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Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

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  • #1

    Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

    After doing some research on several online forums devoted to VW enthusiasts, I found several posts stating that VW clearcoat/paint is extremely hard. Is this true?

    I have a new BLACK 2008 VW Jetta. It is my first black car as my other two were white and easier for swirls and imperfections to hide. I want to take care of my paint as much as possible and I'm interested in adding the Dual Action Polisher to my routine. However, as a newbie to any kind of care other than what is done by hand, I'm fearful of damaging my paint due to my lack of experience. If VW paint is truly hard, will it be easier for me to do damage since I might have to make more passes with the polisher? Or, is it the opposite, if the paint is really so hard, will it make it easier for me to NOT cause any damage?

    I noticed some scratches (that lead me to this post) on my bumper around the license plate that I would like to remove. They are the kind that you have to be in the right light and you have to have your face very close to the bumper. I think the dealer might have done this when putting on the temporary plate...who knows. But, I know they are there and want them gone. I tried Scratch-X but being a beginner, I might not have applied it correctly because the scratches are still there.

    Thanks!
    Jenny
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

    Ok well first off Welcome to MOL and to answer your question I'm not really sure if it is common for VW paint to be hard ( it's been a while since i have corrected paint on a VW ) but i can help you in the other areas. I would recommend looking into a DA like Megs G110 and these machines are newbie friendly i guess we can say and it is almost impossible to damage the paint unless you use it improperly and or drop the machine on the car. As for the scratchX you want to remember to put some passion behind the pad ( elbow grease ) dont be afraid to put some muscle into it because sometimes it is required. You can use a foam pad for the application and if that is not working then you can step up to a terry cloth for a little more bite to help remove the scratch. Also remember when removing a scratch you are really removing the clearcoat around the scratch leveling the clearcoat or paint to the bottom level of the scratch.
    ""Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing - the result." - Vince Lombardi
    Jon's Premium Auto Detailing
    210-281-8151

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

      The best way to find out if your car's paint is hard or soft, or a better way of describing it would be "polishable", would be to work on it.

      The problem with that is the variable of "Skill Level" and "Experience" is hard to control.

      Each weekend when we teach one of the Saturday classes we don't know if the Demo Car has hard paint or soft paint but we know right after we apply ScratchX by hand one time.

      The reason we know is because we know the proper way to work the product against the paint and we have the experience to look at the results and tell if the paint is hard or soft by how many swirls and scratches we removed with one application of ScratchX

      Now how to teach people this using a keyboard and a camera is another thing.

      Here's what we type all the time and teach in our classes,


      "Generally speaking, modern clear coats are harder than traditional single stage paints"


      Another way of saying this with real world examples would be,

      "Generally speaking, the paint on your brand new VW is going to be harder than the original paint that came on a 1967 VW"

      What this means to you and I is that when we go out into our garage to work on our car's paint to remove swirls and scratches is that it's going to be difficult to remove swirls and scratches because the paint is hard and this means it's going to be hard to remove small particles of the paint [because its hard], which is how you remove swirls and scratches, you remove the paint surrounding them in an effort to level or flatten out the paint.

      Even if you find the paint on your VW easy to work defeats out of when you find them, it will always be easier, faster and more effective to remove swirls and scratches as well as simply apply wax, by using a DA Polisher like our G110 than to do it by hand.

      Think of the investment as a part of the overall investment of owning and maintaining any car.

      Mike Phillips
      760-515-0444
      showcargarage@gmail.com
      "Find something you like and use it often"

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

        Thanks Mike and Derrick for the advice that I'm sure you've give millions of times. Sounds like I need to get over my fear and invest in the polisher!

        Jenny

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

          Apparently the MKV (5th generation) of VW's has soft clear. I haven't polished mine yet so I cannot comment.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

            My daily driver is a Chevy and my baby is a Dodge. Their clearcoats are as different as night and day. The Dodge is very easy to scratch the clear, but easier to remedy (i.e. soft) and the Chevy well, it is so hard that the DA and #83 (one of the most aggressive products recommended for the DA) does nothing to its swirls.

            Hardness really is a relative thing. This one is harder than that one. My dad's Chevy is DA friendly, where mine as mentioned needs rotary attention. So even within brands, you can have variation.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

              Originally posted by Mindflux View Post
              Apparently the MKV (5th generation) of VW's has soft clear. I haven't polished mine yet so I cannot comment.
              If you have not physically brought your hand or a machine down onto the paint of your specific car and tested it to see how easy or difficult it is to remove a swirl or scratch, how can you make a statement that the paint on your car is soft?
              Mike Phillips
              760-515-0444
              showcargarage@gmail.com
              "Find something you like and use it often"

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

                Originally posted by jenebeka View Post
                Thanks Mike and Derrick for the advice that I'm sure you've give millions of times. Sounds like I need to get over my fear and invest in the polisher!

