I was reading a DIY of spray painting your headlight housings, and the guy mentioned sanding them before spraying...What's the purpose of this? I've never been big into construction or anything of the sort, so I wouldn't know. Is it to very lightly scratch the plastic so it accepts the paint better? Would a sort of primer make any difference?

BTW I read a thread on wet sanding at the TSX boards. What does this primarily do, does it get rid of scratches besides getting rid of the clearcoat? I do know that wet sanding the exterior isn't recommended...

 

the headlight parts that you want to paint is smooth, therefore a light sanding will help with paint adhesion.

wetsanding body paint as i understand is quite common. it's to remove "orange peel" and to smooth out the paint for the final finish.

i hope it helps you a bit.

 

it's to promote adhesion. the smooth chrome surface does not offer the paint any mechanical adhesion. it's probably overkill on a piece that's protected by clear plastic, but it's the proper way to do it.


you don't even need to use sand paper, a light scuffing w/ a scotchbrite pad works well.


use a grey scotchbrite pad and prep the part until the chrome starts to look dull. then all you have to do is clean it w/ wax and grease remover and it's ready to paint.

 

i think you only wet sand in between coats of new paint/clear coat not sure though. like drm600 said it removes orange peel and stuff with little harm.

 

Use a light colored primer, the pdg is really translucent. I had to use more paint than I should have because my primer was kinda dark.

 

Ah, wow, thanks guys. You're the best.