How much clear coat is left?

G

glen e

Retired Geezer
I know I can buy a paint thickness gauge to find out but are there general rules to how much clear you have left before you go thru to the base? Like a general rule: "you can polish with a true polish (not an AIO) about 8 times before getting into dangerous territory".

For grins, let's make it UC or TPnS with a mild pad (car in good shape)

I've got "autopia detailing hypochondria" = after reading too much here, the feeling that I'm about to cut into base after using above a time or two...

Please make me feel better ( car = Honda accord).....
 
glen e said:
I know I can buy a paint thickness gauge to find out but are there general rules to how much clear you have left before you go thru to the base? Like a general rule: "you can polish with a true polish (not an AIO) about 8 times before getting into dangerous territory".

For grins, let's make it UC or TPnS with a mild pad (car in good shape)

I've got "autopia detailing hypochondria" = after reading too much here, the feeling that I'm about to cut into base after using above a time or two...

Please make me feel better ( car = Honda accord).....
Click to expand...

To answer your question, yes... Probably many many many many more times.

I have sanded 1500, 2000, 3000, then cut x 2, polished, and final polished paint and only removed, on average, .2 mils.

While all paint systems are dramatically different, you can generally cut, polish, and final polish a car multiple times with no worries regarding clear coat thickness.
 
I too have the same worries, I have a 2010 TSX, these hondas gets scratched easily and the only correction I am doing now is M205 or Ultimate Compound (if needed)with Tangerine HT pad from now on.
 
I like to get the paint corrected once, and then just maintain it with a semi-annual or annual claybar with a finer grade of clay, and then something like Menzerna 106FA (cut of 2 out of 5, gloss of 5 out of 5) and a Lake Country Cyan, Tangerine, or Crimson pad - whichever I can use that will be the least abrasive but still clean up the paint to my satisfaction. The only reason I tolerate these "shred-baby-pads" is because they finish down very well and I dont have to use anything after. Otherwise, I would chuck them all in the trash.

Using a Rotary makes this cleanup really good and quick, and at this level of cut, there is not a whole lot of product to remove, which also helps cut down on scratching, etc..
Also try to dry as much as possible with my Metro Master Blaster 8hp blower, after a good lubed up wash, and this also means less touching of the paint.

I still measure it all the time because I can, and have all 3 of our cars on this schedule now.

If we EVER get some SUN around here this year, I will try to get a pic of the 3 so you can see what I am talking about..
Dan F
 
another reason i like using blackfire gloss enhancing polish once the finish is corrected enough. it would be nice to have paint thickness gauge though.
 
There is no rule of thumb so specific as 'you can polish 8 times' or even ANY such specific a number. Paint systems and thicknesses vary by a significant margin. But as Todd said you can cut and polish paint many times (while using care) before running into issues of the paint being too thin.
 
OK - for those of you with paint gauges - do new cars (less than 3 years old) have that much diff in clear coat thicknesses? Are all cars generally the same when they are new?
 
glen e said:
OK - for those of you with paint gauges - do new cars (less than 3 years old) have that much diff in clear coat thicknesses? Are all cars generally the same when they are new?
Click to expand...
The new cars Ive seen have very little clear coat on them .

I would be very careful using compound on any car repeatedly ,(old or new) without a paint meter.How will you know if a cars paint isnt thin to start with?

Really , if you want to save your clearcoat ,correct it once and the maintain it properly to avoid swirls.This allows for unforseen disaters down the road (water spots ,acid rain deep scratches)and you will still have clearcoat to correct it.
 
glen e said:
OK - for those of you with paint gauges - do new cars (less than 3 years old) have that much diff in clear coat thicknesses? Are all cars generally the same when they are new?
Click to expand...

Cars are radically different in the amount of clear coat they have depending on color, manufacturer, where the car is built, etc.

My Mazdaspeed has a total thickness of 3.3-4.0 mils, which is THIN. The clear coat on some higher end cars is thicker then that.

http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums...t-compared-common-items-pictures-writeup.html


Another good option, if you are concerned about paint thickness is to use a long lasting 'filler' such as Sonus SwirlBuster or one of the Poorboy's glazes: White Diamond or Blackhole.

http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums...ce-perfect-paint-while-saving-your-paint.html
 
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