Need some advice for wet sanding, buffing and polishing new paint job

[K10eddie]

Hey folks,

So tomorrow I'm getting ready to paint my truck, but instead of the classic hot rod primer, I feel like I should go the distance and make a gloss black paint job look decent. I'm under no delusions that this Rust-Oleum job will be a show winner, I just want to put a little effort in to make it look decent for a daily driver.

I'm considering buying this Bauer buffer

5.7 Amp 6 in. Short-Throw Random Orbit DA Polisher/Sander

Amazing deals on this 8Mm Random Orbit 6In Da Polisher/Sander at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

My question is what process should I use to wetsand, buff than polish it? What grit paper/s should I use to wetsand, followed by the buffing and polishing? This will be my first time doing this, I don't mind taking my time and setting myself up right to get decent results for what quality paint I'm using.

 

[bucket]

I'm not familiar with a Rustoleum job, but I've always just done 1500 wet, by hand or on a block (depending on panel contour) followed by heavy compound on a buffer, followed by a light compound and then finish up with a polish to remove swirl marks.

 

[WP29P4A]

If you are talking about spray can Rustoleum, I'm pretty sure a buffer and polish would just remove the paint, quickly. Unless it was cured for a long time. I would practice on something other than the truck first, see what kind of results you get and go from there. A metal trash can or 55 gallon drum would be good for practice, seems like the hard part is doing large areas with a spray can.

 

[waterpirate]

Focus on preparation, not cleaning up after. Every hour you spend in sanding before paint, pays off huge. Spraying a primer with a guide coat and sanding with a block will improve the quality of the job more than anything else. Compound and wet sand after paint is only to cure defects in the paint, not in the prep.
spray a drum one one side without good prep, then prep the other side and see how it goes.
Eric

 

[Camar068]

We talked myself out of a spray paint job with Rustoleum 2x. It's a hunting truck so I wasn't too worried about orange peel......buff out later. The paint job I got was worse than I could have done with 2x. Of course the guy that painted it didn't know his chit so there was orange peel every where and trash due to lack of booth prep. So why bother buffing a hinting truck when you can't buff out trash.

Anyway, prior to that paint job, i had new fenders, complete bedsides, and replacement doors.

The inside of all those parts, that I sprayed with 2x, looks better than the paint job. Very glossy finish that I'm proud of.

Black will show ALL faults in preparation, if not magnify them....so if u find one....fix it.

After doing those parts with 2x, I suggest doing at least 4 coats if not 6 depending on how smooth it goes down.

Practice on something prior to so you know what your doing before you get to the truck.....or practice on one panel and get it right for the rest of the truck.

 

[Camar068]

While spraying the bed yesterday with 2x, I did notice it's easier to tell what you haven't sprayed (2nd+ coat) when you let it sit for 20-30 minutes....(about a beers time lol).

 

[Camar068]

get one of these sprayer attachemnts also (rustoleum brand shown) and make a spray paint shaker out of 3" pvc and a 3" plug for pvc (less than $20 unless u have it laying around like I did). Use it with a drill....takes about 30 seconds. youtube search spray paint mixer. Love both of them.

 

[Grit dog]

Hey folks,

So tomorrow I'm getting ready to paint my truck, but instead of the classic hot rod primer, I feel like I should go the distance and make a gloss black paint job look decent. I'm under no delusions that this Rust-Oleum job will be a show winner, I just want to put a little effort in to make it look decent for a daily driver.

I'm considering buying this Bauer buffer

5.7 Amp 6 in. Short-Throw Random Orbit DA Polisher/Sander

Amazing deals on this 8Mm Random Orbit 6In Da Polisher/Sander at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

My question is what process should I use to wetsand, buff than polish it? What grit paper/s should I use to wetsand, followed by the buffing and polishing? This will be my first time doing this, I don't mind taking my time and setting myself up right to get decent results for what quality paint I'm using.

Get a rotary polisher. DAs don’t cut it. Literally and figuratively.

