Hard / Soft Paint Correction
Paint finish type will also vary between single stage, base coat clear coat (it’s important to be able to differentiate between these paint types as methodologies / products vary) metallic, and Tri-coat pearl paint finishes, which all vary in density (hardness)
Experienced detailers can evaluate paint condition quickly and accurately but they still perform a test spot to make sure they choose the right methodology. Experience with different OEM paint density and colour will teach you that no two vehicle paints, even the same marque and paint colour are the same. Paint correction is a complex process with many variables,; polisher, type and abrasive level of pads and polish or compound, speed and pressure used, and etc
Dense (Hard) paint - is very resistant to correction; if you see very little change on your ‘test’ providing you are using an appropriate polish / pad combination and proper technique and you’re seeing very little correction you've got fairly hard paint.
When dealing with less dense (soft) paint, your ‘test panel’ looks far from perfect most neophyte’s are under the impression that they need to get more aggressive. Nothing could be further from the truth, even though the finish may not look all that great, it is an improvement from where they started. Usually a less dense or intermediate density (soft or medium soft) paint will result in really bad hazing.
Really dense (hard) paint- (DuPont's SupraShield™, PPG's Optech™ and CeramiClear™) - will rarely haze; it’s usually very unresponsive but will show signs of improvement after a few passes
Paint Test- using a cleaner wax and a clean micro fibre towel on a clean paint surface, lightly abrade the surface, if the towel shows the paint colour it’s single stage paint, if not it’s a base coat-clear coat paint
Some paints will finish with just a single pass; others will finish with a ‘haze’ that requires that you 'finish' with a less abrasive pad / polish combination.
Low Density (soft) paint - there are some paints that have a very low density (very soft) paint that allow swirls and micro marring, etc to be removed easily but it just appears dull and flat no matter what you do. A very gentle approach is called for in those cases, requiring a uniformly applied pressure across the pad / backing plate
Test Panel
Select a ‘typical’ 18 x 18 – inch area -one that represents the type of defects that you want to remove and starting with the least abrasive polish and / pad combination and then proceed until the defects are removed. This is the polish / pad combination you’ll need to use. Selecting the correct pad / polish combination for the vehicles paint / defects can take just as long as the paint correction process
