wet sanding info, what to use to buff, what rubbing compound etc.

[txsuperjetfreak96]

Ive started painting my ski, i had some orange peel in it, started wet sanding with 800 grit, then 1000,1500, then 2000 grit. but it still looks just as scratched up as it did after i hit it with 800, am i doing something wrong, Ive been useing a rubbing compound by 3m it makes it shiny i can see myself in it and the clouds,but still fine scratch marks, didnt realize how picky i was till i started painting my ski, any help would b appreciated.

 

[Waternut]

Not all paint can be wet sanded and the deeper you go, the less likely it will come back to way you want it to look. Since you had orange peel, your base would've been really crappy in the first place. I never bothered wet sanding except for a quick job to apply another coat of paint myself but I've also only sprayed metallic style paints which can't be wet sanded. Another layer is so much easier than going through the whole buffing process.

 

[txsuperjetfreak96]

yeah i hear ya, the epoxy primer sealer i used, i mixed it the way i was told to not sure if it was right. it came out real rough and holey, didnt want to spend no money on any more paint, ive got a full quart of paint on it im bout ready not to wet sand it, it looks pretty good,except for the orange peel, im just ready to get it done get my holds in turfed all my parts on and get to rideing

 

[snowxr]

What type of paint did you use? Acrylic enamel? lacquer? polyurethane? What kind of 3M compound did you get?
They all have slightly different characteristics. Orange peel comes from applying coats too close together. Make sure you are straining your primer and paint before it goes in the gun, or you can get small clumps of solids (settled color that didn't get mixed well). The compounds come in various grits, similar to sandpaper. I usually wetsand with 1200, then wheel (rotary, not random orbital) in two stages, starting with a heavy cut and ending with swirl remover.

 

[txsuperjetfreak96]

i used single stage urethane. Ive got some meguiars medium cut cleaner

 

[WFO Speedracer]

You started with too coarse of a grit which put deep scratches into the paint, the finer grits are not able to remove the 800 grit scratches,next time start with 1200-1500 grit and work your way up.