Re: Primer sanding

[ChuckKuecker <ckuecker@mcs.net>]

At 18:05 8/5/97, you wrote:
>Hello fellow roccans:
>
>I have embarked on a small body job project and have a question. Should I
>wet sand or dry sand the primer? Also, what grade of sandpaper should I
>use? I currently have 280, 400, and 600, and would like to prevent damaging
>the surrounding surface.
>
>Oh, hopefully Chuck Kruecker is reading this. Hope I got the spelling correct.
>
>Thanks a mil!!
>Paul Hanley

\Close. See signature...

I always wetsand. It is a bit more work - you need to wash and dry the area
after you're done, but I find the lubrication of the water gives a better
finish and also the sandpaper lasts longer and clogs slower. I put a couple
drops of dish soap in the water bucket - not enough to make suds - it seems
to help.

If the job needed filler, I ususally use 36 grit to finish sand and feather
the filler, slap on a thin coat of 'glazing putty' to fill the holes and
scratches, then sand the putty with 80 grit. Primer, sand with 220, primer,
sand with 400, seal and paint. The seal coat is important if you are using a
candy color, pearl, or any thin or metallic paint. I used DuPont Velvaseal -
it makes two coats of color cover anything. Use the 600 to 'color sand' the
finish coat before polishing. Lately, I have been wetsanding up to 600
before the sealer and color coats, then using 1500 before polishing - that's
what I did with Katy's car.

If you are just doing a touchup, you can omit the putty and sealer steps.

The trick with the sanding is to carefully look at the job after each step.
You only want to remove enough of the preceding coat to get the scratches of
the last (coarser) sandpaper out, not actually remove the coat. The primer
coats fill in the last scratches somewhat. I use a small soft rubber
squeegee to wipe the water off where I am working periodically - you will
then see easily if you've gotten all the scratches out...

Have fun!

Chuck Kuecker

ckuecker@mcs.net

'83 Scirocco (new paint!)
'58 Ghia Convert
'75 Bug (getting better)
'67 Bug
'63 Bug (for sale)
'91 Vanagon


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