Is it safe to polish yearly?

[ShawnF350]

This will be my 4th year using DAs. I`m interested in knowing if it`s safe to use mild polishes yearly.
Last year, a few family and friends vehicles , I used Poorboys Polish w sealant.
My vehicles get a PB pro polish with a polishing pad then a sealant topped with some carnauba.
As long as I stay away from any heavy compounds is it suggested to continue mild polishing every year for better shine or do you just get to a point where you should only protect the paint with spot corrections if needed.
I only use an aggressive compound if I have excessive swirls or scratches. (If it`s a vehicle I never worked on that needs it)


I consider Meguiars Ultimate polish, Poorboys Pro Polish (polishing pad) and SSR1 to be safe?
I was going to try some HD polish for my vehicles and HD Speed (friends and family).

I just want to make sure I`m doing this correctly.

Thanks for your continued help.

[ShaneB]

I wouldn`t think too much of it. If all you`re using is a DA and not compounding the chances of you burning thru the clear over the years are slim to none. Unless you`re gonna have the car 50 years from now and polish it every year, I wouldn`t worry

To be completely sure I`d measure the paint thickness, but that`s just being technical.

[ShawnF350]

If the thickness gauges were cheaper I would. Thanks for the advice.

[WhyteWizard]

Look at the before and after with the DA he has a paint thickness gauge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZioQ4aI3wPk

Robert

[Don]

I wouldn`t think too much of it. If all you`re using is a DA and not compounding the chances of you burning thru the clear over the years are slim to none. Unless you`re gonna have the car 50 years from now and polish it every year, I wouldn`t worry

To be completely sure I`d measure the paint thickness, but that`s just being technical.


:exactly:

I use a light polish on my SS red paint way more than once a year due to oxidation, the car is a 2006 and there are no "low spots" or indications that I`ve gone too far.

[Accumulator]

For regularly-occurring oxidation (primarily an issue on single stage), I`d be looking into chemical oxidation removers rather than relying on (only) abrasives.

Something that needs to be clarified: It`s not about "burning through" or even radically thinning the clear, but rather about taking off enough to compromise its UV-protection. And that`s a lot less than many might think. Even when there aren`t any unknown factors to consider.

IIRC, the official Ford specs say you can`t remove more than...oh what is it?!?...maybe 2/3 of a mil (that`s about 16 microns). That`s at least *close* to the actual figure, I do remember thinking that it`s sure not much. This is an actual number, based on actual studies.

Somewhere there are figures for how much clear is *usually* taken off with *average* compounding/polishing methods.

The take-home here is that if you park outside and you`re thinking long-term, you just can`t take off much clear and so you shouldn`t polish very often. I firmly believe that this topic gets underplayed on all the Internet Detailing Sites and that it`s gonna result in a whole lot of clearcoat failure down the road.

[Accumulator climbs onto his soapbox..] Sort out the wash technique; IMO there`s no need to polish that often if you do the wash correctly and school people/pets about how to act around the vehicle. Quit abrading away paint. I sometimes feel like "paint correction" has almost taken over "Detailing" even though it oughta be about the least common aspect of it. [Accumulator climbs back down off soapbox]

[silverfox]

I totally agree. I`d spend my time, energy, and money perfecting the washing method, and less in buying polishers and buffing pads if this is only for your vehicle. If you must use polish, use a non abrasive cleaning polish once a year. Removing clearcoat has a price, albeit not immediately obvious. UV will kill clearcoat before your buffer does, and you don`t need to penetrate the clearcoat for that process to accelerate.

[Stokdgs]

My idea is to correct and polish once, apply a Real Coating, and then just wash it for the next few years, however long the Real Coating lasts..
Im on year-4 with the one on my Black Grand Cherokee and it has been so nice to just wash, see no scratches in it like unprotected paint, and it still blinds you in direct sunlight..
I am not removing any of my paint since the Real Coating was applied and that with the extra protection on top of the paintwork really makes me happy..

Good luck with your research !
Dan F

[WaxAddict]

Often, paint that may appear to need a polish can be perfected with a good cleaning instead. I`ve begun to appreciate the cleaning ability of some glazes and even waxes. Often, the solvents in wax may be all you need. I`ve erased water spots and even light marring by "polishing" with wax or glaze, DA, blue pad, speed 3. Also, generally, the bigger the pad, the safer.

[Accumulator]

I`ve erased ... light marring by "polishing" with wax or glaze, DA, blue pad, speed 3. Also, generally, the bigger the pad, the safer.

Huh, I can *hide* light marring with such approaches, but I can`t remove it. Only time I ever had a "hey, I don`t need to [abrade] this after all!" discovery was *one* time that I had some micromarring in heavily layered KSG. Said marring never got through all the KSG layers to affect the paint so I was able to fix it with a redo of the Klasse twins. But that`s only *once* out of how many decades..

[ShawnF350]

My idea is to correct and polish once, apply a Real Coating, and then just wash it for the next few years, however long the Real Coating lasts..
Im on year-4 with the one on my Black Grand Cherokee and it has been so nice to just wash, see no scratches in it like unprotected paint, and it still blinds you in direct sunlight..
I am not removing any of my paint since the Real Coating was applied and that with the extra protection on top of the paintwork really makes me happy..

Good luck with your research !
Dan F

I liked your suggestion. I bought the Blackfire Crystal coat kit.
Never did a coating before and read some good reviews.