How Thick Is My Clearcoat After This Workout?

[Mikeman]

Hi Gents! Great forum here!



Do I have enough clearcoat for more polishing after the following workout?



New car, never washed by me, loaded with dealer provided scratches and swirls EVERYWHERE.



1zUP by hand with foam applicator, two times, using fairly generous amount of polish, working it until it breaks down.



1zPP by hand with foam, two times, liberal with polish, worked until breakdown.



1zMP by hand with foam, one time, liberal with polish, worked thoroughly.



AIO, by hand with foam, one time, used as directed.



My back and arms are tired. How about my clearcoat? Is it exhausted too? Are my polishing days already over on this paint? MOST of the scratches are gone. The deepest still remain. None could be felt with my fingernail at the start of the job. Thanks!



Mikeman

[Scottwax]

No way to know unless you used a paint thickness guage the minute it rolled out of the paint booth. You can`t be sure how much the dealer in their misguided attempt to wax it for you removed. Normally, clearcoats are 1.5 to 2 mils thick and if you take them under 1 mil, you lose the clearcoat`s UV protection. Normally, the most you would want to remove is .4 mil, so you still have .1 mil you can remove if necessary to take out future defects.



If you didn`t use a paint thickness guage to prior to starting, you will have no way of knowing how much you may have removed.



Since you worked by hand though, and you used foam applicators, the amount of clear you may have removed is probably minimal. I wish I could reassure you about what the dealer did.



Next time you buy a car, make sure you have it written into the contract that if they polish or wax the car prior to delivery, you will refuse it.

[Mikeman]

Thanks, Scottwax!



They didn`t polish or wax it at all that I could tell. It`s a 2004 Camry that sat on the lot for close to a year. I think they just washed it MANY times with gritty rags in circular motions. They also washed (or dried) it at least once in the direction of airflow because I had long parallel scratches on the roof and sides. I could follow the gritty path of the rag right along the side of the car.



It looks real good now.....ready for SG, after I recover from the polishing workout. I`ll be staying away from the UP, and even the PP from now on. I just wanted to get it right once. Hopefully I accomplished that without taking off too much clearcoat. Only time will tell. Thanks again!



Mikeman

[Jesstzn]

Originally posted by Scottwax





Next time you buy a car, make sure you have it written into the contract that if they polish or wax the car prior to delivery, you will refuse it.



My last 4 cars had it written in that *I* also did the wash at the dealer with my stuff.

[Mikeman]

I guess the way to do it is to get the car from the dealer the instant it is delivered to him......before his people can mess it up. The drawback is that I can`t get the good deals with NEW new cars. I like to buy when they`re trying to get rid of the "old" stuff to make way for the new models.



I`ve always been perfectly happy with my "old" new cars....until I got a red one. If the sun had been shining when I went car shopping, I probably would not have purchased this one due to the paint. The first time I saw it in the sun, I was appalled. All is well now.



Mike

[svanderbilt]

Black car = PC ownership!



Your clear is plenty good. It takes alot, alot, alot of rubbing to ruin the clear. Just keep it out of automatic and "touchless" car washes, use the two bucket washing method and AIO twice a year and you`re good to go.

[Mikeman]

Thanks, Beau.....but now I`m addicted. I want The Perfect Shine and all the rubber, black satin trim, vacuum-metallized plastic trim, chrome, painted plastic trim, clear plastic, tires, and wheel covers protected (and polished where applicable). Today I`m going to take off the wheel covers, AIO them, and the ugly steel wheels too, because they`re somewhat easy to see through the covers.



Mikeman

[Mazz]

Originally posted by Mikeman

Thanks, Scottwax!



They didn`t polish or wax it at all that I could tell. It`s a 2004 Camry that sat on the lot for close to a year. I think they just washed it MANY times with gritty rags in circular motions. They also washed (or dried) it at least once in the direction of airflow because I had long parallel scratches on the roof and sides. I could follow the gritty path of the rag right along the side of the car.



It looks real good now.....ready for SG, after I recover from the polishing workout. I`ll be staying away from the UP, and even the PP from now on. I just wanted to get it right once. Hopefully I accomplished that without taking off too much clearcoat. Only time will tell. Thanks again!



Mikeman



Pretty much all dealerships send the cars into the detail bay after they are checked in (roll off the truck) there they wax it and seal the paint and throw it on the lot to be sold..after that all they do is wash the car untill it is sold..then it goes back into the detail bay to be cleaned up again.

[Mikeman]

Hmmm.....the paint felt dry when I took the car home...no slippery feel at all. I think some light oxidation had set in too. The "swirls" I spoke of are more accurately described as circular scratches. I did see some obvious buffer swirls across the front of the hood though. They didn`t come out until the 2nd round of 1zUP. Hopefully they didn`t get too crazy on the hood with that rotary.



EDIT: I think, after I bought it, they washed it with a gritty rag and buffed out a long scratch on the front of the hood.



Mikeman

[Scottwax]

Originally posted by Mazz

Pretty much all dealerships send the cars into the detail bay after they are checked in (roll off the truck) there they wax it and seal the paint and throw it on the lot to be sold..after that all they do is wash the car untill it is sold..then it goes back into the detail bay to be cleaned up again.



And that is why you have to put it in the contract (especially if you order your car) so they don`t touch it. My customers who buy their BMWs at Moritz who do not allow them to wax their cars have no rotary holograms. Those who allow Moritz to wax their cars do have rotary holograms.