Paint clearcoat

Capra

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If you regularly clay and polish will you eventually remove the clearcoat? Is the clearcoat resin that thick and tough that it would be very difficult?
When you have body pannels repainted do they use clearcoat?
 

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Yes you can remove the clear coat eventually.
No it's not that thick and tough it's very difficult. It's not easy but not difficult either depending what's being used.
Yes when panels are resprayed they put on new clear coat too.
 
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Yes you can remove the clear coat eventually.
No it's not that thick and tough it's very difficult. It's not easy but not difficult either depending what's being used.
Yes when panels are resprayed they put on new clear coat too.
Ok thanks. I suppose if you did remove this in places it could be bad?
 

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If you were using an electric polisher, yes very easy to remove the clearcoat...and not only the clearcoat, but the actual colour coat too, anywhere near door, wing edges, or lines.
 

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Flat panels resist pretty good but raised creases on bonnets etc are much easier to get through.
I think clay and polish are not that likely to get through providing the clay is properly lubed and only used on pre-cleaned panels.
When you say polish, do you mean putting a protective coat on the bodywork or using a cutting compound to remove scratches?
When you get paint colour on your cloth, you know you went too far ;)
 
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Flat panels resist pretty good but raised creases on bonnets etc are much easier to get through.
I think clay and polish are not that likely to get through providing the clay is properly lubed and only used on pre-cleaned panels.
When you say polish, do you mean putting a protective coat on the bodywork or using a cutting compound to remove scratches?
When you get paint colour on your cloth, you know you went too far ;)
I did a detail this summer and did use a mild cutting compound. I asked the question as I need to go back and take out some of the swirls that remained. But we start off using swirl remover then something like AG dark polish.
 

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I did a detail this summer and did use a mild cutting compound. I asked the question as I need to go back and take out some of the swirls that remained. But we start off using swirl remover then something like AG dark polish.
To remove swirls after machine polishing, use as soft a polishing head as you can find, and as fine a compound as you can fine. Finish off with a good hand polish, using very soft cloths.
 

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In addition. If you use a random DA rather than a rotary polisher, its much harder to burn through clear/colour. On the flip side though, its much harder to remove bad defects and will take longer, so double edged sword.
 

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In addition. If you use a random DA rather than a rotary polisher, its much harder to burn through clear/colour. On the flip side though, its much harder to remove bad defects and will take longer, so double edged sword.
But double edged swords are more likely to leave swirl marks than single edged swords.
;)
 

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But double edged swords are more likely to leave swirl marks than single edged swords.
;)

I never have any issues with swirls :p

But I use hexlogics pads and a very fine final polish that I suspect many leave out. It has no cut paired with the black pad. Just removes swirls.
 
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I never have any issues with swirls :p

But I use hexlogics pads and a very fine final polish that I suspect many leave out. It has no cut paired with the black pad. Just removes swirls.
I have a DA polisher with a single foam pad, I do need to pick up some different grade pads.
 

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I have a DA polisher with a single foam pad, I do need to pick up some different grade pads.

In a word yes, the amount of cut is down to the combination of the pad and the polish.

I am selling in classifieds just about the finest, least cut polish one can get .. it needs a very soft fine pad.

Sure one could do it quicker with a finishing polish and a finishing polishing pad.
I am just paranoid As I dont want to reduce the clear coat.
Remember the clearcoat has UV protection in it and that generally settles near the top of the clearcoat.

On my car it averages 129mu and under the bonnet 68mu so possibly the clear coat is 61 mu ... that 61/1000 of ONE mm, so call that 6/100 of a mm. Hence you can see why I want to preserve every micron of clearcoat.

I was told you need at least 4 pads per stage to do a car.
And thats for each stage you do like compound, finish polish, final uber gloss jewelling polish.

Personally I would rather even just round over the edges of any minor swirls, than cut deeper and eradicate them and the clearcoat!

From my research ... if you are even asking the question “do you need more than one pad”, I would do some extensive reading into machine polishing before even going near the car.
E.g. if you use one pad for compound polishing, then the same for finish polishing, and then again for final gloss polishing .. I think you would wet yourself if you checked with a Paint thickness Guage before and after.
Plus the paint residue and crud picked up in the first compound polish would probably grind some hideous swirl marks in on the final polish ... and look a lot worse than when you started.

