Wetsand or buff? Metallic Effect Dupont Nason Single Stage Acrylic Enamel Paint?

Hi. I've got this paint... and there is slight orange peel. Honestly, it doesn't even really bother me that much... but I know after painting you're supposed to wetsand 1000 1500 then 2000 then buff.





Well... I couldn't find 2000 but I have a nice variable speed buffer and nice industrial Meguiar's polish so I figured 1500 then buff would be okay.





Originally when I wetsanded I did an inconspicuous area because I heard that you couldn't wetsand metallics... (It isn't flakes in a clear... it's just effects in a single stage though). The paint turned out foggy and gross... but found out that if I buffed that it was glassy.





However, I also tried only buffing and the only buffed part wasn't as smooth... but the wetsanded then buffed part had dark little spots. I ignored them but now I've done more of the car and see them coming up more and more... any idea what's going on or what I should do?





-Stu





(ps. if you answer check back for me to edit so you can help more... :p )Wetsand or buff? Metallic Effect Dupont Nason Single Stage Acrylic Enamel Paint?
As a general rule, enamel is not color sanded. Lacquer is, but that is not readily available anymore (nitrocellulose is a long gone history).





If you look close at most any new production car you will notice orange peel to some degree. If you aren't bothered by the peel on yours, leave it alone!





It sounds like you have what may be fairly deep peel. That is what the dark spots sound like. When sanding, you are knocking of the highs, and the lows fill with residue. Then when you buff, the low spots turn out as the spots.





As the other guy said, go with a coarser grit, work up (I never go finer than 1500, no need really) and use a pad for support, and lots of water.





Clear coat is much easier to color sand to get a mirror finish, but metallic can be worked as well. It is easy to burn through, so be careful.Wetsand or buff? Metallic Effect Dupont Nason Single Stage Acrylic Enamel Paint?
hi stu, my name is also stu. here's what you might wanna try. when i was in working in a body shop, we used to wet sand using 450 to 500 grit paper. you might try using 600 grit, and use your palm while sanding never your fingertips. take your time, this is gonna take you a while. when your finished with one spot, use a squeegee to take the wetness off, of course you do this in an area that not very noticeable, like the bottom of a fender or the lower part of the rear quarter Panel. using a ';polishing'; compound, apply a thin film then buff it off and it should come up nice and shiny.