Used to block sand everything by hand in 2003 at Joe's Body Shop in Denver

Back then I'd spend a full day on a single quarter panel with 220 grit by hand. Now I grab a DA with 400 and knock it out in 45 minutes. Air tools just change the game completely. Anyone else still prefer hand sanding on tricky curves?

2 comments

2 Comments

susanm221mo ago

Yeah I still keep a soft block and some 320 for those tight spots around mirrors and handles. The 3 inch DA with a soft interface pad handles most of it now though, just gotta watch the pressure on those edges.

cooper.spencer1mo ago

I started at a shop in Aurora back in 05 and we still did some hand sanding on certain jobs. The guy training me swore by hand sanding around door handles and mirror mounts because you could feel the contour better. I get what he meant, but after using a 3 inch DA with some soft interface pads, I can get those same spots done in a quarter of the time. I keep some 320 grit paper and a block around for the real tight spots, but that's maybe 5 percent of the work now.