Auto Body and Paint Sandpaper Grit Breakdown

Let’s start with the heavy duty grits and what they’re used for.
32 and 40 grit sandpaper can be used for sanding and grinding paint down to
metal. It will allow you to cut out old body filler or shape new filler if you have
some extremely high areas in your bodywork.
32 and 40 grit sandpaper can also be used for sanding heavy rusted areas and
cleaning them down to shiny metal. Then you can proceed to treat the rust and
move on to repair and refinishing.

80 grit sandpaper is the most common for shaping body filler. It’s a great grit to
cut and shape your body filler and sand down rusted body panels. I find myself
using 80 grit during the rough draft stage when doing major body work. 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. I’ve heard of people spraying a thick polyester putty right over that to
fill your scratches, then cutting that down with a DA sander and blocking it using
a 150-180 grit paper, then spraying a 2k primer filler and blocking that down to a
400 girt for final paint. 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. To me it’s all relative because no matter what, you will have the same
sand time. If you do it this way, you’ll be cleaning your gun more than you need
to.

OR, you can eliminate that process (which is what I like to do) and sand your
body filler from the 80 grit down with a 220-240 grit paper and getting that ready
for a 2k primer filler. I think it’s much easier to do it this way, plus you’ll save on
the extra time and money that is spent on the polyester putty. I’ve tried it, and
I’m not that fond of that way or style. My final comment on this: Get your filler
shaped with 80, cut down further and smoother with a 240 grit, then spray two –
three coats of 2k filler primer, block with 400 grit, check for imperfections and
repair during that stage. Then you’re ready for paint directly over your 2k primer.

If you chose spray a primer sealer over that, you may, but is not needed to get a
pro finish. I actually show you theses steps on video in step-by-step format
inside of the VIP members area. Check it out here and get full access to save
yourself a whole lot of time and money.
BASECOAT CLEARCOAT SYSTEM FINAL PAINT GRITS:
In the end. You want to finish your final sanding when prepping for basecoat
clearcoat with a 400 grit sandpaper. This is the BEST grit to paint over. Don’t
listen to what others are saying all over the internet. Follow those who are doing
it and getting professional results. I have been painting for over 18 years and
have a lot of knowledge when it comes to auto body. John Kosmoski and I don’t
agree on every method when it comes to auto body, but when it comes to final
paint grits, we agree that 400 is the best grit. Why? It gives you enough paint
TOOTH for your paint to grab on to. If you sand any finer, look forward to some
paint peeling in a few years. 600 grit is on the fence and at the border. If you
feel that you just NEED to sand finer, I would absolutely not sand any finer than
a 600 grit paper. We paint pros recommend 400.

SINGLE STAGE PAINT SYSTEM FINAL SAND PAPER GRITS:

Prepping and painting over a single stage paint can be a different animal. Single
stage paints are a thicker paint than your basic base coat systems. This gives
you more room for a little error because the thick paint fills imperfections. You
can also paint single stage paints over coarser sand paper grits like 240, and
280 grits. The thick paint will cover and fill well and you need not worry.This is
why cheaper and more affordable paint jobs are done with single stage enamel
paints. It doesn’t matter if you’re spraying cheaper line of the enamel systems
which is the (synthetic enamel) systems or the higher, stronger enamel system,
the acrylic enamel system. The only main difference is the addition of a
hardening system in your paint. That does not mean that the synthetic system
won’t harden, it will. The acrylic system just provides a longer lasting finish and
costs a little more.
The synthetic enamel paint systems are great if you want to get a quick paint
job out. 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. As I said, you can safely paint over a 240-280 grit paper when
painting single stage. But personally, I like to get it a little smother. If I’m
painting a single stage job, I get the paint prep down to at least a 320 grit finish.
Check out the 24 hour El-Cheapo paint job that I did that came out fantastic. I
did it under a tent outside using a single stage enamel system and I
documented the whole process on video for you right here in the VIP members
area.
Again even when painting single stage enamel systems, if you can, end with a
400 grit sand. This grit is mostly used for final finishing before laying the paint
on. It’s true, a lot of your paint results will come from your prepping. If you do a
good prep job and get your panels ready for paint and sanded correctly, your
paint will flow on nice and will come out good. Do a crappy prep job, you will
have problems.

REFINISHING SAND PAPER GRITS:

Most common grits are: 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000.
These sandpaper grits are used for detailing and refinishing like color sanding
and buffing, or maybe you’ve heard the term cut and buff. This process is done
to take out common paint finish issues such as orange peel, runs or dry spots in
your clear coat. You can also rejuvenate older paint jobs by color sanding and
buffing your paint.

Many show cars have gone through this process. 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. By sanding your clear coat down flat with a
very fine sandpaper, normally a 1500-2000 girt paper, it removes imperfections
and cut’s out any textured area in your paint. 1200 grit can used for your initial
cut. 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. If you’re new to this
use 1500 for your sanding, then move to 2000. You can even start with a 2000
if you wish and just sand your clear flat until the paint starts to look smooth and
dries to a matte look.

Don’t worry. I’ll show you this exact process in step-by-step video and detail so
you TOTALLY get it. To learn more about how to see all of this on video so you
can repeat the process in full confidence, see what you get inside of LABAP VIP
here. I know you’ll be amazed.
When you have your clear coat all sanded down and finished with 2000-2500,
you’re ready for buffing. I’ll cover buffing, pads and compounds in another
lesson.

But this is basically all of the automotive sandpaper that you’ll need when

working on your special project. On the other hand, you only may need some of
them. I hope you learned a lot by watching this quick video above and reading
this post today.
I’ll see you in the next lesson!

To see the last lesson on spray gun setup tips go here.

To learn about the VIP club, just check out this page and see everything that
you get access to. The money you invest here will end up saving you thousands
and more over time, I guarantee it. There are more success stories and proof
from my VIP members doing amazing things with auto body than I can share.
Don’t take my word, take theirs.
Talk soon,

Tony