How to Color Sand Car?

The first thing when color sanding a car is applying a clear coat. Color sanding helps smoothen out the clear coat, which gives a mirror-like finish to the buff paint. Color sanding a car is not a very difficult job and requires a lot of patience and time.

Before starting with color sand painting, keep a bucket of water handy with a drop of dish washing soap to lubricate the sanding surface. Use a 600 grit sandpaper to remove the orange peel which is due to the multiple clear coats. Sand in different directions to even out the sanding and it reduces too much sanding in one spot. Dip the sandpaper block in water and keep the surface lightly wet. After sanding, wipe the area clean with a dry towel. Look for high spots, that is, dull areas and low spots, that is dark, unsanded areas. If you observe this, then you will need to sand again with the 600 grit sandpaper until all the spots are gone.

Apply a guide coat very lightly after sanding through the clear coat. Guide coat is a non-metallic based color that will show the scratches left from sanding. Now, using a 2,000 grit sand paper, wet sand the surface. This helps remove the 600 starches left behind by the 600 grit paper and leaves a finer scratch after color sanding. Once you have properly sanded the surface with the 200 grit sandpaper, clean the surface using soap water. Now, the surface is ready for finish-buffing using a variable speed buffer.