Therefore, the use of this grit on an automobile should be reserved for extreme cases.Sandpaper in the 24 to 36-grit range is most appropriate for projects where the automobile has rough areas along the surface that need to be flattened out. Sandpaper Application Chart 5 If the rust or grinding action has created a hole in the sheet metal, often, a piece of mesh/screen or metal is used to help bridge the hole. Once all of the panels have been stripped, the surfaces should be smooth enough for a primer coat of the new paint.Alternately, 320-grit could make it really easy to change out the paint on a single panel, such as a scratched door. It’s true, a lot of your paint results will come from your prepping. On the automotive sandpaper grit chart, 40-grit is generally recommended for cars, trucks and vans that have been treated to several overlying paint jobs over the years. In the past, sanding down a van could take an entire day, if not longer. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.

Now in his 30's Tony pours his everyday passion into Progressively finer grits (180-600 grit) refine the surface and help to hide the repair by seamlessly blending it into the surrounding body work. Thank you for any response. I find myself using 80 grit during the rough draft stage when doing major body work. Since every grit level serves a specific purpose in our workshop, we want to share that information so you can avoid wasting time (& money) on the wrong sandpaper. You want to be careful when sanding with 1200 because you can sand too deep if you don’t know what you’re doing and looking for. Do I just scuff it up with 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper? I have been working on a car project lately and I had to do a little body work so.

All that said, auto-sanding projects of this intensity are not the norm. Actually, John Kosmoski founder of House of Kolor, does it this way and says it’s faster because you cut time off of your body work sand time. Ultimately, 80-grit is best used on vehicles that need considerable sanding in select areas, but without the roughness of lower-grit options.An 80-grit piece of sandpaper could come in most useful on cars with more than one prior paintjob, as well as vehicles with light corrosion around the edges. It’s a great grit to use  that will help you lay the foundation to move toward the finer grits that I talk about below.After your major body work is shaped and cut down with 80 girt, you have a few methods. Sanding can be done by hand as well as in tandem with power tools such as  to create the best finishes on these materials.

The grit number of a sanding product indicates the size of the abrasive particles.
I use the 3M system which used 1200, 1500, and 300o grit sandpaper. On panels that only need touching up in a certain spot, 150-grit will often be the perfect choice for smoothing out the edges of the crack or chip in an otherwise good coat of paint.When people ask about what grit sandpaper to use when painting a car, 150-grit is one of the more popular recommendations.When you get into the 200 range, sandpaper becomes smoother, yet stronger, than any of the lower-grit options. A wham bam, thank you mam style fast paint job that is fairly inexpensive with a life expectancy of 1-3 years depending on how you care for your vehicle.Simply slap a 280 grit paper on your DA (dual action sander), and you’re off to the races. To me it’s all relative because no matter what, you will have the same sand time. In the video above I show you the most common automotive sandpaper grits that are used for body and paint.These sandpapers are used for the main body work process when cutting body filler (Bondo) shaping, feathering and final sanding when prepping for paint. Sandpaper is a paper which has sand or any other abrasive material stuck to it and used to smoothen and polish wood and other surfaces.

4.6 out of 5 stars 862. It’s a great grit to cut and shape your body filler and sand down rusted body panels. Yes you got it. They feature mid to low grit numbers. For example, if you have an older car that has been given numerous overcoats, to the point where some of the layers have worn in places over time, the overall surfaces can be an inconsistent, caked-on mess. Therefore, while 400-grit is one of the most popular grits of sandpaper, it’s often used exclusively for wet sanding.

If you see paint jobs that simply look like glass, know that the clear coat was refinished through a process called color sanding and buffing. In some cases, there might be little, if any, need for smoothing out rough grains with sandpaper of an even lower intensity. This grit is mostly used for final finishing before laying the paint on. In the chart below, the grit size is measured via both the CAMI (Coated Abrasives Manufacturing Institute) and FEPA (Federation of European Producers of Abrasives) standards, the latter of which is preceded by a “P.” There are two main subdivisions, micro and macro, with many more gradations included.Micro grits are a class of finer abrasives.

Coarse , rough grits (40-100 grit) remove a lot of excess material like body filler quickly and easily. I have been working on a car project lately and I had to do a little body work so. Lower grit numbers represent coarser abrasives that scrape off materials much quicker. Sandpaper, 90 Pcs 400 to 3000 Grit Wet Dry Sandpaper Assortment 9x3.6 Inch for Automotive Sanding - Wood Furniture Finishing - Wood Turing Finishing and More by VERONES. I find myself using 80 grit during the rough draft stage when doing major body work. Once a new coat of paint has been applied to a vehicle and given time to dry, a sandpaper disc in this range allows for a smooth and even finishing touch along areas of panels that might exhibit roughness or inconsistencies along the painted surfaces.