Tips and tricks for dry sanding film

Lizer

Lizer

Mad Scientist
Could those of you who’ve used the Sunmight and Eagle abrasives dry sanding films share your tips and tricks?

I’ve just started using it. Right now I am sanding maybe one or 2 ft.² for a few seconds, then stopped to wipe away the dust and wipe off the film, then continue standing. After some time, I do get little dots of dust that will build up on the paper. I have continued to use these, but it does not seem like they are leaving rogue scratches.

I just finished sanding a large hood to a truck. I used two film discs on it once the first film seem to be getting clogged up a little bit. Just would like to know best practices, I don’t know if I’m doing it right or not, or if there are ways to get more life out of the paper.
 
I keep a brush like this handy whenever I'm sanding. Works great to clean the sandpaper, including the Eagle products.

brush.JPG
 
what grits are you using and how cured is the paint you are sanding? as a general rule 1000 will last alot longer than 1500. also ss tends to clog faster than cc will. the little dots of dust that stick to your paper dont cause any problem. everyone tends to think they are the cause of the pigtails but its not. pigtails are from dirt only. if you are getting little specs sticking to the disc though, thats a good sign that the clear/ss isnt quite ready and slightly too soft. wait another day or two. i will usually use 1000 and get out maybe 80% of the peel and defects then switch to 1500 and work the rest out until the paint surface is perfect. once i got everything good then i am just refining finer an finer as i move on to other grits.

some other tips. 1. be sure to always use a soft interface pad with finishing film. 2. once the disc slows down and is dull, remove the disc, turn it 45-90 deg and stick it back on the interface pad and continue to sand. you can get another 10-50% life out of the disc. you will find that the softer the disc the more this works. sunmight it will work a little less because it on rigid film. eagle yellow a little more because its more flexible and bufflex it works really well since that is like silk. the sandpaper is only cutting on the tiny pinhead areas where the velcro touches the disc. relocate the disc to a fresh area and you have fresh abrasive.

the one area i sand and buff all the time is flat and 2.5'x13' long. using sunmight 1000/1500 film i will generally use maybe 5-7 1000 discs and 3-4 1500. roughly 32sqft. this is on 24-48hr old speed or universal clear. i am leveling out artwork as well which is pretty nasty and lumpy. i would probably use 1/2 the amount of discs if i was just leveling out peel on a single color.
 
I did all mine hand sanding but when the began to clog I just wiped across my jeans, quick and easy to clear the paper and then blow off when I'm done for the evening.
 
@Jim C I'm sanding single stage, I painted it a week ago and kept my infrared curing lamp on it for a couple hours afterwards to help cure it down since temps are cool.

I'm using Sunmight 1000, 1500, Bufflex 2500, and then Trizact 3000 and 8000. Whatever your protocol is.

The little specs don't show up until I've been sanding awhile and I'm wondering if it's because I just didn't stop early enough to wipe away dust and it started to load up the paper. There's not a lot of them and they don't seem to be impeding sanding. I used 2 discs for this hood but neither one of them were completely worn out, I just wanted to switch to a new disc to see if I could tell a difference if a new disc cut faster in order to gauge when a disc is getting worn out.

I am using these on an interface pad. I'm using a cheap DA polisher I got years ago at Harbor Freight.

Jim you do keep the bufflex 2500 a little damp to get more life from it right? I lied and this isn't the first panel I've done with your system, I tried all of these on a panel I painted earlier this summer, but now I'd like to make sure I'm doing it right before I get too far. It is SO much faster than the wet sanding I used to do and I get better sanding and better scratch cancellation. I used to fight rogue scratches constantly.
IMG_3266.jpeg
 
The part that is hard for me to figure out is when to stop for each grit.

1000 seems to take the most time, 1500 takes about half the time and bufflex 2500 seems like two quick passes takes care of it.

Curious if this is other’s experiences as well.
 
Lizer said:
The part that is hard for me to figure out is when to stop for each grit.

1000 seems to take the most time, 1500 takes about half the time and bufflex 2500 seems like two quick passes takes care of it.

