34 - 68 micron thick paint, too thin to polish?

[lane5515]

I have a Highline II PTG and used it today on our 2014 Honda Odyssey. We bought the van brand new 2 years ago. On the hood I took about 20 readings and they all ranged between 34 and 68 microns. The front two fenders came back with almost identical readings. From the passenger/drivers doors back, the readings ranged from 95 to 124 microns. I calibrated the meter after each round of reading because I thought something might be wrong with it. I also used it on another vehicle and got appropriate readings (all over 105 microns).

The van has never been machine polished before or even run through an automatic car wash. I always 2 bucket wash it and the only thing that has been done to it is WGDGPS a couple times a year. I was about to polish it with HD Speed or CP Essence to clear up some minor swirls/marring but now I'm really concerned about the hood and front fenders.

Is the paint on the hood and front fenders too thin to use a DA polisher? What can I do to remove light swirls/marring from these areas??

 

[craigdt]

Did you take paint readings on the inside of the door wells? Hopefully it's not clear coated and you can do some quick math to see how thick your clear coat is. I can't fathom how it's that thin... do you have signs of clear coat failure? Was the van brand new when you bought it?

That being said... I would never feel comfortable polishing paint that thin.
But it all depends on your expectations for that vehicle.
I'd anticipate that you can get very good results with a nice glaze and LSP on the thin areas.

 

[Mike lambert]

Honda paint is painfully thin factory. I have seen several new ones with 2.5 mils . A polish and finish will be fine

 

[Rsurfer]

Did you take paint readings on the inside of the door wells? Hopefully it's not clear coated and you can do some quick math to see how thick your clear coat is. I can't fathom how it's that thin... do you have signs of clear coat failure? Was the van brand new when you bought it?

That being said... I would never feel comfortable polishing paint that thin.
But it all depends on your expectations for that vehicle.
I'd anticipate that you can get very good results with a nice glaze and LSP on the thin areas.

Honda paint is painfully thin factory. I have seen several new ones with 2.5 mils . A polish and finish will be fine

If my math is correct, 2.5 mils is 63.5 mic which is scary thin. Although not unusual to have different reading from panel to panel..to get 95-124 readings on the doors back sounds like someone used a wool pad and compound on the hood and front quarter panels. I would do as "craigdt" suggested and take readings from the door jams/under the hood to get some idea of how much clear coat you have to work with.

 

[RPM_BR]

Unfortunately, these readings seem to be the new norm for cheaper, popular cars.
I've been coming across regularly with readings in this range, 50 to 120 microns, and for some strange reason the hood and roof seem to be even thinner, 45 to 75 mics.
I thought it was a Third World trend for maximizing profits.
Probably they are saving as much as they can in the plant, and since cars are sprayed mainly by robots nowadays, they can control precisely, thus skimming us even further.
If you look closely, with trained eye, you don't need a paint meter, the clearcoat shows tiny tiny holes, like the cc had been perfurated with needles used in diabhitis control.
Recently a customer brought me a brand new Fiat Grand Siena for new car prep, and the readings were low as the OP mentioned, and roof and hood had tiny perfurations as I said before.
The guy was so proud and happy about his new purchase, that I felt really bad about telling him the truth. I coated it with PBL Surface Coating after 3401, black hybrid and Menz 4000.
If this is a new world trend, it is a bummer.