Has anyone had their F-Type wet sanded and polished?

 

I have not done this to my f-type, but have performed the work quite a few times. Not for the faint of heart and although not an auto body expert, I have worked on and detailed cars for a long time and I have made mistakes while doing this (oversanding ridges etc). I have bee very successful remediating significant damage, wear, or defects using a good D/A polisher/pads/compounds. I would strongly recommend starting with the least invasive method first. I use a Flex polisher and a combination of Adams, Griots, and Chemical brothers products. I just recently completed some correction and ceramic on my 08 R32. It is my winter car but it hasn't been properly detailed in a while and had a lot of issues. Some paint touch ups and quite a bit of polish later, it looks amazing.

 

Not my F-type but I had a Black SC430 that the neighbors 4 year old kid ran a rake down the side of. After disposing of the body (kidding) it took me a week to wet sand, compound and polish out the scratches. Once I was done it looked like nothing ever happen except for two 1/2" scratches that were too deep to address. If I had to do it again I would hire a pro to do it because to do it right is a lot of work.

I used wet 1500, 2000 and 2500 grit sandpaper, rubbing compound then polishing compound and wax. Used separate applicators and rags for each step with compounds and wax.

 

Noooo! You'll remove the clear coat. At worst, clay bar it, but even that's extreme.

 

Pre-modern finishes my wife washed her 1976 Chevy Nova but couldn't budge the many small tar spots, so she took a Brillo pad to them. The car was covered in dozens of small dull spots. Fortunately she had been rather gentle so I was able to compound and polish them out. She did not normally wash cars, she just wanted to help out!?
I have also performed the whole sand, compound and polish routine on a 1985 XJ6 I had repainted; this after I having hand sanded all of the cracked paint from the hood, roof and trunk. I actually had one paint shop refuse to paint it because they refused to believe I had not used a machine and were afraid the metal might be warped.
It's too much work for me to do at this stage, at least by hand--too old.
But, I was really curious as to the F-Type in particular because even after this week's clay barring, minor correction and two coats of sealant the finish is not like a mirror. The reflection does not have sharp edges even though it does shine like a diamond in a goat's ****.

 

I had a full paint correction done by the detailer prior to having the PPF and ceramic applied. The car had about 1200 miles on it when I bought it so the paint was pretty close to the factory condition when I got it, although the previous owner / dealer still managed to put some swirl marks on the clear coat. The paint correction really took things to the next level by eliminating the swirls, bringing out the metallic flakes, and mitigating the orange peel that came from the factory.

Before - you can kind of see the orange peel in the way the reflections are fuzzy


After - orange peel is not completely gone, but significantly reduced.

 

Why do you say that? I clay my cars once or twice a year to remove the 'grit' that accumulates. Feels smooooth afterwards, no scratches if done right.

 

Yes, that's what I was asking about. I may try an inconspicuous area myself.
I watch entirely too much Motor Trend and every custom paint job done by any of the high end shops cut and polish after the clear coat.

 

yes, those shows on tv cut and polish - they also have d/a sanders for wet sanding and all the necessary experience and skills. Two other things they have that you may not: first: 6 coats of color that were color sanded before the clear and probably 4-5 coats of clear that they know they can cut a certain amount - you don’t know how much clear is on there and even with a depth gauge, can’t guarantee all spots are as thick - which brings me to the second thing - those tv shows own the cars and the paint booths to respray and make corrections if they go to far.

I got into working on cars by not being afraid to try things out and started a home remodeling business years after I “tried” my first home improvement project so I am not one to be overly cautious, but I see a lot of **** on tv that I wouldn’t do. Best of luck.

 

If you do a search way back in time on the forum. There was some one on here that did CAREFULLY color sand their car and it made huge difference and looked beautiful (the post included photos). I remember that he worked very slowly and worked down the orange peel being very careful not to go below the valley of the orange peel, so that he didn't thin down the clear coat beyond the valley of the orange peel.

Wayne B.

 

You’re still removing clear coat with the clay bar. Better to fill in those micro swirls with a ceramic or quartz coating. Of course, if the scratches are visible without applying a spotlight, clay bar is the best way to go.

 

I hesitate to disagree, I have used clay bars quite a lot (once every six months or so) on all three of my Jags and never had a problem with removing clear coat.
The secrets are:

1. Gently wash the car first to remove almost all of the surface dirt and muck.
2. Use plenty of lube.
3. Use a new/clean clay bar - one that doesn't already have grit impregnated in it from earlier use.
4. Wipe the clay bar gently over the paint, don't rub hard and don't keep going over the same spot.

I have used only two different clay bars over the years - Dodo Juice with their special "Born Slippy" lube and Bilt Hamber with purified water.

By the way, Dodo Juice Born Slippy is the best LCD screen cleaner I have ever found, the ONLY one that leaves the screen perfectly clean smear and streak free and believe me I've tried almost every thing else out there.

 

Clay bars come in various forms and types, but even the most aggressive would require significantly more pressure/revolutions/passes to remove as much clear coat as a couple passes of 1200 grit paper (wet or dry). Not saying clay should be used everyday but it does a great job getting impurities out and I have never seen a finished damaged due to clay. Obviously the key is to use clay bar or whatever else to level the finish and keep it coated so you never have to use anything more aggressive than a medium correct/polish product and then your choice of glaze sealer or wax - or all 3.

 

Oz, I would trust you to use a clay bar on my car. I wouldn't trust me!

 

We have one owner on the UK that has wet sanded his car to remove the orange peel OEM finish.

He checked with a thickness gauge first, and slowly worked the clear coat to a completely flat look.
The results before and after were fantastic, chalk and cheese.

The result was a flat fully reflective surface that didn't distort the reflected light at all.

You'll need some 'brave pills' or a lot of experience to tackle it IMO.

 

It would probably help in making the decision if one were to know how many coats of clear Jaguar applies at the factory. Some of the custom finishes done for show cars have five or more coats so there's plenty of margin for error. In some of the videos/television episodes I've watched the first sanding is done dry so that the progress in removing the orange peel effect can be more easily seen.

 

Correct, a light hand pressure is all it takes. Only wipe until the grit is removed (surface feels smooth.) I think a clay bar is less abrasive than constant rubbing to remove road grit. (Who remembers "Cleaner Wax"?)



I use the same 'clean' soapy water to lubricate the clay as I use to wash the car (two-bucket method for THAT). Works just as well as 'recommended' spray lubricants.

 

+1
I'd just take it to a detailer for paint correction and ceramic coating. We had our F Pace done with 24 miles on the odometer. Swirls from the dealer prep were more than I imagined when they pointed them out to me. Looks absolutely amazing afterwards. I don't think factory finishes are thick enough to chance wet sanding, though I know some have been successful.

Crisp reflections

Clear letters from the reflected tire

 

Also, sorry about F Pacing on the F Type threads, but I don't have pictures of the F Type after paint correction and ceramic coating. It's going in next week pending the Rona.

 

Hi Tel,
That's the guy I was talking about. Do you remember his name or have a link to his post's? his photos where pretty spectacular.
It's probably not something you want to pay to have done because of the amount of care and time that it takes and that is if you can even find someone willing to do it. If you do find someone will to color sand your car then you should really think hard about if you really want to let them. I do know one guy that I do trust to do this but then I don't really want to hire him full time for over a month to do it. :-(

Wayne B.