Curious if this is other’s experiences as well.
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I find it clogs easily especially for how much it costs. I curse at it all the time.
 
AAE said:
I find it clogs easily especially for how much it costs. I curse at it all the time.
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You're not keeping it wet enough. I give a few spritzes with a spray bottle for the 2500 every time you can feel it start to bog down and it slicks it back up.
 
How does the flatness compare to using conventional wet paper by hand? I'm assuming that if there is any urethane wave it should be gotten out by hand before switching to this type? What has always stopped me from using it is seeing what other guys work looks like when they use it. The clear/SS always has a wavy (not in the conventional sense) look to it. Wobbly would be a good way to describe it.

Or to ask my question a different way, if I'm using an interface pad and starting to cut a job with 4 or 5 coats on it, will it get it flat? Only way I would want to use the stuff is if I could get it as dead flat and straight as I can doing it by hand. Would be great if I could as it would save so much time.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
How does the flatness compare to using conventional wet paper by hand? I'm assuming that if there is any urethane wave it should be gotten out by hand before switching to this type? What has always stopped me from using it is seeing what other guys work looks like when they use it. The clear/SS always has a wavy (not in the conventional sense) look to it.

Or to ask my question a different way, if I'm using an interface pad and starting to cut a job with 4 or 5 coats on it, will it get it flat? Only way I would want to use the stuff is if I could get it as dead flat and straight as I can doing it by hand. Would be great if I could as it would save so much time.
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I have a roll of 1000 grit to cut the panel flat first with a block, then go to Sunmight 1000 and continue from there.
 
Lizer said:
The part that is hard for me to figure out is when to stop for each grit.

1000 seems to take the most time, 1500 takes about half the time and bufflex 2500 seems like two quick passes takes care of it.

Curious if this is other’s experiences as well.
Click to expand...
Use guide coat. Or a sharpie marker works the same.
 
ok so a couple things...

1. you can ditch the 3000 trizact. totally no need for it unless maybe the brand of ss your using is super rock hard or something. i know it seems like a jump but the 8000 cuts out the blue bufflex with ease.

2. if you did that trunk lid with 2 discs then that seems to be good to me.

3. here is how i do the sanding so i know i got everything....sand with 1000 until you have 80% of the peel gone. dont sand it all off. leave little glossy specs all over. this gives you something to work out with the 1500 grit that you can visually see. never go by time sanding or # of passes with paper since the cut speed can be all over the place. if you take the 1500 and work out the rest of the peel, by that time you will have gotten all the 1000 grit out and as the disc dulls you will automatically slow down your cut since you can see the peel that is left and how the disc is cutting. once the surface is 100% perfect with the 1500 then its time for bufflex. just use a spray bottle with some water. with a new blue disc you can start with quite a bit of water. sand until the water becomes pasty. dont wipe off the slurry. just keep sanding and let it dry on its own. when you done a panel or 2 go back to where the slurry has dried. there should be enough white or colored powder that you cant see the paint at all. continue on at that speed. as the disc slowly dulls use less and less water. when the disc gets too slow then pull it off, rotate it 90deg and put it back on. at that point i wipe the panels completely clean and i hit them again with the 1/2 dull disc at about double speed as my first pass. start where you ended and work back to the start. most of the time its not necessary but i found i get a lot less of those areas that maybe need to be worked a little harder with the buffer because i sanded too light in an area. it only takes a couple min to run over it real quick once more. after that i will just buff if its spi clear and its 24hrs old or less. if more than that i will hit it with 8000 then im done. after 8000 if right it should almost look like you buffed it. looks like just a slight haze to it. it should compound out in 1 quick pass.
 
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AAE said:
I find it clogs easily especially for how much it costs. I curse at it all the time.
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the bufflex? bufflex should never clog. it just keeps going and going. as lizer said, you need to use more water. dont use it dry
 
Jim C said:
ok so a couple things...

1. you can ditch the 3000 trizact. totally no need for it unless maybe the brand of ss your using is super rock hard or something. i know it seems like a jump but the 8000 cuts out the blue bufflex with ease.

