When most people see a great-looking paint job, one with deep colors and shine, they think the work stops after the last coat of clear has been sprayed. In reality, the application of the paint and clearcoat is just another prep step towards a quality paint job. Color sanding and rubbing (or buffing) will be required to obtain the high gloss, almost glass-like finish that we all crave.
Most people aren’t familiar with this finishing process, though. They don’t realize that it’s very labor intensive and demands a lot of time. There’s also a special tool required to give paint the wet look. A high-speed rotating grinder with a soft wool or sponge pad creates friction and heat to literally melt the clearcoat into a clean and even surface. Let’s take a look at the science behind the whole color sanding and buffing process, because I’m sure to most of you it seems crazy to drag sandpaper across an entire paint job that has just been perfectly applied, and then risk burning it clean off with a large grinder or buffer.
It makes perfect sense, though, because during the curing process of the clearcoat, temperature, humidity and pressure from the clearcoat’s delivery (from either the gun or the technique of the applicator) affects the way the material lays on the vehicle. We’ve all heard the term “orange peel.” When light hits a reflective surface that’s uneven the light bends in different directions, causing it to look dull and accentuating the fact that the surface is uneven, like an orange peel. The light will even cast different, undesirable colors.
The first step in correcting this problem is to sand the surface to a flat and consistent level. This will allow light to be reflected back towards you just like a mirror. With a surface that’s flat and even, the light has no choice but to reflect back towards its source.
But hold on a minute, using sandpaper on clearcoat means that the user literally scratches the paint down to a dull, flat sheen. So how do you get it to shine? The technology of using paste abrasives and compounds dates back centuries. Jewelers used these materials, including soft buffing wheels and heat, to polish rocks into Jewels. The same idea applies to paint on vehicles. The “cut and rub” job is nothing new to the professionals at Meguiar’s Car Care Products, so we stopped in to learn from their expertise.
Meguiar’s was founded in 1901 during a time when the automobile and the automotive paint world were in their infant stage. Cutting and buffing paint was a cutting-edge technology then. Yet, the same goes for today, as constant changes in clearcoat formulas and application equipment means that one product may or may not work as well as another. So a wide range of products and applications is very important to achieve a top-notch finish.
Recently, we witnessed the completion of a paint job on an early C-10 truck that was in need of a good color-sand and buff job, so we asked the professionals at Meguiar’s to walk us through the process, giving us some tips on what to do, and what not to do. Follow along as we share what we learned, and you too can use these steps to get your truck to look like a glistening wet sheet of glass!