Question about DACP

[chip douglas]

Hey all,

anyone has any idea how many passes with DACP, it'd take for one to break through the paint coat of a single stage paint (roughly). I'd like to know in order to *best* get an idea of it's abrasiveness in real situations. I know it's ranked 6 out of 10, on the abrasiveness scale, but I'd like a more practical idea of it, from people that have much practical experience with it.

Best...

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Chip,

There is really no way to tell when you'll breakthrough the color coat to the primer with any product, especially with a cleaner/polish that is as gentle to the finish as #83 DACP.

A couple of notes:

1) There is no way of knowing how much paint is left on the surface and if it's evenly covering all areas. If this car is older, and other people have detailed it before you, there might not be a lot of paint left. What if it's been detailed a dozen times in it's life? If it's a newer car with single stage paint, you still don't know how much paint is left. A paint thickness gauge can tell you the total film-build, but not the actual thickness of the color coat.


2) Variables such as type of pad, speed setting, how hard you push could affect how aggressive any product is.

Meguiar's philosophy states,

Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

In the Professional Line, this would be #9 Swirl Remover 2.0

If you were to make a couple of light passes with #9 on a soft finishing pad like the W-9006 at a slow setting with light pressure and you were to buff through the color coat, this wouldn't mean Meguiar's products were aggressive, it would mean there was only a whisper thin layer of paint on the car and in this case, anybody's product applied by machine would have went through it.

I know this isn't the answer you're looking for, but there is no way I could say,

"5 passes your safe, with 6 passes you'll go through".

That's impossible.

Hope this helps a little...

Mike

[chip douglas]

Thanks Mike,

I get your point, and thinking about it the way you put it, there's just no way to know indeed.

Have a nice day

Best...

[Mike Pennington]

Hi Chip,

There are way too many variables to even make a guess at the number of passes before "burn through"

For example;
1) Pad type
2) RPM's
3) Downward pressure
4) Arm speed
5) Factory paint (thickness)
6) Repaint (thickness)

Overall, DACP is not a very aggressive product when compared to other true compounds. DACP is a cleaner/polish. This means light cleaning and lots of polishing characteristics.

Keep in mind, there are paint thickness gauges that help determine how much material you're removing. So considering a factory paint that has never been buffed has about 1.5 - 2.0 mils of top coat, you can then begin to use this machine to determine where you're at when removing material.

You always need to be sensitive to these concerns. We always recommend using the least abrasive method possible to get the results.

Mike Pennington
Meguiar's Inc.