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Paint Correction - What is it? Does your car need it?
Back in the old days, us detailers used simpler dialog to talk about detailing. When talking about working on a car, we we're either going to compound it and then polish it, or if the paint wasn't too bad we could probably get away with just polishing it. This was paint correction.
Now it seems like this is a new discovery? Or just a modern way of describing compounding and polishing?
Let's go even deeper down the rabbit hole...
Okay, so if we're going to all use the term paint correction we might as well define everything this term "can" include,
Did I get them all?
Sanding the paint
First - why would anyone in their right mind sand paint? The reason sometimes car paint is sanded in simpler words is to make it look better. How does sanding make paint look better? Because in most cases, the paint being sanded does not have a flat surface and sanding flattens out the surface.
D.O.I.
Why is it important to have flat surface? Simple - paint LOOKS it's best when it has a mirror finish, that paint looks best when it reflects and image with sharp, well-defined lines. The term Distinction of Image or D.O.I. is a measurement of how well a surface reflects and image. A mirror has 100% D.O. I.
Orange Peel - Runs - D.I.P. - Mottling - Surface Texture
These are words used to describe problems with the paint surface that decrease D.O.I. I'll talk more about these types of paint defects in future article suffice to say, sanding of the paint surface is done to remove these defects by abrading the paint surface and thus eliminating these defects while leaving behind perfectly flat paint. Of course after sanding the paint surface the paint will look dull so after sanding, the paint is then put through a compounding and polishing process that removes the sanding marks and restores maximum gloss, depth, clarity, shine and of course distinction of image.
When can paint be sanded?
Most sanding is performed to either custom paint jobs or repaint word done in the collision industry. For about 90% of the world, sanding paint is performed when a car has been repainted. This can either be a custom paint job, for example after someone restores a muscle car at some point the car will be painted and a part of the process will be to sand the paint flat, then buff it out to create a true show car finish. The other type of repaint that is sanded is collision work, for example you wreck your Honda, a local paint and body shop replaces the fender and then paints the fender to color-match the rest of the car. After spraying fresh paint on the fender if needed, the fender may be sanded and buffed to remove excess orange peel, surface texture or any other surface defects so that it will more closely match the surface texture of the factory paint.
What about sanding factory paint?
Yes factory paint can be sanding but it is risky and can shorten the life of the factory paint. The factory paint on a modern car is thin. Car manufactures only put as much paint on a car as is needed for the paint job to hold-up for 5 to 10 years under optimal conditions. Simply walking through any parking lot of a large store and looking at the finish on cars less than 10 years old often show signs of clearcoat failure. For the most part, optimal conditions means garage-kept when not in use to shield the paint from UV rays from the sun and all the harmful, even corrosive pollution in our air and water that has a detrimental effect on the paint over time.
While most people reading this article on a car detailing website likely understand that regular, pro-active maintenance of a car's finish is a HUGE factor when it comes to paint longevity - the masses simply don't know this and don't care to research it. For the masses, a car is a means of transportation. While there are no hard numbers, the average person trades their current car in for a new car every 3-8 years, completely within a window-of-time that with just average care, the paint can still be intact although likely faded and dull. The bigger picture being, most people are more concerned about taking care of their car mechanically, not visually outside of washing it once it a while.
The masses will never have their car sanded - they don't even know what it is
The big picture point is because the majority of car owners are not into detailing their own car they are also not the type of people that would ever consider having their car sanded.
The few that are OCD to the max
For the minority of people that are into their car, they will also be the type of people reading this article as apart of doing research on the topic of having their new Corvette sanded because they're not happy with the factory level of orange peel. Then after reading this article and understanding how thin the the clearcoat layer of paint is on their new Corvette they will either opt to live with the factory orange peel or make sure whether it them or someone they hire do to do the work, that when the factory peel is sanded - only the BEST in sanding papers or discs are used to accomplish the goal, (reduce the level of orange peel), while preserving as much of the factory clearcoat as possible.
