Sometimes I really learn the hard way. I got a bunch of overspray on my Pantera when I replaced my A-arm and sway bar bushings front and rear this summer. But I'm lucky enough to know the right people. Many of the readers already know this, but there may be a few of us who just wish we had so many talents. I'll share simple techniques for the benefit of the rest of us who may have to learn from others.
First, if you're going to spray paint anything, cover everything first.
Second, even if you didn't get overspray all over everything, but your paint job is not as shiny as it once was, and may be in the beginning stages of oxidation, then here's what you can do. (Assuming you don't want to spring for the multi-thousand dollar paint jobs just yet.)
Johnny is my Body Man. Master level. Took Mike's '69 Dodge Charger from axle deep in a New Mexico ranch with rust and primer everywhere and made it into show quality car. $50 car with no motor or transmission is now looking like it is always wet. Mike did the mechanicals and another guy's doing the interior. It's going to be ready for the show and go car shows next summer.
I watched them do 12 coats of block sanding on the primer after the body work and then do the two stage paint then the three coats of clear with block sanding at every stage.
So Johnny says 'sure Ron, I can help you detail your Pantera for $50.' Yeehaa. So Sunday arrives. That's Tech Session Day. Johnny hands me a bucket of water and some 1,000 grit sandpaper. He says 'how perfect co you want it? You can tart with 1,000 grit and go to 1,500 grit before I do a polish and we wax it, if you want.'
Now I'm getting it. I do the sanding.... He said 'we can make it look like wet glass all the time if you have enough patience to do the sanding, it's up to you.' He took out the rubber block, put 1,000 grit paper on it and said, all cars come from the factory with these little bumps in the paint. He wet it and said 'see the reflection? These little bumps have to come out to get show quality, Ron. He took the rubber block and sanded a small area until it was like glass with water over it. It took a while for just that small area on the fender. So I started out with show quality in mind, and then after a rear fender started saying to myself, how good is good enough? I decided that a restored shiny paint job was good enough. So I kept block sanding the flat areas and hand sanding the curved parts. I spent 3 or 4 hours sanding it with 1,000 grit sandpaper. At times, like on the hood, deck lid, etc., I saw black water running off: the overspray. I asked if this looked about OK? He said it's your car. I decided it was OK. I was getting sore. I mentioned that fact and he laughed and said 'that's why I made you sand it, so you'll know now how hard I have to work...' I was thinking he must have known what he was going to do to me when he quoted me $50.
So, we skipped the 1,500 grit sanding. (I skipped the 1,500 grit sanding.) He got out his electric polisher, that sort of looked like a grinder only it had a sponge pad on it. He got this 3-M liquid polish out that was white and said it cost $56 a bottle, but I don't know if he was making fun of me or making me think I was getting a really good deal. He spent an hour or so with the buffer and to liquid polish. Then he had me wash it. Next we got out the Mother's Carnuba Cleaner Wax, not included in my $50 price quote, I bought it. So we waxed it together and man it came out really shiny. I looked at some photos I had from the day I bought it and I could see the difference.
Then, later in the garage I saw some sanding marks on the tops of the fender wells and the hood and the deck lid, so I got out the reddish rubbing coumpound and then the white polishing past and did the job with an orbital polisher which Johnny told me was junk and I should throw it away. But I learn the hard way, so I used it. then washed it with a sponge and towel like I do dishes. Then I applied the wax again. Much better I thought, until I caugt the paint from a slightly different angle with the light shinig from across the car. Swirl marks. Swirl marks from the orbital polisher. Great. So now I'm going to do the insulted areas one more time with the reddish rubbing compound and the white polish and the wax, only this time, it will be done by hand.
Which gets me back to the question I was asking myself after that fisrt quarter panel with the 1,000 grit sandpaper: when is good enough, good enough? I think it's good enough for now. I have to look really close to see those swirl marks, and the light has to be just right....
Good enough now so I can't justify a several thousand dollar paint job for a while. I guess that's why we pay Body Men several thousands of dollars, so they can do all the work.... Johnny's technical advice and fee got me more than what I ever hoped for, and a few lessons in life along the way. It's shiny, but I notice dark colors seem shinier. Forget it, it's shiny enough.
Original Post