Buffing too much ?

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Inverted

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I have a 2019 Tacoma TRD pro. I went off-roading and wanted a quick clean, so I went to an automatic car wash. What a mistake, tons of scratches from the brushes (see pic )

i bought a Bauer DA polisher, Meguiars 105 compound and Meguiars polish. I used an orange pad with the compound and a blue pad with the polish.

Long story short: I removed the damage. But it took many many many passes to do it. Part of the reason was that I was learning as I went along. See “after pic”

Now my question: How do I know if I’ve done too much and depleted the clear coat? I see no visible signs. But I’m concerned that if I need to buff in the future , it will go through the clear coat. I may have done 10+ passes on some areas with the orange pad and compound
 
First, welcome to AGO. :)

Second, I think you found out the hard way about the Swirl-o-Matic crap washes.

Third, Any DA polisher is safe to use on your paint to remove swirls. Did you remove clear coat in the process? Yes. But that is the nature of polishing.

Did you remove enough clear coat to damage (or burn through) it? Highly doubtful if you used it in the way it was intended. (In fact, DA polishers are designed to stall if too much pressure is applied.)


Stay AWAY from those automated truck/car washes, and you will only need the DA for light correction in the future. :)
 
It might be very well worth it to learn how to wash your truck yourself without instilling marring. If you take the time to search, you will find many posts about processes for doing it.
 
The only way to know is to 'measure' your paint/clear with a Paint Thickness Gauge. (PTG)
 
Sizzle Chest said:
The only way to know is to 'measure' your paint/clear with a Paint Thickness Gauge. (PTG)
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This is 100% correct.

Scott (Sizzle Chest) is a professional detailer.

I was just going off you having a 2019 truck.
 
Going forward I would highly recommend using a much milder approach to polishing out your truck. Just because there are some marks doesn't mean you need to go straight for a compound and cutting pad.

Toyota paint is very soft and very easy to correct. You'll be very surprised how easy you can correct the paint using a milder, white pad and a polish like Megs 205 or similar. For my wife's highlander I've never had to use a compound to remove scratches and heavy marring which were much worse than what you pictured. I was also able to fix most of the damage on my father-in-laws Tacoma from a run-in with a garage door using mostly a finishing polish. The compound was only needed on the really bad places.

Using a much more gentle solution will allow you to still correct if/when needed, but remove much less paint.
 
If you buffed only enough to remove the swirls evident in the pictures, then you don't need to worry about taking off too much clear. If you buffed way more than was necessary to remove the swirls then that's a different story.

You could probably do that process 20 times, or more, (if done correctly) before having any real clear-coat concerns.

I know of all the talk around here about how thin clear-coats are, and that is true, but the clear-coats are also pretty robust and will withstand many polishing cycles. The more experience one has the clearer this becomes. Those with little experience tend to be a bit over-conservative and maybe even a little paranoid.
 
As others have said, chances are your clear is fine and if you’re really concerned with it, but a PTG. Really good units run into the thousands while you can get some go-hum units for a couple hundred bucks.
 
Thanks. Looking for some guidance on measuring the paint thickness. What is the best tool for this for the money ?
 
Inverted said:
Thanks. Looking for some guidance on measuring the paint thickness. What is the best tool for this for the money ?
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Buy this 1. It can be found on Ebay for less than $15 bucks. I guarantee you it works. It comes with plates/sheets to calibrate it that undoubtedly prove it’s accurate.

1c88f7df2a911ee6d3333f579600b2eb.jpg
 
Wow that’s a leap in technology from the one I have that cost like$200. If mine goes, I’m getting one of these!
 
Eldorado2k said:
Buy this 1. It can be found on Ebay for less than $15 bucks. I guarantee you it works. It comes with plates/sheets to calibrate it that undoubtedly prove it’s accurate.

1c88f7df2a911ee6d3333f579600b2eb.jpg
Click to expand...

At what gauge reading do you need to start worrying about polishing off the clear coat?

Or better yet, how many mills can you loose with an aggressive compound/pad and a DA polisher?
 
Avant said:
At what gauge reading do you need to start worrying about polishing off the clear coat?

Or better yet, how many mills can you loose with an aggressive compound/pad and a DA polisher?
Click to expand...

Excellent question, was wondering the same thing....
 
PTG's are a gimmick in my opinion. Unless you spend thousands on a unit that will measure clear-coat thickness you are still guessing.

They way I see it... Who cares how thick the overall coating is? Primer, basecoat and clear-coat. Unless you separate and measure each layer independently, what's the point?
 
Avant said:
At what gauge reading do you need to start worrying about polishing off the clear coat?

Or better yet, how many mills can you loose with an aggressive compound/pad and a DA polisher?
Click to expand...

I say this somewhat jokingly, but not really... I start worrying when I can’t get a reading. Or bearly any reading at all.
That’s when the red flags come up
It’s usually times like those when you really begin inspecting the paint with a closer eye to figure out what could be the cause... Usually it’s due to a re spray or different material body panels, etc.

The only true and complete way to measure paint is having kept measurements from day 1. [that’s pretty rare] Knowing what the measurements were from the start to the current day is the only true way to get a close idea of what you’re really dealing with. Otherwise you’re hoping based on an overall measurement that at least some of it is clearcoat.

But getting a somewhat substantial measurement helps assure you in comparison to not being able to get a reading at all [or very little reading].
 
To the OP: Saw your post on the Tacoma forum. I too have a Tacoma (a 2018). My wife has had five of them. I don't know how many times I have used a DA polisher on these trucks. Mostly just with a polishing compound. So far you apparently have done no damage. Not an ad for Meguiar's, but I have used their products almost exclusively for over 40 years...both the professional line and consumer line. I trust these products to do a good job. Stick with Meguiar's Ultimate Polish and you will be staying in "safe territory". I usually use one of the newer thin polishing pads on my DA polisher. For the "tuff" scratches, I use Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. One thing that has not been mentioned...be darn careful when polishing close to edges. The paint is much thinner in these areas. Some detailers even mask them off. Is is possible to burn through clear cost with a DA polisher? Yep, been there done that on an edge. Just enjoy your truck. Avoid automatic car washes and bush busting off roading if you want to keep that pretty blue truck lookin' good.:xyxthumbs:
 
Inverted said:
Thanks. Looking for some guidance on measuring the paint thickness. What is the best tool for this for the money ?
Click to expand...

The PTG is an instrument that reads the total thickness from the metal to the top of the paint layers. Do a search on Mike Phillips articles on paint thickness. The gauge will NOT tell you the amount of clear coat left. As Mike tells it, a single sheet of a sticky note is thicker than your clear coat over your color paint layer. So using the PTG you will see a pattern that will vary where you read on the car surfaces.

I agree that most likely you are still safe but using a compound like 105 is aggressive and that you are still likely safe but can do this only a few times and you will see the clear coat starting to degrade if left in sun a long time. KEEP your truck protected at all times is my advice, my son's old Tundra cost me $2500 to remove the paint on the hood and cab because it went too long without care.
 
Thanks guys. Didn’t realize 105 was so aggressive. I’ve gone over the truck with a fine tooth comb and haven’t found really any evidence of damage.

I did find a few “imperfections” in the paint however. However, I’m not sure these are from a buffer. They appear to be imperfections in the finishing process. It looks and feels like a pimple and can be felt with a fingertip. I saw the same imperfection on the hood of a new Tundra on display at the dealer. Has anyone seen these ?
 
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