However, don’t get too amped up about sanding and polishing it if you’re just rattle canning it. (Or even spraying Rustoleum out of a sprayer.)
Getting enough paint down to make it sand-able is not practical with spray cans.

If you’re wanting to go through the effort of making it look good, do yourself a favor and at least use a decent single stage urethane.

 

[70SBUDGET]

Well this looks familiar!
First off, it doesn't mention if it is being sprayed or rolled. Regardless of application, sprayed or rolled, it is up to you to do the prep and cut an buff. Both are tedious and where the $$$$$ is! pep is everything especially with black! With that said, as far as the post application work, to get the mirror finish, the high spots need to be removed and knocked down to level with the low spots. The block sanding with wet sanding paper is my go to. Depending on how much needs to be cut, i probably wouldnt go more abrasive than 800/600. Cross hatch in different directions as it will break the lines created by only going one direction. As you cut, keep the paper wet and you will find that it will create a paste. The water will help the removed paint leave the paper and keep the paper clean and lasting longer. clean and move to the next grit, rinse and repeat like the shampoo bottle and conditioner bottle mention. after you get to your desired level of grit and flatness of paint, then bust out the cutting/cleaning/polishing compounds and the buffer with the appropriate pad. rinse and clean the pad before using a different compound. rinse and repeat until it looks like a mirror.

the black paint below with the ugly ass in it, was ROLLED ON RUSTOLIUM. it is a reflection. look for crisp lines when looking at reflections. wet sanded by hand. the el camino was sprayed automotive paint with the same process. once you put the work in, you will laugh at every brand new car off the lot and be appalled at the amount of orange peal on new paint jobs!

bucket of parts first showing

Maybee use it on the garage floor? I hear the POR sticks real well to the concrete;)

nastyz28.com

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[Grit dog]

@K10eddie

You can get it as good as the guy above posted. That looks phenomenal.

I’ll preface what I’m saying with trying to save you even more work or a botched job or the hassle of removing what’s left of it in a couple years.
Also knowing you want a daily driver.

If you put remotely anywhere the time needed into proper prep and bodywork and subsequently the time into sanding and polishing AND you want it to stand up to normal daily driver use, you are doing yourself a HUGE disservice by using cheap paint. Same goes for primer.
There are many reasonably priced good quality paints and primers that won’t break the bank and will yield much longer lasting results.

 

[K10eddie]

Thank you so much everyone for responding. 70SBUDGET that came out amazing. Definitely going to use that for motivation.

I painted mine satin black, and honestly it wasn't the shade I was looking for. Everything I tried was either too glossy (maybe too much work to finish) or the flat I tried was too....flat. Rust-Oleum used to make a semi-flat that came out like a shop did it. I loved it on my K10. I think I'll use this satin as a guide coat for bodywork, and then roll on gloss black, THEN do the finishing touches on it. Yes I forgot to order one piece of chrome trim up front lol.

 

[pnwnvrdn]

I'll preface this by saying I'm no professional painter/body man..although I've painted several of my own cars.
I start with 1000 grit, 1200, 1500, 2000, and finish up with 3000 grit, then the buff.
Here's a pic of my '40 I recently did.
I use acrylic urethane from TCP Global.

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[CalSgt]

@K10eddie

You can get it as good as the guy above posted. That looks phenomenal.

I’ll preface what I’m saying with trying to save you even more work or a botched job or the hassle of removing what’s left of it in a couple years.
Also knowing you want a daily driver.

If you put remotely anywhere the time needed into proper prep and bodywork and subsequently the time into sanding and polishing AND you want it to stand up to normal daily driver use, you are doing yourself a HUGE disservice by using cheap paint. Same goes for primer.
There are many reasonably priced good quality paints and primers that won’t break the bank and will yield much longer lasting results.

^^^^ This

Summit racing brand paints are fairly affordable for quality stuff, I'm pretty sure its Shirwin Williams automotive paint. The Summit single stage gloss "Jet Black" (SUM-UP360G) is a fantastic shade, deep blue/black color and it covers very well.