And "yes" I did purposefully depict Corvette owners as the type of people that would at a minimum research the topic of sanding to remove orange peel out of factory paint because my personal experience in this industry has proven to me it is this group that the excessive amount of orange peel in the paint of a new Corvette is enough to bug them to do research. And hopefully after doing their research they come to the sound mind conclusion it's really better to simply maximize the gloss and beauty of the factor paint to its maximum potential and leave sanding to people that have custom paint jobs on Corvettes or any type of car.
Paint sanding options
Now that we are all on the same page when it comes to the topic of sanding paint, here's a brief synopsis of the available methods to sand paint.
1: Wet sanding by hand
This is by far, from my experience, the most common method used to sand paint. It's simple. It does not require any machines, either pneumatic or electric. A person with zero skill or experience can learn via trial and error. In most cases, some type of wet/dry sanding papers can be found locally and backing pads can either be purchased or even made from ordinary objects like paint mixing sticks or foam rubber.
The process is to simply soak the sandpaper in some water with a little car wash soap or even dish washing soap and then wet the surface to be sanded, usually with a clean source of water from a spray bottle or real old school, by dunking a rag into the bucket of soapy water, then placing the rag over or next to the section of paint to be sanded and then squeezing the rag to release water as the paint is sanded.
The sanding is done my moving the sand paper over the surface in straight lines and light pressure. While wet sanding the paint being abraded off the panel will mix with the water used to lubricate the surface and this mixture of water and removed paint is called slurry. The slurry traps the paint particles in it and normally runs onto the ground. There is dramatically less risk of any inhalation or ingestion of the the paint sanded off the car and as such there's less need for any personal protection equipment.
2: Wet sanding by machine
This technique is more advanced because now you'll need some type of orbital or even jitterbug tool plus a sanding disc that can be attached to the tool. Like hand wet sanding, soapy water is somehow introduced to the surface to be sanded and then the tool is moved over the surface and the paint is sanded. Like hand wet sanding, the paint being abraded off a panel will be trapped in the water to form a slurry.
3: Dry sanding by hand
Like wet sanding by hand, this is a very simple process where all you need is sandpaper, some form of backing pad or a paint mixing stick and some people simply fold a sheet of sand paper in half, or thirds and allow the sand paper to also be its own backing. The paint is then dry sanded, no water involved. The natural by-product from dry sanding is paint dust.
The paint dust will build up on the panel being sanded and will also build-up and even clog the sand paper. When dry sanding the person doing the sanding will have to remove the dust on both the panel being sanded and off the face of the sand paper. This is usually done with a cotton towel, a microfiber towel and/ or compressed air or combination of a towel and compressed air. Because the paint dust can become air-borne, it's a good idea to wear some form of personal protection equipment, for example a dust mask or respirator, safety glasses, safety goggles or a face shield.
4: Dry sanding by machine
This option is like wet sanding by machine where some type of orbital or jitterbug tool is used only the sanding is done dry, without any water for lubrication. This type of sanding is less messy in that there is no wet slurry all over the panel, the car or on the floor but the paint dust can and will become airborne and settle around the inside of the shop.
For this type of sanding, the abraded paint coming off the panel will build-up on the face of the sandpaper and clog the paper. Like hand dry sanding, some type of towel, even a nylon brush and/or compressed air can be used to remove the build up of paint off the face of the sandpaper.
Vacuum Dust Extraction
Another option for dry sanding machine is to use a sander that offers vacuum dust extraction. This type of tool uses vented sanding discs attached to vented backing plates and the tool body is designed to attach to a vacuum hose that is then attached to a dust extractor.
The way these work is as you're sanding, air is sucked or extracted through the sanding disk and the backing plate, through the tool body and then through the vacuum hose into a filtered vacuum chamber where the dust is trapped for removal later. The total cost to get into vacuum dust extraction sanding is higher than all other forms of sanding but the benefits are a cleaner shop environment as well as reduced health risks for the technician doing the work as well as anyone else in the immediate shop environment.
