my car gets sprayed this weekend, the guy at the paint shop told me to wet sand down with 400 grit, but i think i should do 600... what do you guys think?? if it helps, i'm doing base clear, not single stage. oh yeah, and exactly how far should i wet sand down to? should i should sand the clear off, and leave the white as a base??

also, one more question... what is the best way to wet sand? i've seen some people use a hose, i've seen some with plain water in a bucket, but i've seen others with soapy water in a bucket.

after this weekend, i think i'll have the first all 2002 LEXUS white talon on the board. (i'm getting the roof, handles, mirrors, and center tailight painted white too)

800 to start, then 1000

you want soapy water and a flexible item (kitchen sponge works perfect) and wet sand the whole car w/ 400 grit or 600 grit or both (like i did). Just sand till you see no more shiny paint. Everything has to be dull. What you are doing is scuffing up the top clear coat, not removing it. And make sure you sand every part you are gettind painted, or else the new paint will flake off. Good luck.

while you do it you'll notice "orage peel" little imperfections in the factory paint. try to get it as smooth as possible, the new paint will fill most of them, but you never know

Ya you have to get rid of all the shiny parts, and all the orange peel. I just used 400 wet sand with soapy water in a bucket. The main thing is, if you use a squeegy and wipe off the water after you wet sand, parts of it will look smooth and dull, and other parts will still be a little shiny. Get rid of all the shiny parts. I sanded my whole car at least 3 times to get all of it down to the base coat.

Yes definately wet sand with 400 first.... MAKE SURE TO GET some kind of flexible sanding block or sponge... 3M makes one its about 4" by 5" it comes in different grits also($3 or $4)... The grit doesnt last long but you can use it to hold your paper with... I used a bucket with a sponge to rinse and wet the area I was sanding.... WHAT EVER YOU DO DONT JUST USE YOUR HAND ALONE TO SAND WITH !!! youll leave marks with the unevenness of your hand... use plenty of water ... itll make your paper last longer... wont clog it so fast... and youll be less likely to scratch it once it does get clogged.... Dont stay in one spot too long, long smooth strokes... many different directions.... take your time (its worth it ...trust me) ... move up from 400 to 600 then try 1000..... dont plan on doing it in one day... unless you have help..... have plenty of light..... have a portable lamp (trouble light) to check the "reflection" from all different angles ..... any imperfection will be hard to see.... until the clear coat.... TAKE YOUR TIME its %100 worth it

awesome... thanks alot guys. by the way, the shop gave me a couple "sanding blocks" to sand with. you just clip the sand paper in the block and sand away. it's a rubber black that flexes with my hand.

oh yeah, as i was sanding today, i got another question. should i be careful around the black trim and moldings, or is it okay if the sand paper occasionally rubs it? is there any of these moldings that come off fairly easily, or should i sand around them? i'm gonna go with 400 first, then 600, then spend about an hour or two with 1000.

i noticed the "orange peel" impressions already. so i should sand them out as much as possible, right?

Ya get rid of ALL the orange peel. It should be perfectly smooth. Don't worry about your moldings getting scratched. It's not a big deal, but you can tape it up while you're sanding if you want.

yes, follow the instructions given by the guys above. i find it helps to mask off the moldings just to be extra safe. make sure you have no shiny spots and completely dull.. id start with 600 and move my way to 1000... nice soapy water works well like said above.. good luck!