BigApe

Need some insight here guys- I am taking the Merc to a reputable body shop to have the grill painted black and while I am there, I am thiking of having the car wet-sanded and polished out as the black is starting to have a lot of water marks and is not as deep as it used to be. Has anyone had experience in getting their black car wet-sanded and is there anything to watch out for?

Thanks for the input fellas.

Mr. AMG 20

Sorry for the stupid question but what is wet sanding?

SAP_Pete

Check out the detailing section ?
I get my "inspirations" here: http://www.showcardetailing.com/foru...ead.php?t=1137

CynCarvin32

you can get great results from a serious detail and save some of your clear coat as well. Sanding will help with the deep scratches and anything thats seriously etched but your car will look nearly new with a solid 10 hr detail by a skilled professional.

Check around some people likely know who to contact in your area.

ghost1001

I would not wet sand the car unless it is in SERIOUS need. I actually did wet sand some scratches out of my 03 rover....yea it worked, but it took a ton of buffing to get back the shine. I would have been better off using 3 steps of cutting polish to get them out.

I would take a few pictures and post the question on the detailing section…those guys are the bomb for advice, they really know their stuff.

I would pass unless you personally know the people at the body shop, it sounds like they probably recommended the process.

Kevin

Fast55

+1000000!!! DO NOT wet sand the car unless absolutely necessary. Unless it's really trashed, it shouldn't need anything beyond a clay bar.

Chargin55

Informative link. Amazing results. Thanks!

Vader13

My Black is so bad, I need a serious detail.

Yacht Master

Do black cars (PC 040c) have clear coat?

One of the few good things about black is that you can paint pieces, hood, bumpers, trunk off the car. And they will match perfectly, if you include all the OEM flaws in the paint job.

I would sand a black car with no fear, but never attempt a metal-flake color in a million years.

BigApe

Thanks for the input guys. I trust these guys and have seen their work on other cars. Although... now that I think about it, WS might be a little overkill. I dont think the car is in bad of shape that I think it is. I will take the car down there and et their professional opinion as to the polish first. Thanks for the input

CynCarvin32

The C040 paint has a clear coat and the ceramic clear coating at that. Its extremely hard and it makes polishing a bit more difficult if you dont use more aggressive methods to get marks out. And you are correct black is pretty easy to match as long as you polish the rest of the car to match the new paints depth of color. Sliver is the complete inverse. Its almost impossible to get the metal flake in the paint to stand up correctly and match the factory magnetic charged paint process.

Wet sanding is only needed for real scratches and even then I would learn to live with a mark thats been reduced with polishing rather that take all that clear coat off with sanding.

NSX2NV

Why don't you just bring it to an exotic car dealership and have them hi speed polish it. My friend works at Team Motorsports what specializes in Exotic vehicles and he does wonders. It will probably cost around 300 for a pro to do it but after it is done it will look brand new.

BigApe

Most 'exotic' dealerships in the Seattle area farm their detail work out to a limited number of detailers who may have one person there worth while and then a bunch of unskilled $10/hr laborers who end up doing things to the car that drives me nuts A little bitter huh?

Is your buddy here in the Seattle area? Please post or PM me his info and I will check it out. Thanks