Without using a PTG..

Bullitt AK

Bullitt AK

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how do i know if its safe to polish a vehicle? not knowing how much the vehicle had been polished in the past, repairs, etc. because eventually if polished too much you will affect the base coat even if its not complete strike through?
 
even with a PTG i still dont see how you could tell how much clear is left...if all your doing is assuming that a certain amount of clear remains
 
Bullitt AK said:
even with a PTG i still dont see how you could tell how much clear is left...if all your doing is assuming that a certain amount of clear remains
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Right, that's why there are more expensive PTG's that'll read layers. Im the MAN
 
yes but obviously most people cant afford it and 99.99% of people who regularly polish autos arent going to have one thats 3k..so you just polish and hope there is enough clear left? because to my understanding the affects wont even be apparent until later unless its a complete strike through
 
Bullitt AK said:
yes but obviously most people cant afford it and 99.99% of people who regularly polish autos arent going to have one thats 3k..so you just polish and hope there is enough clear left? because to my understanding the affects wont even be apparent until later unless its a complete strike through
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Yeah, in the end you're running a numbers game. Chances are most cars aren't going to have problems with cutting through the clear but when you do that's what you have business insurance for.

Honestly I don't see too many people bring up actually having this problem. Either they don't have it often, or aren't admitting it.
 
well im just using a PC instead of a rotary too..
 
Mindflux said:
Right, that's why there are more expensive PTG's that'll read layers. Im the MAN
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Paint thickness gauges that read layers only work on non metal bodied cars. Unfortunately one is not available yet for metal bodied cars that I know of.


John
 
Bullitt AK said:
even with a PTG i still dont see how you could tell how much clear is left...if all your doing is assuming that a certain amount of clear remains
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In most cases the door jambs, inside the trunk or under the hood will have the thinnest clear coating on the vehicle. After many PTG measurements on several areas of the car you should get a pretty good idea of what you have to work with. Don't ever assume that a single panel is uniform. Measurements on my 2004 Prius hood run from 79-136 mils. Measurements on my 2010 fusion hood run from 197-212 mils. The Fusion is Pearlcoat, I would like to measure that coating thicness with one of those multi-layer gauges,
 
detailjohn said:
Paint thickness gauges that read layers only work on non metal bodied cars. Unfortunately one is not available yet for metal bodied cars that I know of.


John
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Interesting, I did not know that.
 
here is something from another forum as an approximation...is it a good guideline to use?

Using a medium abrasive polish and a rotary polisher will remove approximately 0. 1 Mil (3µ ) Range 0.8 – 1.1 Mil (20 – 28 µ) from the paint surface (typically 4 passes at 1500-1800 RPM)

A paint thickness reading of 4 Mil < ( 100 µ (Microns) is reasonably safe for polishing. 3 – 3.5 Mil ( 80-90 µ) I wouldn't use anything stronger than > 2000 grit polish, 2.75 – 3.0 Mil (70-80 µ) > 2500 grit polish and under 2.75 Mil (70 µ) use a glaze.
 
200 mils would be insanely thick! Cutting through .5 mils of clear is usually considered risky and can lead to clear failure. Are you sure you are reading that PTG right?
 
lol pretty sure he means microns not mils..and im pretty sure they have ones that can read multi layer on composites so maybe for corvettes, viper gts or other high ends that arent metal....
and judging by the approximation that i posted how can you tell what grit a polish is?
 
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