The big deal about thin paint.

[qwertydude]

This is the reason why more than ever it's important to preserve paint thickness and why even a just a few compoundings can significantly reduce the thickness of paints. Early 90's I remember some OEM paints were thick enough to wet sand safely to remove orange peel. Talking 250-300 microns plus! Those were the days.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wet-...-thickness.html

Now with some paints you're down to 90 microns. That is thin. No room to wet sand and you better have a paint thickness gauge if you're a professional or are advocating or advertising getting paint "perfect". Once you get rid of the defects it's impossible to tell how much more paint you're removing without one.

A micron or two here and there didn't mean much when you had 200 microns of paint. Now a micron or two can mean the difference between excellent paint life and peeling clear. This is especially true of the more advanced clears with harder top layers than bottom layers. Wear them out and watch the paint life drop to less than the car's payment plan. Yikes!

 

[Donald]

Maybe my 2X a year basic waxing is a good plan after all?

 

[qwertydude]

Absolutely. I myself only finish polish once or twice a year along with plenty of waxings, usually alternating with a cleaner wax like NXT 2.0 to help reduce defects and Collinite to offer maximum protection after the NXT 2.0 wears off.

The less you polish the better. Frequent waxings though is a benefit, spray waxes help in that regard. Perhaps switching to Collinite or another durable wax or sealant after the "correction waxing" with the cleaner wax wears off will help extend the looks of your paint without resorting to a full on polish.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: qwertydude
Absolutely. I myself only finish polish once or twice a year along with plenty of waxings, usually alternating with a cleaner wax like NXT 2.0 to help reduce defects and Collinite to offer maximum protection after the NXT 2.0 wears off.

The less you polish the better. Frequent waxings though is a benefit, spray waxes help in that regard. Perhaps switching to Collinite or another durable wax or sealant after the "correction waxing" with the cleaner wax wears off will help extend the looks of your paint without resorting to a full on polish.


I agree. That's why I prefer products like Collinite 476 or Insulator wax which doesn't contain any cleaners for a new vehicle. Then as the vehicle ages I'll use different products as needed. So far I haven't used anything other than Rejex or the Collinite products mentioned above on my 08 Jeep, and the paint is as good as new.

 

[matrass]

could not agree more. you see all of these posts on the detailing forums of people compounding , wetsanding and polishing multiple times a year, not a good idea. so you have the perfect finish on your daily driver, eventually it is going to get scratched and scuffed more , then what ? some defects are just too deep and if you want the finish perfect you are removing too mu cc. a light polish from time to time is ok, better yet ( in my real world experience with customer cars ) using a paint cleaner that is not really abrasive is great way to keep the car looking good without losing your CC.

 

[jimbrewer]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Maybe my 2X a year basic waxing is a good plan after all?


I think so. I'm astounded at all the recreational grinding that goes on. The implication is that you might want to borrow a thickness gauge with you when you go to look at that shiny used car.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: qwertydude
Now with some paints you're down to 90 microns. That is thin.


Considering the average human hair is 100 microns thick I would tend to agree.