Removing too much clear?!?

[05corolla]

So recently I have been trying different polish/pad combos out to see what works best for my paint. Nothing I have tried yet has worked because the swirls I have are deeper than I expected. Anyways, if I step up to a more powerful polish will I risk taking away too much clear?? I thought about trying #83 DACP next to see if that would work. I plan on keeping this car literally until it falls apart so I want the paint (and clear) to last its longest.



As always, your help is greatly appreciated!

[AngieD]

I`m interested in this information also.

[05corolla]

Any suggestions?!?

[Accumulator]

This is a tricky one to answer; it`d *still* be tricky if I were standing there looking at it and using a ETG!



Some marring is too deep to be safely removed. I tend to err on the side of caution as I believe "better imperfect paint than a need for a repaint".



But if you`re working *without* a rotary and the strongest thing you`ve tried is #83 and you`re working on something that has plenty of clear to start with (hasn`t been rotaried-to-death previously) then you can do a fair amount of polishing without having to worry too much.



It sounds like you`re using pretty mild stuff so far, so I don`t think you`re likely to have taken off much clear.



Note the abundance of qualifiers in the above ;)



Yeah, I`d take #83 to it myself, well, actually I`d rather use something like Hi-Temp Heavy Cut Leveler ;) Maybe three-four passes and then something milder to clear up any micromarring. Then I`d probably live with what`s still there, at least for now.



OK, if it were mine I`d go at it with the rotary first and I`d use Extreme Cut, so I`d actually be *more* aggressive than that. But I wouldn`t have to polish it again for a long, long time either ;) so I`d be OK with taking off more clear now. I don`t recommend that you get that aggressive.



Unless (or "until" :D ) you have your wash/dry regimen scienced out to where you don`t have to polish out wash-induced marring on a remotely regular basis, I`d stop at that point because you`ll be polishing again in a few months anyhow.



FWIW, I`ve had a few of my vehicles as close to marring-free as I can imagine drivers getting, but even those had some marks lefet over. Marks that I could probably take out, but didn`t. I`m just not gonna risk compromising my clear`s long-term durability. I`d try to resist the urge to attain perfection, just try for "much better". Sometimes this forum can sorta seduce you into thinking that every car can be perfect all the time and that there`s something wrong with driving something that isn`t ready for Pebble Beach ;)

[BigAl3]

read the 10th post from mike pennington (megs director of training).... Meassuring clear coat thickness - Car Care Forums: Meguiar`s Online (http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4932)

[05corolla]

So basically according that forum, I could use Meg`s #83 and not have to worry about my clear becoming too thin for long term protection, OR was that Meg`s employee just saying that to protect his company??

[SpoiledMan]

If he were attempting to protect the company he would tell you *not* to use it.

[BigAl3]

If he were attempting to protect the company he would tell you *not* to use it.



agreed, both mike`s (mike phillips & mike pennington) are straight forward with their info and will give you an honest answer (both have been in the industry a long time)...



by the way... mike pennington is the guy pictured in the mirror glaze linehttp://www.meguiars.com/estore/products/product_M8301.jpg

[05corolla]

Oh okay thats what I thought but I just didn`t know, but thanks for the info!

[Stuff]

This is a tricky one to answer; it`d *still* be tricky if I were standing there looking at it and using a ETG!



Some marring is too deep to be safely removed. I tend to err on the side of caution as I believe "better imperfect paint than a need for a repaint".



But if you`re working *without* a rotary and the strongest thing you`ve tried is #83 and you`re working on something that has plenty of clear to start with (hasn`t been rotaried-to-death previously) then you can do a fair amount of polishing without having to worry too much.



It sounds like you`re using pretty mild stuff so far, so I don`t think you`re likely to have taken off much clear.



Note the abundance of qualifiers in the above ;)



Yeah, I`d take #83 to it myself, well, actually I`d rather use something like Hi-Temp Heavy Cut Leveler ;) Maybe three-four passes and then something milder to clear up any micromarring. Then I`d probably live with what`s still there, at least for now.



OK, if it were mine I`d go at it with the rotary first and I`d use Extreme Cut, so I`d actually be *more* aggressive than that. But I wouldn`t have to polish it again for a long, long time either ;) so I`d be OK with taking off more clear now. I don`t recommend that you get that aggressive.



Unless (or "until" :D ) you have your wash/dry regimen scienced out to where you don`t have to polish out wash-induced marring on a remotely regular basis, I`d stop at that point because you`ll be polishing again in a few months anyhow.



FWIW, I`ve had a few of my vehicles as close to marring-free as I can imagine drivers getting, but even those had some marks lefet over. Marks that I could probably take out, but didn`t. I`m just not gonna risk compromising my clear`s long-term durability. I`d try to resist the urge to attain perfection, just try for "much better". Sometimes this forum can sorta seduce you into thinking that every car can be perfect all the time and that there`s something wrong with driving something that isn`t ready for Pebble Beach ;)





Great advise. I very true about the idea of forum making you think every car is perfect.

[Stuff]

I was just reading through the meguirars forum thread linked above. The one Meguiars guy says it would be ok to use #83 2 times a year for 10 years. What do you guys think about that statement? If that is true I might be a little bit more aggresive with my polishing in the future.

[Envious Eric]

its a blanket statement....



you can probably do #83 100 times on BMW/AUDI/mercedes paint and be fine, but only 25 times on a toyota or infinity before a reclear/repaint is necessary...

[Envious Eric]

i think it was on gsrstillez website that I read something like



no detail = 8 years repaint

with detailing = 15 years+

[Accumulator]

Just a YMMV type of warning about this stuff: #83 is safe to use, no measurable clearcoat removal, etc. etc., right? Gotta watch the generalizations ;) At the last St. Louis Autopian gettogether, an experienced Autopian was using my PC with #83 and a 7006 pad. No excessive pressure or anything, just working on regular marring on a Benz 190. Mike Phillips was there. She *cut through the clear*, requiring a repaint. Yeah, not just *thinned* it, she cut through to the color. Again, this wasn`t some inexperienced twit and she was acting under the eyes (and advice) of people with even more experience than she had. Mike was sure surprised, BTW. This *happened*, in front of members of this forum; it`s not some urban legend. So you do have to be careful.



Now that I`ve posted the above "be paranoid" example, I`ll say that while you don`t want to polish more than necessary, it`s nothing to be *too* worried about as long as you`re not doing aggressive correction on a regular basis. If you have to do it more than twice a year, something`s wrong. FWIW, I`d hope you don`t need to do it even *once* a year, even on all-weather drivers. FWIW#2, I`ve gently polished cars that I`ve kept for a *long* time, and it`s seldom been a problem. The Jag`s (soft) single stage lacquer is a little thin in places, but that`s after 21 years, and I used to polish it aggressively and often.

[ZoranC]

At the last St. Louis Autopian gettogether, an experienced Autopian was using my PC with #83 and a 7006 pad. No excessive pressure or anything, just working on regular marring on a Benz 190. Mike Phillips was there. ... Again, this wasn`t some inexperienced twit and she was acting under the eyes (and advice) of people with even more experience than she had. Mike was sure surprised, BTW.

I guess that`s why Mike emphasized more than once during 11/04 class not to use 7006 with PC.