What is wet sanding? Generally speaking, when talking about wet sanding in the detailing world, it means that we are looking to get the best shine out of the paintwork. Extreme detailing is all about striving for that true show car finish and wet sanding can be a big help in that.

The ‘wet’ part in ‘wet sanding’ refers to the use of water, or another lubricating liquid, with using special sandpaper (that is designed to be used wet). The water acts as a lubricant and helps to carry away grit particles that are removed. This will ensure the sandpaper does not get clogged up as this could add deeper scratches to the paint’s surface. Without this lubricating liquid, material can build up in the sandpaper and leave behind scratches that are larger than the particle size, ruining your finish.

Understandably, sanding will create small scratches but the idea is to use finer and finer grits of sandpaper until those scratches are as small as possible. This will help in getting the finish of the paintwork ‘flat’. If the paintwork is not flat, light reflects off the surface at multiple angles and shows off holograms.

Sanding is not something that the detailing enthusiast should be doing in their driveway over the weekend! Sanding the surface of your paintwork is tricky business and should always be done by a professional. It is possible to go through the clearcoat of your vehicle and into the paint layers which would have to be corrected at a paint stage, not through a regular detailing process.

Once sanding has been completed, it is important to perform a three stage buff process on the vehicle. This ensures maximum shine and surface smoothness which will help with the deep, glossy appearance of the paintwork. Make your paint surfaces as smooth as glass with our range of wet sanding products.