From what you have said you have done already .. the most I would do is say take that Ultrafina SE final gloss polish I am selling ( or max. Some Menerva 3,800 ) and get a couple of Rupes Ultra Soft Fine finishing foam pads and give it a final gloss up.

But then I am an uber cautious bugger, and I dont want to take a perfectly good car and end up needing a full respray.

Great quote from one of the true scientific type Masters Kevin Brown “Never forget, every pass you make you are removing paint that can never be put back”.
Look up buff daddy ....
he appraoches it in a scientific way as opposed to these utube morons who I wouldnt let polish my lawn mower!

Do you have a PTG?
Did you buy the car new i.e. know if it has been machine polished before??
I was comforted that both my PTG and the local Mercedes Bodyshop indicated that my car has never been polished or resprayed.
Note Mobilo warranty classify new paint as between 80 and 135 microns paint total thickness.
 
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In a word yes, the amount of cut is down to the combination of the pad and the polish.

I am selling in classifieds just about the finest, least cut polish one can get .. it needs a very soft fine pad.

Sure one could do it quicker with a finishing polish and a finishing polishing pad.
I am just paranoid As I dont want to reduce the clear coat.
Remember the clearcoat has UV protection in it and that generally settles near the top of the clearcoat.

On my car it averages 129mu and under the bonnet 68mu so possibly the clear coat is 61 mu ... that 61/1000 of ONE mm, so call that 6/100 of a mm. Hence you can see why I want to preserve every micron of clearcoat.

I was told you need at least 4 pads per stage to do a car.
And thats for each stage you do like compound, finish polish, final uber gloss jewelling polish.

Personally I would rather even just round over the edges of any minor swirls, than cut deeper and eradicate them and the clearcoat!

From my research ... if you are even asking the question “do you need more than one pad”, I would do some extensive reading into machine polishing before even going near the car.
E.g. if you use one pad for compound polishing, then the same for finish polishing, and then again for final gloss polishing .. I think you would wet yourself if you checked with a Paint thickness Guage before and after.
Plus the paint residue and crud picked up in the first compound polish would probably grind some hideous swirl marks in on the final polish ... and look a lot worse than when you started.

From what you have said you have done already .. the most I would do is say take that Ultrafina SE final gloss polish I am selling ( or max. Some Menerva 3,800 ) and get a couple of Rupes Ultra Soft Fine finishing foam pads and give it a final gloss up.

But then I am an uber cautious bugger, and I dont want to take a perfectly good car and end up needing a full respray.

Great quote from one of the true scientific type Masters Kevin Brown “Never forget, every pass you make you are removing paint that can never be put back”.
Look up buff daddy ....
he appraoches it in a scientific way as opposed to these utube morons who I wouldnt let polish my lawn mower!

Do you have a PTG?
Did you buy the car new i.e. know if it has been machine polished before??
I was comforted that both my PTG and the local Mercedes Bodyshop indicated that my car has never been polished or resprayed.
Note Mobilo warranty classify new paint as between 80 and 135 microns paint total thickness.

I will be buying some additional pads, but I am in no rush at the moment to detail again, I will leave for a while now. The car was 5 years old when I picked it up.
Why do you need 4 pads were compound, is this because each pad can pickup residue from the car and damage the clear coat further?
 

Submariner1

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I will be buying some additional pads, but I am in no rush at the moment to detail again, I will leave for a while now. The car was 5 years old when I picked it up.
Why do you need 4 pads were compound, is this because each pad can pickup residue from the car and damage the clear coat further?

In a purist world you need to work clean.
After 1/4 of the car the pad will start to clog up, with polish and paint residue and say stuff you missed claying it, and dust from the air unless you have a clean room. What you want is a clean pad and clean polish.
Hence the change. Or you could stop the job and clean the pad and let it dry out!
In your case of one pad, it would also mix polishes and gradually add crap from each panel. Plus Any debris can scour the next stage.
 
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In a purist world you need to work clean.
After 1/4 of the car the pad will start to clog up, with polish and paint residue and say stuff you missed claying it, and dust from the air unless you have a clean room. What you want is a clean pad and clean polish.
Hence the change. Or you could stop the job and clean the pad and let it dry out!
In your case of one pad, it would also mix polishes and gradually add crap from each panel. Plus Any debris can scour the next stage.
Thanks Sub, makes sense, I don't know what I was thinking :rolleyes:
I'll definitely get some new pads, thanks.
 


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