Summery
When it comes to paint correction, sanding the paint is the most aggressive option as you are physically abrading paint off a painted body panel to correct any defects. It's also the messiest option in most cases. It's also the option with the most risk involved and requires the most skill and experience to do safely and without mistakes.
My recommendation
When it comes to sanding as a form of paint correction, I recommend you avoid sanding unless,
1: You recently had a custom paint job on a car project and as a part of the project the painter knowing the car is to be sanded sprayed extra material just for the sanding and buffing steps.
2: You recently had your car repaired after an accident and either the shop that did the repair work or someone else experienced, qualified and with the right tools and products knows what they are doing and can sand the repaired area safely.
3: You are fully OCD about your car and after doing your research and deciding the only way you're going to be happy with the appearance of the paint on your new Corvette or fill-in-the-blank, is to lightly sand the body panels to remove excess orange peel. If this describes you then you are willing to purchase professional grade products to the job right, completely and safely or you are prepared to hire a professional that has the right tools and products to do the job right, safely and completely.
The Big Picture
Sanding, no matter which technique is used, means at a minimum,
The above will require, sand paper, sanding tools, compounds, cutting pads, rotary polisher, polishes, foam pads, orbital polishers and your choice of either a car wax, synthetic paint sealant or paint coating to seal the surface and complete the process. And keep in mind, the first three steps all remove paint.
Compound and Polishes
When we talk about compounds and polishes, we're talking about liquid or paste form products that use some type of abrasive technology to abrade the surface The highest goal for these types of products is to some how abrade the surface and remove defects while leaving a defect free surface as a results. In the early days of the car wax industry, most compounds and polishes were for the most part referred to as,
Rocks in a bottle
By this it was meant, that the technology wasn't very good, at least no where close to the technology that's available today, (as I type it's the year 2021), and many of these early compounds and polishes did not finish out perfect and usually far from it. As a matter of fact, what most early compounds and polishes would do is abrade the surface and remove one type of defect only to replace it with a new defect, the scratches or scouring caused by the abrasive technology used on the paint. The normal process looked something like this,
The above was the normal process and also the accepted process simply because it was the best technology available at the time. In the 1980s, urethane clearcoat paint technology was being introduced at the manufacturing level and this would force the custom paint and collision industry to follow suit. As clearcoats became more common, the problems with compounds and polishes became more visually apparent because of the characteristic of clearcoat paints to magnify existing defects. What was acceptable in the past was no longer acceptable once clearcoats became mainstream.
I worked for Meguiar's when Meguiar's introduced their Finesse System, which was the introduction of #2 and #9 as new products targeted specifically at creating customer pleasing results on clearcoat paints. But even back then, as good as these two products were at the time, there are no where near as good as what's available today.
Like the phone you own, there's already something better on the market to replace it. Technology is being invented and introduced at break-neck speed. Just like the phone you bought last month, while it was the latest, greatest phone at the time, chances are really goo there's either a better phone on the market or it's just a matter of months before an even better model is introduced.
The good, the bad and the ugly...
Like the classic western movie, at this point in time there are basically two groups of abrasive technology on the market. The thing is, if don't have a lot of experience polishing paint, you might not be able to know the difference unless you're working on dark colors or have outside resources, (like this website), to help you.
While I do not like to use bad language when I talk or type, I find it difficult to find another word that so accurately describes the second category of abrasive technology. So apologies ahead of time, especially if you're young, but here the way I describe the two different groups of abrasive technology.
Great and Crap
There is no gray area. There are not compounds, polishes and all-in-one products that are kind of good.
The difference between high quality abrasive technology and old school rocks-in-a-bottle technology or as I refer to it, Caveman Compounds & Polishes, (no offense to cavemen and cave women), is start and inarguable. A product either works or it doesn't. What do I mean by this? Well first of all, knowing what works and what doesn't work is decided in the context of working on black paint. Either clearcoated black paint of single stage black paint, doesn't really matter because as the saying goes, black shows everything.
