what blocks do you use to sand

[beaufort-fj60]

what blocks do you use to sand a large and or small area?

custom jig?, a block of wood? piece or rubber

[splitshot]

I use an air driven D.A. sander with nothing coarser than 200 grit paper

[beaufort-fj60]

sorry, i guess you cannot read my thoughts over the internet.

i meant to ask, what do you use to sand paint.

[splitshot]

I'm not sure if its aluminum oxide, but I pick up rolls of it at the local auto paint specialties supplier (Looks like tan toilet paper rolls). It has an adheasive backing that sticks to you're da, sand block, or you're hand.

I'm sure someone can add to this.......

[toddslater]

Sanding paint for what purpose???...stripping many layers of old paint to the bare metal ??? 8" DA with 36 grit....got some scratches you need to feather and respray....Regular DA with 180 if deep...if light 240. This covers both ends of the spectrum. What exactly are you looking to accomplish and we can fine tune the approach.

[pigbuggy]

Originally Posted by toddslater

Sanding paint for what purpose???...stripping many layers of old paint to the bare metal ??? 8" DA with 36 grit....got some scratches you need to feather and respray....Regular DA with 180 if deep...if light 240. This covers both ends of the spectrum. What exactly are you looking to accomplish and we can fine tune the approach.

its called wetsanding, and its to get "orange peel" off of the car. its uneven points on the clear coat that make anything that reflects on the car look fuzzy or blurry. using finer grit sandpaper (2000-1200grit) and water takes away the orange peel effect without putting scratches in the paint. polishes it right up. kinda cool.


anywho, i'm gettign ready to do the same. I've got orange peel on the passenger side and that's gotta go...

start by cleaning the area you want to sand. start with 1200 grit, (depending on the severity of the peel...) and then work to 2000 grit, moving in a side to side motion with the sandpaper on a rubber block. long, shot, dosent matter but make sure it flexes, or else the sanding will create poins that wear away the paint faster than others. tape off all edges. make sure to soak paper for a good 15 minutes in a warm bucket of soapy water. always keep the paper wet by dipping it every minute or so. take and apply rubbing compound with a lambswool buffing pad at a slow speed. then apply mcguires polish (not wax) with a foam pad at a higher speed. no wax for at least 60 days.

i think thats it...
i really dont know if you needed to know all of that....but oh well.

to answer the question directly, go with a rubber block.

--Trev

[my64fj40]

I've seen this nifty little foam blocks that work great, sold at most paint stores.

They are very comfortable to use and light, but they hit you up for about $15 for one.

[Radd Cruisers]

Yep, the foam typ semi hard block is the way with wet sand paper, they curl over time and need replacing. They work well and will not harm the paint if the block touches the paint.

The one thing I was tough, drop the paper into the water about a half hour before using to soften, less likely to have a crease and mark the clear when sanding.

Also with a fresh piece of paper, it will cut a little to fast at first, give it a rub on something to take the edge off.

[beaufort-fj60]

I usually use a 3m rubber block that the paper folds back into with small tacks that grab the paper. I could not find it the other day and just sanded a few spot by hand. now I've got finger swirls on the spots that I sanded. looks like crap.

[toddslater]

Funny...I can't see anywhere above that he asked how to "wet sand" nor do I see any mention of "orange peel" and how to remove either of the uoted items? Are you somehow clairvoyant ? However, based on his last post, it appears you may indeed be clairvoyant, as it appears he's indeed after the fine scratches in the paint.

If you are indeed into the wet sanding mode, put down that big rubber block and move into the foam pads. Hopefully your using similar grits as pigbuggy described at this point. If so, to remove the haze (light scratches) left after wet sanding, you are on to the next step with the orbirtal buffer and some compound as pigbuggy states.

Originally Posted by pigbuggy

its called wetsanding, and its to get "orange peel" off of the car. its uneven points on the clear coat that make anything that reflects on the car look fuzzy or blurry. using finer grit sandpaper (2000-1200grit) and water takes away the orange peel effect without putting scratches in the paint. polishes it right up. kinda cool.


anywho, i'm gettign ready to do the same. I've got orange peel on the passenger side and that's gotta go...

start by cleaning the area you want to sand. start with 1200 grit, (depending on the severity of the peel...) and then work to 2000 grit, moving in a side to side motion with the sandpaper on a rubber block. long, shot, dosent matter but make sure it flexes, or else the sanding will create poins that wear away the paint faster than others. tape off all edges. make sure to soak paper for a good 15 minutes in a warm bucket of soapy water. always keep the paper wet by dipping it every minute or so. take and apply rubbing compound with a lambswool buffing pad at a slow speed. then apply mcguires polish (not wax) with a foam pad at a higher speed. no wax for at least 60 days.

i think thats it...
i really dont know if you needed to know all of that....but oh well.

to answer the question directly, go with a rubber block.

--Trev