Sanding Your Car For A Shiny Paint Job

When you think about the tools that you might use in order to give that paint job on your favorite ride a little extra shine, waxes, sealers and polishes probably come to mind, but what about sand paper? Yes, that’s right sandpaper. While the thought of taking sandpaper to the beautiful paint job on your vehicle may send chills down your side, sanding a paint job in order to further bring out the shine and luster of the paint is actually something that many body shops do quite regularly. So, next time your auto technician recommends it at the auto shop, just remember that he may not be crazy after all.

But, before you go and grab that power sander and run out to your new car, we should probably tell you that there is a little bit of technique and knowledge required before you can actually get the desired results out of this technique without ruining the paint and finish on your car. At Fort Collins Foreign Car Service, we want to make sure that you have all the information you need to help make your car the best it can be.

Sanding to bring out the luster of a paint job is typically something that is done to restore old faded paint on a car. In these cases usually a polish is used in conjunction with a wet sanding technique in order to breathe new life back into the paint on the car. This technique uses a very fine sandpaper (typically 800 grit or more) and involves wetting the sandpaper and lightly sanding until the surface looks uniform and smooth when dry. To really get it looking good you should finish with an even higher grit sandpaper (1200 or so).

This is a job that takes time and patience but it also can yield good results that can take an old faded paint job and make it seem close to new again. After sanding with the sandpaper you should uses a buffer or polisher to bring out the luster of the paint job. You may not be able to make the car look as good as a brand new paint job would, but it will markedly improve the appearance in many cases.

Now, although this technique can make your car look better it can also backfire and make it look quite a bit worse if you don’t know what you’re doing. So, it may be best to take your car into the auto shop or body shop in order to have it done by a professional (or at least to get some advice) instead.

For more information about body work, auto maintenance and anything else car-related, contact us at Fort Collins Foreign Car Service. We love to talk cars and are always more than willing to help with any automotive problem.