Comments, feedback and questions always appreciated.
Generally speaking, compounding is less aggressive than sanding but still offers powerful paint correction with the abilit to control the cut of the compound by the tool and pad you choose to use. Compounds are more aggressive than medium cut, fine cut and ulltra-fine cut polishes. Compounds vary greatly in quality. In my experience and opinion, there are only 2 types of compounds
Normally I type wetsanding when I talk about sanding paint but I know some folks like to dry sand. There's also hand sanding dry, hand sanding wet as well as machine sanding dry and machine sanding wet.
I think that about covers it for sanding. Whichever type is performed and this has a lot to do with personal preference or the sanding technology available to you.
Personal Preference
For example, I prefer wet sanding over dry sanding not so much due to the mechanical aspect but more because with wet sanding, the material you're sanding off is embodied in a water slurry. It's not in the air where I will either breathe it in or I'm not forced to wear a dust mask of some sort to prevent me from breathing it in. Dry sanding means air-borne paint material and this becomes a health issue and a dust issue in the shop. But it works great and is a popular option for those that don't mind wearing a mask, (even with a vacuum system you should still wear a mask), or don't mind the dust mess it creates that must be cleaned up at some point.
Back in the old days, us detailers used simpler dialog to talk about detailing. When talking about working on a car, we we're either going to compound it and then polish it, or if the paint wasn't too bad we could probably get away with just polishing it. This was paint correction.
Now it seems like this is a new discovery? Or just a modern way of describing compounding and polishing?
Let's go even deeper down the rabbit hole...
Okay, so if we're going to all use the term paint correction we might as well define everything this term "can" include,
- Wet sanding by hand
- Wet sanding by machine
- Dry sanding by hand
- Dry sanding by machine
- Compounding - Aggressive or course liquids with some form of abrasive technology that's either great or crap.
- Polishing - Medium, Fine and Ultra-fine liquids with some form of abrasive technology that's either great or crap.
- One-step cleaner/wax also called an AIO or cleaner/sealant or ceramic AIO (all the same type of thing, they correct, polish and protect in one step)
- Non-abrasive paint cleaner
- Non-abrasive glaze
Did I get them all?
Sanding the paint
First - why would anyone in their right mind sand paint? The reason sometimes car paint is sanded in simpler words is to make it look better. How does sanding make paint look better? Because in most cases, the paint being sanded does not have a flat surface and sanding flattens out the surface.
D.O.I.
Why is it important to have flat surface? Simple - paint LOOKS it's best when it has a mirror finish, that paint looks best when it reflects and image with sharp, well-defined lines. The term Distinction of Image or D.O.I. is a measurement of how well a surface reflects and image. A mirror has 100% D.O. I.
Orange Peel - Runs - D.I.P. - Mottling - Surface Texture
These are words used to describe problems with the paint surface that decrease D.O.I. I'll talk more about these types of paint defects in future article suffice to say, sanding of the paint surface is done to remove these defects by abrading the paint surface and thus eliminating these defects while leaving behind perfectly flat paint. Of course after sanding the paint surface the paint will look dull so after sanding, the paint is then put through a compounding and polishing process that removes the sanding marks and restores maximum gloss, depth, clarity, shine and of course distinction of image.
When can paint be sanded?
Most sanding is performed to either custom paint jobs or repaint word done in the collision industry. For about 90% of the world, sanding paint is performed when a car has been repainted. This can either be a custom paint job, for example after someone restores a muscle car at some point the car will be painted and a part of the process will be to sand the paint flat, then buff it out to create a true show car finish. The other type of repaint that is sanded is collision work, for example you wreck your Honda, a local paint and body shop replaces the fender and then paints the fender to color-match the rest of the car. After spraying fresh paint on the fender if needed, the fender may be sanded and buffed to remove excess orange peel, surface texture or any other surface defects so that it will more closely match the surface texture of the factory paint.
