Factory Paint Reference Guides

[jmitch8011]

Thank you for spending your time/resources to provide us with the information and your insights…/

FWIW-I have this info. book marked for reference (I don’t remember its source)

German and Japanese cars: 4-5 Mils (1 Mil=1000th of an inch)
With the exception of:
Lexus-White and Tan: 5-7 Mils, Lexus- Black and Silver: 4.5-6 Mils
BMW: Silver: 6-7 Mils
FORD: Approx. 5.5-7 Mils
GM Cars and Trucks: Approx. 4.5-6.0 Mils, Jimmys and Blazers: approx 7 Mils
Chrysler: Approx. 5.5-7 Mils (Note Sebring hoods are fiberglass)
Dodge Cars: Similar to Chrysler
Dodge Trucks and newer Ram Pick-ups: Cab approx. Mils and the boxes approx 9 Mils
Jaguar: approx. 6-7.5 Mils (but they tend to vary)
Jeep Grand Cherokee: These read approx. 6-8 Mils, Wranglers: approx. 4.5-5.5 Mils

I saw this while doing some research and wanted to know if this kind of information can be found in a collective manner on the web such as this person found in a book?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Factory Paint Reference Guides

Because the type and amount of paint being sprayed on cars at a factory level can change information like the above is just barely above useless...

Instead,

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

This will leave the most paint on the car for the future.

Make sense?

If you think about it, when it comes to you doing any kind of abrading work to a car's paint job, there comes a point where after you evaluate the owner and you feel comfortable working for them and you evaluate the finish and determine what it needs to correct any paint issues, well there comes a point where in your head and in your heart you have to make the "Go" or "No Go" decision and once you decide that yes you're going to work on the car then the only thing that matters in "that car" the one you're working on, not some other car measured some other place some other time ago...

Don't make the polishing process more complicated than it has to be....

[jmitch8011]

Re: Factory Paint Reference Guides

Thanks Mike, I was just reading through some of the old links and Joe has a post about removing .3 to .4 mils using a buffer with a wool pad. I did some more test spots on my trunk (scion tc) with the 151 and 80. I just didn't want to ahve a scratch free ride (almost) and look around and see I removed the clear coat. I know I haven't but it's my very first time at being able to acutally correct the paint to be flawless and I had some (what if thoughts creep in to my head).