Thin Paint (to buff or not to buff?)

[Cosmin]

not sure if is the right place to post.
i measure paint on a black 08 audi TT , paint is in medium/bad condition , swirlcity.
the inside door is 72 microns , and on hood i have a good 1 ft line along the hood that is thin 76 , 80 , 90 .
my question is going with polish pad and 205 on g110 pressure on first 3-4 passes in speed 6, fallow by finish pad + 205 on g110 , will help me correct or reduce the swirls , everything else around the car is "normal" numbers , but 76 with inside door 72 is kind of scary. rotary is out if question.
any advice or comments... , thank you

[Markus Kleis]

Re: thin paint

Have you consulted the owner? I would notify them first, and get their opinion on whether or not they want to risk burn through.

You may want to go for closer to perfection where the paint allows, and do a single pass with M205 and a finishing pad to simply add some depth and gloss (and remove light wash induced haze).

Do you have access to a gauge that gives readings on layers? Ie so you know how much of that is clear coat.

PS, I added a little more description to your title and moved it to Detailing 101.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Thin Paint (to buff or not to buff?)

That is some very thin paint! Are there any visual clues in that long area on the hood? You definitely should speak with the car owner and point this out because those number sound as though there's almost no clear left in that area on the hood. Perhaps he knows of a bad scratch at some point prior that was heavily compounded to remove.

[the_invisible]

Re: thin paint

I guess that's where filler products come in handy. Probably for the reasons you stated, the expensive European polishes and waxes usually come loaded with fillers lol...

Do you have access to a gauge that gives readings on layers? Ie so you know how much of that is clear coat.

Does such a tool really exist? Do you know where I can find one?
I ordered a cheap paint gauge tool, but it's probably too cheap to be capable of that.

[Tim Lingor]

Re: thin paint

I guess that's where filler products come in handy. Probably for the reasons you stated, the expensive European polishes and waxes usually come loaded with fillers lol...




Does such a tool really exist? Do you know where I can find one?
I ordered a cheap paint gauge tool, but it's probably too cheap to be capable of that.

The only one I am aware of is the one below but it is for non-metal and is over $2000.00. Even good ETG/PTG's used for measuring paint over metal are usually around the $500 USD mark...

PosiTector® 200 Series

http://www.defelsko.com/p200/positector200.htm

Otherwise, the ETG's only measure overall paint thickness. So while that information is important, it only really helps if you have a base number to reference off of.

Tim

[Cosmin]

Re: thin paint

the owner know about the thin spots on hood , was dark when i measure so not sure if the thin area is visible. that hood will have clear coat failure. all around the car is 100+ , so normal.
my question 205 polishpad fallow by 205 finish pad? g110
or only 205 finish pad ? and not sure what glaze will help Red moose glaze , meg #3 , klasse aio , PRC , Poli-seal , as wax #20 has some cleaners it may help? (i ask with this products , is what i have now on shelf)

thank you

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Thin Paint (to buff or not to buff?)

M205 on a polishing pad with a G110 should remove so little paint as to be immeasurable, and you probably wouldn't need to follow with a finishing pad. Whether that is also enough to remove the swirls, though, is another story. You may find a couple thin applications of M07 Show Car Glaze does a good job of concealing any finer defects left behind, then top it all with some NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0.