What about sanding factory paint?
Yes factory paint can be sanding but it is risky and can shorten the life of the factory paint. The factory paint on a modern car is thin. Car manufactures only put as much paint on a car as is needed for the paint job to hold-up for 5 to 10 years under optimal conditions. Simply walking through any parking lot of a large store and looking at the finish on cars less than 10 years old often show signs of clearcoat failure. For the most part, optimal conditions means garage-kept when not in use to shield the paint from UV rays from the sun and all the harmful, even corrosive pollution in our air and water that has a detrimental effect on the paint over time.
While most people reading this article on a car detailing website likely understand that regular, pro-active maintenance of a car's finish is a HUGE factor when it comes to paint longevity - the masses simply don't know this and don't care to research it. For the masses, a car is a means of transportation. While there are no hard numbers, the average person trades their current car in for a new car every 3-8 years, completely within a window-of-time that with just average care, the paint can still be intact although likely faded and dull. The bigger picture being, most people are more concerned about taking care of their car mechanically, not visually outside of washing it once it a while.
The masses will never have their car sanded - they don't even know what it is
The big picture point is because the majority of car owners are not into detailing their own car they are also not the type of people that would ever consider having their car sanded.
The few that are OCD to the max
For the minority of people that are into their car, they will also be the type of people reading this article as apart of doing research on the topic of having their new Corvette sanded because they're not happy with the factory level of orange peel. Then after reading this article and understanding how thin the the clearcoat layer of paint is on their new Corvette they will either opt to live with the factory orange peel or make sure whether it them or someone they hire do to do the work, that when the factory peel is sanded - only the BEST in sanding papers or discs are used to accomplish the goal, (reduce the level of orange peel), while preserving as much of the factory clearcoat as possible.
And "yes" I did purposefully depict Corvette owners as the type of people that would at a minimum research the topic of sanding to remove orange peel out of factory paint because my personal experience in this industry has proven to me it is this group that the excessive amount of orange peel in the paint of a new Corvette is enough to bug them to do research. And hopefully after doing their research they come to the sound mind conclusion it's really better to simply maximize the gloss and beauty of the factor paint to its maximum potential and leave sanding to people that have custom paint jobs on Corvettes or any type of car.
Paint sanding options
Now that we are all on the same page when it comes to the topic of sanding paint, here's a brief synopsis of the available methods to sand paint.
1: Wet sanding by hand
This is by far, from my experience, the most common method used to sand paint. It's simple. It does not require any machines, either pneumatic or electric. A person with zero skill or experience can learn via trial and error. In most cases, some type of wet/dry sanding papers can be found locally and backing pads can either be purchased or even made from ordinary objects like paint mixing sticks or foam rubber.
The process is to simply soak the sandpaper in some water with a little car wash soap or even dish washing soap and then wet the surface to be sanded, usually with a clean source of water from a spray bottle or real old school, by dunking a rag into the bucket of soapy water, then placing the rag over or next to the section of paint to be sanded and then squeezing the rag to release water as the paint is sanded.
The sanding is done my moving the sand paper over the surface in straight lines and light pressure. While wet sanding the paint being abraded off the panel will mix with the water used to lubricate the surface and this mixture of water and removed paint is called slurry. The slurry traps the paint particles in it and normally runs onto the ground. There is dramatically less risk of any inhalation or ingestion of the the paint sanded off the car and as such there's less need for any personal protection equipment.
2: Wet sanding by machine
This technique is more advanced because now you'll need some type of orbital or even jitterbug tool plus a sanding disc that can be attached to the tool. Like hand wet sanding, soapy water is somehow introduced to the surface to be sanded and then the tool is moved over the surface and the paint is sanded. Like hand wet sanding, the paint being abraded off a panel will be trapped in the water to form a slurry.
3: Dry sanding by hand
Like wet sanding by hand, this is a very simple process where all you need is sandpaper, some form of backing pad or a paint mixing stick and some people simply fold a sheet of sand paper in half, or thirds and allow the sand paper to also be its own backing. The paint is then dry sanded, no water involved. The natural by-product from dry sanding is paint dust.
