up”, and not in, if you’re not watching you can quickly hit a meta spotl, I usually cover an area thinking I have passed the sander over the surface 3-4 times over the area,, then I wipe it clean, and check the surface, when I find a high dent, on the bonnet in particular, I use the clean flat end of a screw driver, to feel ( not look ) for a high dent, then press down gently but firmly, then I try to feel the bump again with the screw driver,, do same again if required, if not I just run the sander over it, and level the surface, but in my opinion is it is all about “ even” sanding over small areas, few feet square, never start sanding on the flaking edge or heavy oxidized areas, start on what looks to be good clear coat and work out or in to the flaking edges, and do not sand areas of exposed paint until all the clear coat is almost removed,
Please note the black arrows show a pinkish colour, this is a fine layer of clear coat still there, the white arrows show that I started sanding then remembered to take this picture,
Back asap,
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