Hey guys, I just finished laying down the paint on my car. It is a single stage urethane white paint. I would like some insight as to what needs to be done next, if you all don't mind. This is my first paint job, and I've been looking on Google but most of everything is for clear coat applications.

I have 1200 and 2000 grit paper. I will wetsand with the 1200, then the 2000. I assume this is the right beginning. Should I do this by hand or with a block? I ask because I can't see a block giving even pressure on the curves of the body (where the fenders curve from horizontal to vertically, etc).

Also, what is the best wait time before wetsanding? This is my DD car so it's a rolling resto. I'd like to smooth things out but I also don't want to mess up the curing process.

As I do not own a buffer, is it possible to sand the paint smooth with the 1200-2000 wetsanding and let it sit/drive a few days, or is polishing necessary right after? Could polishing be done by hand? What products do you recommend?

Thank you for your help. I'm ready to finish this off.

First question is how thick is your paint? This will help to determine how aggressive a correcting action is possible without going through. How many coats did you put on? Did you take thickness measurements before and after?

Second question is what does it look like now? What's the surface like? Heavy orange peel? Light orange peel? Too dry? Runs? Lots of dirt in the paint, or just a few specks?

All of this will help us give you relevant answers.

For a start though I'd probably lock up that 1200, unless the surface is really bad. A block is always best and you can get flexible blocks that will curve to the surface. Without a machine buff you are setting yourself up for an enormous amount of hard work trying to do this by hand.

Generally you can wetsand after 24 hours - depends on the product you used - have a look at the Tech Data Sheet for your product.