                Jenny

                Read through some of the comments made by people that have attended our Saturday class, many of who are afraid to machine polish but after learning how light the tool is, how easy it is to use and how safe it is have all moved up to machine cleaning and polishing.


                Pictures and Comments from the people that attend our Saturday Classes


                The biggest thing to remember is to not try to tackle an entire car when first starting out, just keep it simple like clean, polish and wax the hood. As you get experience you get more comfortable and then you can tackle more real-estate in the future.


                Mike Phillips
                760-515-0444
                showcargarage@gmail.com
                "Find something you like and use it often"

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

                  I recently detailed a 2004 VW Passat and the DA correctly most of the problems that the paint had. I remember that I used #83 & #80 both with the W8006 pad.

                  But like Mike said, you can't know for real if you haven't tested for yourself

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

                    Does the G110 come with a good instruction manual? I'm comfortable that it will be easy to use but I'm most concerned about developing the correct technique. Or, is this forum the best place to learn? If my car weren't brand new, I wouldn't be so worried about using the DAP correctly! Well, that's a lie...I would still care!

                    Thanks for all the help!

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

                      Originally posted by jenebeka View Post
                      Does the G110 come with a good instruction manual? I'm comfortable that it will be easy to use but I'm most concerned about developing the correct technique. Or, is this forum the best place to learn? If my car weren't brand new, I wouldn't be so worried about using the DAP correctly! Well, that's a lie...I would still care!

                      Thanks for all the help!
                      Your best bet is to pick up this DVD. I really can't say enough about how much that DVD taught me. Another good source of information is this thread. If you have any questions about anything feel free to post here, we are all here to learn and teach.
                      Scott

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                      • #12
                        Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

                        I would agree with Scott.
                        It's a very user friendly tool, you can't damage the paint, you just have to learn the techniques to get the best results
                        Time, dedication and practice will make perfect

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

                          Originally posted by jenebeka View Post
                          Does the G110 come with a good instruction manual? I'm comfortable that it will be easy to use but I'm most concerned about developing the correct technique. Or, is this forum the best place to learn? If my car weren't brand new, I wouldn't be so worried about using the DAP correctly! Well, that's a lie...I would still care!

                          Thanks for all the help!
                          Investing in a polisher is well worth the money as it will save you time and allow you to focus on the little things that make so much difference in how your ride looks.
                          Regarding the clear coat on A MkV that stuff is hard as heck. I have attempted to polish out some very minor swirl using M80 and even after 2 applications, and yes I did it the Mike demonstrates in one of his video, NOTHING. I have found that NXT will hide some of the very minor blemishes but I guess that it will take going up to something a little more aggressive then M80 but I’m not willing to take that step just yet at least on my GTI.

                          Here is my 06 GTI which is now 100% Meguiar's once again.

                          ---
                          Ignorance can be overcome but stupid lasts forever !

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

                            I also own a MKV VW Jetta GLI. Mine is a 2006. From personal experience using the PC 7424 same as G100, I have found that the clear coat of my VW is very very hard. I was not able to make any corrections using the PC and the M80. I stepped up to M83 and maybe, maybe I made a little progress on the area I was working. Again, not enough to make me tackle the entire car.

                            I do not pretend to be very experienced on polishing paint, but I have attended one of the Meg's Saturday classes and a couple Thursday open garages. So at least I have seen Mike first hand teach the correct way of using the G100 to polish paint. When I used the PC on my car, I tried to follow Mike's teaching as much as I could.

                            I believe, the best thing you can do is maintain your car's finish using Meguiar's 5 Step Paint Care System.
                            http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2409
                            The right technique of washing, and drying your car is very important to avoid swirls and scratches. Also, clay and use a paint cleaner if needed such as DC1. Polish using DC2 or M07 and finally add your favorite wax. Lately, I have been using NXT 2.0 and I have been very happy with it.

                            Good choice with the car. I love mine!
                            Last edited by Piku; May 13, 2008, 01:08 PM. Reason: Spelling

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Is VW clearcoat/paint extremely hard?

                              Originally posted by Mike Phillips View Post
                              If you have not physically brought your hand or a machine down onto the paint of your specific car and tested it to see how easy or difficult it is to remove a swirl or scratch, how can you make a statement that the paint on your car is soft?
                              On my specific car, I have no bearing. On other cars of that generation such as my buddies 06 Jetta lend to my idea that the clear is soft(er). Others seem to think the same.(with the exception of the two posters above)

                              I can't imagine how much clear can change from one model to the next in the same company. It's not like comparing a Ford paint job to a Chevy.

                              Comment

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