Please educate me on wet sanding. When, why, how do you do it? What are the advantages? Thank you in advance!
Jordan
I use wet sanding for all sanding related to primer coats and clear coats/ For sanding primers, typically 600 wet. For clear coats, typically 1000 wet or 1500 wet after the first coat. Go lightly when sanding the first coat of clear.
Wet sanding eliminates any associated dust. It also sands quicker, because the water removes the sanded paint particulates away from the abrasive particles on the paper. I always ensure there is lots of water on the model when wet sanding the primer. Should the wet paper somehow become clogged, a quick rinse in a cup of water or under a tap clears the sanding debris off the paper making it as good as new.
When sanding the primer I wrap the paper around a suitable size sanding block. This aids in getting rid of any high spots on the primer. When sanding clears, I just use a small piece of wet paper and finger sand. When sanding the clears, I look for the clear to become dull and then stop. When most of the surface is dull, it's time to apply the next clear coat. If there is some "orange peel" finish, the finger sanding will knock off the high spots.
I often apply 3 coats of clear with the first two coats being gloss for protection and then the final coat gloss, semi gloss or mat. One thing I have started to do with the mat is to add about 20% semi gloss to the mat clear. It still looks mat, but feels much smoother.
Don't forget to wipe down with clear water and a cloth after the sanding is complete. You may have to do this a couple of times. And then wipe down with a micro fibre or tack cloth just before applying the next coat.
In simplest terms, wet sanding reduces or eliminates the clogging of sandpaper.
I wouldn't wet sand bare wood. I do wet the wood to raise the grain then sand that off. Only needs to be done once. I then seal the wood. There are many methods and you can look up the steps and products to build the ultimate finish you want. My goal of choice is called piano finish and I choose acrylic products.
My method for finishing is first to raise the grain and sand. When dry I apply a sanding sealer to the wood, allow to dry/cure, then sand. Since I use acrylic paints no primer is required. After my paint finish is complete I seal the paint, preferably with Minwax Polycrylic. My last finish is to get the gloss/matt level I am looking for. I always use a clear finish on top of everything as the final layer. This makes maintenance easy. I can wipe with a clean, damp cloth and everything is fresh again. My finish is so tough I can drop a model with no paint damage and I encourage children to touch my models, which amazes them. Wipe them down and away you go.