What type block for sanding clear?

CK-2

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Painted a fender and door on a car that I take to car shows occasionally (not a daily driver). I put four coats of universal clear on. What type of block is recommended for leveling clear, removing peel and wave?
Thanks.
 
Meguiars E7200 hand pads work well on rounded surfaces. I use the same as '68 on flatter areas. As a general rule, use the stiffest block you can that will still follow the contours of the surface you are sanding. Usually different blocks are used even on the same panel.
 
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Just wondered. I’ve heard some suggest hard blocks others a soft.
Much depends upon how heavy the coats you applied were. My 4 coats might be way thicker than your 4 coats.
Heavier coats will have more chance of urethane wave than lighter coats.
This is a hood that I sprayed some heavy coats of Euro clear on. This is as sprayed so you can see the slightly wavy look it has.
EuroClearassprayed.jpg

When you start sanding you will see where the surface is not flat. The low spots will remain shiny. The idea is to get the whole surface flat and level with your hard block. After that you can switch to softer rubber blocks while removing the previous grit sanding scratches.
Here is a picture of my signature car (first attempt at show car paint job - learned a lot sense then) after a little bit of sanding with the block.
Orange Peel 2.JPG


In this next picture (different vehicle) the entire panel was leveled with 1000 grit using the hard block. A foot or so of the right side has been sanded with 1500 grit to remove the 1000 grit scratches. The difference is easy to see if you wipe with solvent based wax and grease remover and view the surface before it dries.

1000-1500 Grit.jpg


The next picture shows the entire panel sanded with 1500 and the bottom portion sanded with 2000 grit. The key is to be sure and remove all the previous grit sanding scratches.

1500-2000 Grit.jpg


Hope this helps.
 
Thanks. I have some small oak blocks I’ve used before. I need to find me a good hard rubber block.
 
Super helpful! Thanks. '68, Do you do all your sanding by hand, or switch to a DA?

It depends on the vehicle whether I switch to DA after the hard block. When sanding with the DA you definitely need an interface pad and it works best to dry sand and keep the rpms down to prevent pig tails.
 
Much depends upon how heavy the coats you applied were. My 4 coats might be way thicker than your 4 coats.
Heavier coats will have more chance of urethane wave than lighter coats.
This is a hood that I sprayed some heavy coats of Euro clear on. This is as sprayed so you can see the slightly wavy look it has.
View attachment 11542
When you start sanding you will see where the surface is not flat. The low spots will remain shiny. The idea is to get the whole surface flat and level with your hard block. After that you can switch to softer rubber blocks while removing the previous grit sanding scratches.
Here is a picture of my signature car (first attempt at show car paint job - learned a lot sense then) after a little bit of sanding with the block.
View attachment 11545

In this next picture (different vehicle) the entire panel was leveled with 1000 grit using the hard block. A foot or so of the right side has been sanded with 1500 grit to remove the 1000 grit scratches. The difference is easy to see if you wipe with solvent based wax and grease remover and view the surface before it dries.

View attachment 11543

The next picture shows the entire panel sanded with 1500 and the bottom portion sanded with 2000 grit. The key is to be sure and remove all the previous grit sanding scratches.

View attachment 11544

Hope this helps.
Will 1000 grit cut the wave? I sanded my door today with 1000 and I can still see some wave if I get in the right light and look at the panel.
 
It should unless you really hosed on the clear. Really thick clear is usually leveled with a block and 400 grit and then more clear applied. The clear lays down (flows) much better over sanded clear hence the term "flow coat."
 
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