I know there are lots of people here who have incredible knowledge and skill about paint and body work, so I was thinking maybe you guys could do a little bit of a thread about it. I personally have some questions, most of them most likely stupid, but I would really like to get answers and opinions from you all.

1) How do you "wet sand" something? Do you need special sandpaper for it? Do you just keep the surface wet while you sand?

I was reading the article in Hot Rod about the $98 paint job using the thinned out Rust Oleum, and they were talking about needing to wet sand it every other coat. Apparently, everyone but me knows precisely how to do this.

2) Suppose I want to eliminate things like emblems from the car (in other words, "shaving" stuff)... For example, the MAZDA logo on the back of my FC... What's the best way to fill small holes like those? Do they really need to be welded closed, or can you just bondo 'em? I figure if you want to ditch the antenna or something with a much larger hole, you have to go the welding route, but do you really need to do it for something 1/4"???

3) My FC has obviously had some body work done by the PO, and a pretty shitty repaint on the passengers quarter panel. The newer paint is flaking off. The car is red, and I plan on repainting it to a dark blue. The area that's flaking, am I better off removing as much of that paint as possible? Is sanding enough, or should I chemical strip it down to bare metal?

 

This might answer some of your questions.
http://www.theforumlounge.com/thread...body-work.html

 

1: You need Wet/dry sanding paper as regular paper will eventually fall apart when wet. Wetsanding is usually done in very fine grits 800-2000. Paper is soaked in a pail of water and panel is kept wet while sanding. Occasionally wipe any excess sanding residue off the car. The trick with wetsanding is to keep everything clean.

2: Personally i think welding is the only way to properly fill holes period. Dont care what anyone says, bondo will eventually crack its plastic on steel. Two different rates of thermal expansion = cracking.

3: If your confident there is no bondo under the peeling paint go ahead and chemical strip it, than re prime. That way you know exactly what your working with.
If there is bondo underneath sand the peeling paint until you start burning through to the filler, then prime.

 

if the paint is peeling off bad enough or if there are chunks of bondo coming out you should scrape it with a flat razor. Do yourself a favor and go buy a $30 orbital sander and a couple packs of disc refills. Bondo is fine for small spots such as the tiny holes behind the MAZDA logos or small dents/ rust spots.

 

1-Depending on the condition of the paint, if its a fresh paint job, i would start off with 1500 grit with water, then 2000 grit with water, and last polish it out with 3m polishing compound with a clean buffer pad
for a worn clear coat -2000 grit with water and then polishing compund and buff it out

2-For holes this small the best bet is to weld them but you dont have to, what you do is get fiberglass bondo aka gorilla hair , grind the back surfac of the hole and apply a even coat and push some of it out the holes...(i suggest denting in or cradle in the holes so u dont get a big lump in the future

3-sand the whole car down depending how bad with 200 grit and get any body work knocked out then work your way up to 400grt, last will be another hand with 400grt and water make sure the painting area is prepd before hand ....primer,paint and clear- u can wet sand the car 12-18 hours after clear has dried out , i usually wait 2-4 days

tha hardest part is doing a car right is the bodywork, paint is a breeze- if you dont trust yourself in that area get the bodywork done up first have the car prepd and take it to a reputable shop so they can shoot the car only -some shops will do it anywhere between 100-400 bucks

have fun

 

Weilding could couse the hole to rust from under nieth in the future, can also worp the meat if not carfull, i would try using ligued steal or quick steal these are like fiber glass resin but have meat fillers in them