2. if you did that trunk lid with 2 discs then that seems to be good to me.

3. here is how i do the sanding so i know i got everything....sand with 1000 until you have 80% of the peel gone. dont sand it all off. leave little glossy specs all over. this gives you something to work out with the 1500 grit that you can visually see. never go by time sanding or # of passes with paper since the cut speed can be all over the place. if you take the 1500 and work out the rest of the peel, by that time you will have gotten all the 1000 grit out and as the disc dulls you will automatically slow down your cut since you can see the peel that is left and how the disc is cutting. once the surface is 100% perfect with the 1500 then its time for bufflex. just use a spray bottle with some water. with a new blue disc you can start with quite a bit of water. sand until the water becomes pasty. dont wipe off the slurry. just keep sanding and let it dry on its own. when you done a panel or 2 go back to where the slurry has dried. there should be enough white or colored powder that you cant see the paint at all. continue on at that speed. as the disc slowly dulls use less and less water. when the disc gets too slow then pull it off, rotate it 90deg and put it back on. at that point i wipe the panels completely clean and i hit them again with the 1/2 dull disc at about double speed as my first pass. start where you ended and work back to the start. most of the time its not necessary but i found i get a lot less of those areas that maybe need to be worked a little harder with the buffer because i sanded too light in an area. it only takes a couple min to run over it real quick once more. after that i will just buff if its spi clear and its 24hrs old or less. if more than that i will hit it with 8000 then im done. after 8000 if right it should almost look like you buffed it. looks like just a slight haze to it. it should compound out in 1 quick pass.
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What sander speed are you going for the 1000, 1500, and 2500. I have mine set to a slow/medium speed, nothing super fast.
 
Jim C said:
the bufflex? bufflex should never clog. it just keeps going and going. as lizer said, you need to use more water. dont use it dry
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I was referring to it all but especially the Asslix. A couple passes and it's wrinkled and almost stops cutting. Even if I do the rotating bit. That's with their interface pad.
 
Jim C said:
3. here is how i do the sanding so i know i got everything....sand with 1000 until you have 80% of the peel gone. dont sand it all off. leave little glossy specs all over. this gives you something to work out with the 1500 grit that you can visually see. never go by time sanding or # of passes with paper since the cut speed can be all over the place. if you take the 1500 and work out the rest of the peel, by that time you will have gotten all the 1000 grit out and as the disc dulls you will automatically slow down your cut since you can see the peel that is left and how the disc is cutting. once the surface is 100% perfect with the 1500 then its time for bufflex. just use a spray bottle with some water. with a new blue disc you can start with quite a bit of water. sand until the water becomes pasty. dont wipe off the slurry. just keep sanding and let it dry on its own. when you done a panel or 2 go back to where the slurry has dried. there should be enough white or colored powder that you cant see the paint at all. continue on at that speed. as the disc slowly dulls use less and less water. when the disc gets too slow then pull it off, rotate it 90deg and put it back on. at that point i wipe the panels completely clean and i hit them again with the 1/2 dull disc at about double speed as my first pass. start where you ended and work back to the start. most of the time its not necessary but i found i get a lot less of those areas that maybe need to be worked a little harder with the buffer because i sanded too light in an area. it only takes a couple min to run over it real quick once more. after that i will just buff if its spi clear and its 24hrs old or less. if more than that i will hit it with 8000 then im done. after 8000 if right it should almost look like you buffed it. looks like just a slight haze to it. it should compound out in 1 quick pass.
Click to expand...
this has been the most helpful how-to description I’ve come across yet. Thanks
 
AAE said:
I was referring to it all but especially the Asslix. A couple passes and it's wrinkled and almost stops cutting. Even if I do the rotating bit. That's with their interface pad.
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im not sure what the issue is there. never had any loading or wrinkling of any of the assilex or bufflex in my life. the stuff goes on and work just about forever. it outlasts 3m trizact by a pretty big margin. its basically wet/dry paper on fabric. keep it wet and it just doesnt load at all. are you using those funky interface pads from eagle that has fuzzy side velcro on both sides? the disc doesnt really even stick to it?
 
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