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Here's a picture showing the appearance of a wetsanded piece as the water dries off of it. It is washed, after sanding with 1500 grit. You can clearly see the clearcoat effect of the water receding down the side, and the smooth, dull surface of the dry areas. The gloss of the water can easily hide remaining orangepeel or other defects, so I finish sand dry. This way, you sand away the orange peel, still using proper blocking techniques. If you only wet sand, you can easliy find yourself watching the orange peel reappear as the water dries off, and then you have to do it over. To me it's better to block sand it with 1000, then check it dry, dry sand it with 1000 until finished, then wetsand with 1500 one time over using ten strokes in one direction until the surface is completely sanded. This makes the buffing alot easier, especially if you're hand buffing small parts. This tailpiece has many compound curves, and you really have to feel your way through that part of the sanding to prevent burning through. In very small areas, like the recess under my taillight lens, I actually had to sand in tiny circles to get the area smooth. I don't recommend circular sanding for this step anywhere but small difficult areas like that. Hope this helps some of the shadetree painters out there. (waiting for the truck to be fixed time in the work day to kill)

Here it is after compounding (by hand) with 3M superduty compound, followed with maguier's professional swirl remover (also by hand) both applyed and wiped off with 100% cotton balls. I forgot to turn the flash off, so I need to take a better one tomorrow that doesn't obliterate the gloss with a white flash. Batteries are dead. The front fender is half way through that process, I'll swirl remove tomorrow. Tonight I'll make the seat cover and take some pics of the final seat construction. Chet, I'll post a pic of the other side when I post the completed bike...after seat finish. The bug almost disappeared, but you may be able to find it, since you saw where it was. More later.




Post edited by: ronboskz650sr, at: 2005/11/03 19:32

The area where the flash is makes the picture look much worse than it is. If you look at the reflections of the house and trees, though, you can tell how little orange peel there is left in the paint job (that is, none I can see! ).

Your timing is pretty good, by the way. I was just sitting behind a Taurus an hour ago and noticed how much factory orange peel there was on the deck lid. I wish I'd had a camera, Ron, because it made any amount of orange peel on your original (unsanded) paint job look like glass in comparison.

The worst thing about starting to pay attention to paint jobs is how bad factory paint jobs start to look to you. I was showing a friend the orange peel on a brand new Corvette in a parking lot in Baltimore, and the owner overheard me (I'd checked over my shoulder, don't know where he came from). I felt kind of bad, since I think he got the impression I was insulting the car, when in reality I was just showing how even factory paint jobs aren't 100% glass.

Anywho, you've done an excellent job. Don't sweat the bug, even if it might still show a little. It can't look worse than the rear quarterpanel of an '05 Corvette!

Well, liquid glass is a good description of the look I wanted. Without the glare, that's what it looks like...I'll get some good ones in the daylight tomorrow. I just sanded out two touch ups I did on my tank from that first gas spill where I left it there for 15 minutes and it ate the paint. I was just telling Pam, I can't find the spot on the top...the one next to the Kawasaki emblem barely shows, because I can't get at it with sandpaper without removing the emblem...not worth the trouble , given the overall appearance of the bike. The only paint left to do is the exhaust. The fender needs a little swirl remover, but not really. I'll do it anyway. I'm hoping to get the seat done tonight. Not sure I have the energy, but I'd like to be done with everything but the exhaust by Saturday. I have to polish the frame where I've been messing around with the seatpan, too...it's grungy. KzBilly and I are meeting for breakfast at church and a ride, and I'd like to have him see it finished. Maybe that will motivate me to get it done. The problem is, my paint makes the faring paint look cheesy to me, so I may polish it, too. It just never ends .