The paint dust will build up on the panel being sanded and will also build-up and even clog the sand paper. When dry sanding the person doing the sanding will have to remove the dust on both the panel being sanded and off the face of the sand paper. This is usually done with a cotton towel, a microfiber towel and/ or compressed air or combination of a towel and compressed air. Because the paint dust can become air-borne, it's a good idea to wear some form of personal protection equipment, for example a dust mask or respirator, safety glasses, safety goggles or a face shield.
4: Dry sanding by machine
This option is like wet sanding by machine where some type of orbital or jitterbug tool is used only the sanding is done dry, without any water for lubrication. This type of sanding is less messy in that there is no wet slurry all over the panel, the car or on the floor but the paint dust can and will become airborne and settle around the inside of the shop.
For this type of sanding, the abraded paint coming off the panel will build-up on the face of the sandpaper and clog the paper. Like hand dry sanding, some type of towel, even a nylon brush and/or compressed air can be used to remove the build up of paint off the face of the sandpaper.
Vacuum Dust Extraction
Another option for dry sanding machine is to use a sander that offers vacuum dust extraction. This type of tool uses vented sanding discs attached to vented backing plates and the tool body is designed to attach to a vacuum hose that is then attached to a dust extractor.
The way these work is as you're sanding, air is sucked or extracted through the sanding disk and the backing plate, through the tool body and then through the vacuum hose into a filtered vacuum chamber where the dust is trapped for removal later. The total cost to get into vacuum dust extraction sanding is higher than all other forms of sanding but the benefits are a cleaner shop environment as well as reduced health risks for the technician doing the work as well as anyone else in the immediate shop environment.
Summery
When it comes to paint correction, sanding the paint is the most aggressive option as you are physically abrading paint off a painted body panel to correct any defects. It's also the messiest option in most cases. It's also the option with the most risk involved and requires the most skill and experience to do safely and without mistakes.
My recommendation
When it comes to sanding as a form of paint correction, I recommend you avoid sanding unless,
1: You recently had a custom paint job on a car project and as a part of the project the painter knowing the car is to be sanded sprayed extra material just for the sanding and buffing steps.
2: You recently had your car repaired after an accident and either the shop that did the repair work or someone else experienced, qualified and with the right tools and products knows what they are doing and can sand the repaired area safely.
3: You are fully OCD about your car and after doing your research and deciding the only way you're going to be happy with the appearance of the paint on your new Corvette or fill-in-the-blank, is to lightly sand the body panels to remove excess orange peel. If this describes you then you are willing to purchase professional grade products to the job right, completely and safely or you are prepared to hire a professional that has the right tools and products to do the job right, safely and completely.
The Big Picture
Sanding, no matter which technique is used, means at a minimum,
- Sanding the paint.
- Compounding the paint.
- Polishing the paint.
- If the paint is cured or after it is cured - sealing the surface.
The above will require, sand paper, sanding tools, compounds, cutting pads, rotary polisher, polishes, foam pads, orbital polishers and your choice of either a car wax, synthetic paint sealant or paint coating to seal the surface and complete the process. And keep in mind, the first three steps all remove paint.
Compound and Polishes
When we talk about compounds and polishes, we're talking about liquid or paste form products that use some type of abrasive technology to abrade the surface The highest goal for these types of products is to some how abrade the surface and remove defects while leaving a defect free surface as a results. In the early days of the car wax industry, most compounds and polishes were for the most part referred to as,
Rocks in a bottle
By this it was meant, that the technology wasn't very good, at least no where close to the technology that's available today, (as I type it's the year 2021), and many of these early compounds and polishes did not finish out perfect and usually far from it. As a matter of fact, what most early compounds and polishes would do is abrade the surface and remove one type of defect only to replace it with a new defect, the scratches or scouring caused by the abrasive technology used on the paint. The normal process looked something like this,
- Paint on car has defects.
