Hard Clear That Mars Easily?

It is much better than Nissan paint in this regard, which seems to have just awful chip resistance. I do find Audi windshield glass to be a bit soft, I understand it's German safety thinking: something like if in a crash the glass can be cut away quicker
 
Like Accumulator this is not a flame or anything like that, but I think this is just poor technique. If you're patient and work the polish properly you can remove swirls with something like SSR 2 or 2.5 or DACP and a polishing pad with the PC. I've retired my cutting pads except for really tough work. I think some people are not polishing throughly enough or they're using too strong a combination of pad and product and its leaving marring behind.



I've never encountered an easily scratched paint surface that isn't corrected just as easily with the right pad and product. If you think about it a paint that scratches easily but it hard to polish out makes no sense, because polishing is essentially scratching just in a fine and precise way.



When I first started on this car I was the same way, always reaching for the cutting pad and leaving the polishing pad alone but now I've realized that if you do it right the polishing pad will do the job.
 
fireberd350- Nah, you're not committing any heresies by going right to the 3M RC, you just know what you're doing. Once you're familiar with your paint and products, starting with something that's too mild is just a waste of time.



If you *really* knocked yourself out with the washing, you could probably avoid 99% of your marring though. No way can I wash *anything* with just two mitts and the two-bucket method without inducing some kind of marring. And well, I won't comment on the QEW except to say that it's pretty much the conceptual antithesis of my approach to washing ;)



GDA4- Yeah, *generally speaking*, harder paints are more prone to chipping. The stuff Mazda put on the first batch of 3rd generation RX-7s was *HARD*, but it sure did chip easily. The S-H paint on Audis is sorta in the same boat.



Bill D.- Yeah, the windshields just have to be replaced every so often if you drive in certain conditions. But then I seem to replace them on any vehicle I keep long enough, and I never use the wipers on dirty glass (yeah, I'll pull over to clean the windshield before I turn the wipers on if I feel I oughta :o ).



Oh, rant regarding Audi glass: They had to replace the driver's door glass on the S8 after the "deer incident". Every new window they send has a visible "smear" in the UV coating from how it's packaged (presumably, contact with some packing material that stains it). Stoddard has ordered multiple replacements, called Germany, done everything they can, but they can't get me a perfect piece of door glass :angry One more reason I'm gonna let that car go when the new S8s come out.
 
That clears up the hard and soft paint issue for me. I was thinking, the softer the paint the more prone to chips and such. I guess the harder the paint, the less shock it absorbs, hence the chip in the paint. Got it

The windshield is another issue all of its own..:eek:
 
Yep, think of the paint as a precious stone or granite, they are hard but can still chip



Accumulator, I hear you on QEW being the "antithesis" of the technique we use but it sure is a whole lot better than subjecting one's car to a drive through car wash in winter. Perhaps multiple mitts, your "balloon technique" and QDing before drying can make it even more safe.
 
I gotta admit I'm just *so spoiled* when it comes to the facilities I have for detailing :o As a result, I'm pretty clueless/useless when it comes to how to wash without a heated garage.



Ever since I was a teenager, I've had some kind of heated, indoor garage where I could do my detailing. I was renting a garage/warehouse long before I moved out of my parents' house; I couldn't garage my car at night, but I could drive to my "shop" and detail it.
 
The hardest paint would be hardest to scratch, but easiest to chip. It would be hardest to correct too. I base this on extensive machine shop experience where we were always dealing with the hardness of metals and cutting tools. It just makes sense to me.



Mikeman out.
 
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