How to sand a car down!
Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question or if its been asked before.. but here it goes...
I'm trying to sand my car down myself to save on cost of paint..
Can anyone tell me if this is a simple enough job if i follow steps - to do on my own? And if so - could anyone explain to me what i will need to do this. What grit sand paper, a automatic sander - or just by hand? etc...
Any advice will help..
Thanks in advance,
JDMEK18
Pictures would be awesome too !!
look at this, it may help you... http://honda-tech.com/zerothread/1962364 , but be warned.. there is a reason why autobody painting costs so much, its all that damn prep work labor lol
Do you need any body work? Or are you just trying to get it repainted? I went to school for auto body and worked at a shop for a while. The part you pay the most for is the prep work like 1siccEJ2 stated above because it is a pain. In my opinion hand sanding is the best way for the best ending result. But that may be because my dad only built show cars when he was alive. He never even owned a DA sander and only used hand sanding. But it's what you feel more comfortable with or if you have the patience to hand sand or rather DA it...
Back to being stock and slow
Well I know what I've done in the past, but first and foremost: have patience. Sanding and prep work are everything when you paint. Yes I am quite aware I just uttered one of the most used cliches in automotive history but it is so very very true.
First things first: wash your car. You probably knew that but I can never be too sure.
Next be sure to remove any wax on the paint. I used mineral spirits but I know there are products out there.
Is your car clean and wax free now? Good. Now check again and ask yourself 'Was I half assing it?' If you didn't then resume by removing ALL your trim pieces. Yes. All of them. Lights, side markers, side mouldings, etc. Don't slack and try to sand/paint around those pieces. You will fail. Now ask again 'Am I half assing this?' The reason I have to ask is because I have half-assed a paint job and ended up doing everything over again. Could have saved myself a lot of time and money if I had done things right the first time.
Now the fun part. I hope you're patient. You will be hating life for the next few hours/days.
Next tape off anything you don't want to sand. Scuffing up badges and the like is not good times.
Now you have to decide. Are you going to paint on top of your current color? If so grab some 320 grit sand paper. If you're going down to the metal, grab some 80 grit and prepare to cringe as it eats into your paint. I've never sanded a car down to the metal so I can't really offer any input on that subject so you're on your own if that's the route you choose.
Get your 320 grit and a bucket of water. Why wet sanding? Wet sanding will give you a much smoother finish and be easier to paint on since you don't have to worry about having left particles on the paint. Also it keeps you sanding because you think you're done after 2 hours since the paint looks dull. You're not done. You're just looking at removed paint. I used a block sander on the larger flatter surfaces and hand sanded any small contours and curved by hand. Why did I hand sand? I don't own a power sander because I'm poor. Sand and sand then let the car dry or dry it yourself with microfiber. Does the paint finish look dull? Kinda? Keep going. There shouldn't be any shine anywhere. Not even a speck. You'll know what I mean when you start. It will take time so be patient. It will pay off. After a day or so of nothing but sanding your arms should be sore but the car should be dull as a result. Be sure that once your surface is dull you don't continue sanding. You just need to make sure that the primer has a surface to bite into. Now get your air compressor or borrow one and use it to blow any dirt and crap out of spaces in the car.
Look one last time to ensure that your taped off parts are still taped off. You will probably need to retape those areas since the water from the wet sanding has probably taken the tape off. Make absolutely sure that you've taped off everything and there's no leaks. Painting something you didn't intend on painting will make you sad. I know I was.
Now the car's ready for paint. At least it should be anyway.
Total cost: sandpaper + sore muscles + tape = paint job.
Also try just researching around online. There's lots of information on how to DIY paint a car. That's what I did. The big things I learned. Be patient, be fearless, and be happy. Be patient because you will be working on a mind numbing job for hours on end. Be fearless because if you're constantly afraid of screwing something up, you will miss parts that needed proper prep work. Be happy because if you get frustrated you will not being concentrating on the task at hand. Just think how pretty your car will look soon and persevere.
Thanks for the comments fella's : I think I'll leave this to the professional! Back to SprayGlo !!! I'll post some pics when there done!
You can also save your arms and buy (or rent) a DA sander if you have an air compressor. Places who sell these usually have the matching paper and pads for the sander I ususally start with 180 and 220 if im stripping down a car. You dont have to wet sand untill you get the color. Ive never seen anyone wet sand a car when they're stripping it. Usually the primer they put on cars is high build, especially for show cars, so it should fill in most scratches made by 200g or finer, as its usually blocked down and repeated a bunch of times with a guide coat. For my car, i went up to 400 before i put primer on it
its really not as hard as some people make it seem. Its kinda labor intensive but with the right tools, they can lighten the load. Like prosoto said, remove everything you dont want sanded OR painted on, that includes lights, trim, badges and everything. All your badges can be re-stuck on later. Strip it down with 180 untill everything is dull and primer starts seeping thru. Just keep repeating up to 320 or 400. You dont have to go all the way down to metal. hose the car down with air cause whoever paints the car has to tack it with tack cloth (this removes all dust and paint particles left behind by sanding) then your done with the car. Do the same to your door trim pieces that you DO want painted. Then hand everything off to the guy thats gonna paint it.
best way is to hand sand it, imo, when you use a DA sander you dont realize how much you are taking off, like you could sand away the body lines and make them wavey. i have always sand by hand. it takes more time, but you can feel everything and not take off as much. or block sand the flat areas and around seems and lines by hand. but use a soft flexible sanding block, not a hard one.
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