- Compound is used to remove defects and compound leaves it's own, albeit more uniform defects/scratches in the paint.
- Polish is used to refine compounding scratches and while this removes or better stated, refines the coarser compound scratches, it still leaves the paint with scratches, just finer or more shallow in depth.
- After the polishing step, a wax, or glaze is then applied and this product fills-in, masks or camouflages the finer scratches to create an acceptable looking finish.
The above was the normal process and also the accepted process simply because it was the best technology available at the time. In the 1980s, urethane clearcoat paint technology was being introduced at the manufacturing level and this would force the custom paint and collision industry to follow suit. As clearcoats became more common, the problems with compounds and polishes became more visually apparent because of the characteristic of clearcoat paints to magnify existing defects. What was acceptable in the past was no longer acceptable once clearcoats became mainstream.
I worked for Meguiar's when Meguiar's introduced their Finesse System, which was the introduction of #2 and #9 as new products targeted specifically at creating customer pleasing results on clearcoat paints. But even back then, as good as these two products were at the time, there are no where near as good as what's available today.
Like the phone you own, there's already something better on the market to replace it. Technology is being invented and introduced at break-neck speed. Just like the phone you bought last month, while it was the latest, greatest phone at the time, chances are really goo there's either a better phone on the market or it's just a matter of months before an even better model is introduced.
The good, the bad and the ugly...
Like the classic western movie, at this point in time there are basically two groups of abrasive technology on the market. The thing is, if don't have a lot of experience polishing paint, you might not be able to know the difference unless you're working on dark colors or have outside resources, (like this website), to help you.
While I do not like to use bad language when I talk or type, I find it difficult to find another word that so accurately describes the second category of abrasive technology. So apologies ahead of time, especially if you're young, but here the way I describe the two different groups of abrasive technology.
Great and Crap
There is no gray area. There are not compounds, polishes and all-in-one products that are kind of good.
The difference between high quality abrasive technology and old school rocks-in-a-bottle technology or as I refer to it, Caveman Compounds & Polishes, (no offense to cavemen and cave women), is start and inarguable. A product either works or it doesn't. What do I mean by this? Well first of all, knowing what works and what doesn't work is decided in the context of working on black paint. Either clearcoated black paint of single stage black paint, doesn't really matter because as the saying goes, black shows everything.
Comments, feedback and questions always appreciated.
Generally speaking, compounding is less aggressive than sanding but still offers powerful paint correction with the abilit to control the cut of the compound by the tool and pad you choose to use. Compounds are more aggressive than medium cut, fine cut and ulltra-fine cut polishes. Compounds vary greatly in quality. In my experience and opinion, there are only 2 types of compounds
- Compounding - Aggressive or course liquids with some form of abrasive technology that's either great or crap.
- Polishing - Medium, Fine and Ultra-fine liquids with some form of abrasive technology that's either great or crap.
- One-step cleaner/wax also called an AIO or cleaner/sealant or ceramic AIO (all the same type of thing, they correct, polish and protect in one step)
- Non-abrasive paint cleaner
- Non-abrasive glaze
Normally I type wetsanding when I talk about sanding paint but I know some folks like to dry sand. There's also hand sanding dry, hand sanding wet as well as machine sanding dry and machine sanding wet.
I think that about covers it for sanding. Whichever type is performed and this has a lot to do with personal preference or the sanding technology available to you.
Personal Preference
For example, I prefer wet sanding over dry sanding not so much due to the mechanical aspect but more because with wet sanding, the material you're sanding off is embodied in a water slurry. It's not in the air where I will either breathe it in or I'm not forced to wear a dust mask of some sort to prevent me from breathing it in. Dry sanding means air-borne paint material and this becomes a health issue and a dust issue in the shop. But it works great and is a popular option for those that don't mind wearing a mask, (even with a vacuum system you should still wear a mask), or don't mind the dust mess it creates that must be cleaned up at some point.
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