clear coat?

[imported_matthew]

lets say one has marks on their car, little scratches (or swirls...)... or water marks or something that has `etehced` in the clear coat...



if one uses some kind of polish or soomething that `takes away` the clearcoat or messes up, what happens?



does the paint suffer if the clear coat is taken off, is there a way to get it back on?



is clear coat hype?

[shaf]

I`m not really sure what you`re getting at, but clear coat is not "hype" if your car has it.



If you use an abrasive wrong and somehow eat through the clearcoat it will have to be repainted.

[ScrampaTeg03]

If you`re thinking about trying to use a heavy abrasive or sanding to remove swirl marks, scratches, etc....DON`T! Try a product like 3M SMR first, then if that doesn`t work....take one step up to a more aggressive product. However, if you are saying that you ate through your clearcoat; sorry to say it, but it will need to be repainted.

[imported_matthew]

I did not eat through my clearcoat, I have not used any kind of polish or anything on my car yet.



I only ask because people say it is `easy` to go through it since the clearcoat is so thin... what my question was i tihnk is what does the clearcoat auctally do?



what about cars that do not have clear coats.



i think maybe in a few spots i have some water marks or some other contaiment that might have `eteched` or `gone through` the clearcoat of my car.



btw, what is 3m smr?

thanks

[samiam513]

Swirl Mark Remover. Made by the Post-it-Note people.

[clint]

The deal with clear coat is when the car got painted , the last couple of layers of paint are clear instead of colored. This helps preserve the paint, because ultraviolet light has a harder time getting through the clear layer and fading the pigments in the colored layer.

Because clear has no pigment, it can`t fade when it oxydises, it`s already as faded as something can get-clear!

Using clear coat systems- the paint maker can optimize the color paint for good color and adhesion properties, and not worry so much about uv resistance or surface hardness, because the clear coat will deal with being hard and uv blocking.

The above is not based on any actual knowlege- only logic and guesswork..thus the preceeding may be false..

:doh

[imported_Intermezzo]

Originally posted by matthew

I only ask because people say it is `easy` to go through it since the clearcoat is so thin... what my question was i tihnk is what does the clearcoat auctally do?



what about cars that do not have clear coats.





It`s not that `easy` to go through your clear coat, provided you use proper technique and the right tools and the car`s not too old. The clear coat has two functions that I know of.... 1) it enhances the glossiness of your car, 2) provides a measure of UV protection. It`s usually polyurethane based and insoluble (which is why you can use solvents to remove tar & sap from them).



Cars with no clear coats (1K paints) do not have a `clear` colored layer of paint on top of the colored layer. They are also generally made of something other than polyurethane (synthetic or acrylic enamels, I believe) and are also much thicker. You don`t get the same glossiness nor UV protection as you do with clear coated paints and so they`re more prone to fading. However, it`s not nearly as prone to `etching` from water-spots or bird dung as clear-coated paints are.



Getting back to your original question, the only way to remove any type of etching on your clear-coat is to remove a small layer of the clear via an abrasive product like 3M SMR (or something a little stronger). You don`t need to remove `all` of the clear...just a little bit. In other words, you need to `level` the clear in the area that has the etch-mark. Don`t worry...it`s not bad for your paint.