Polishing thin paint

[cheeseman]

Hi all,been away for awhile,it's good to be back.I'm looking for some advice if possible.I will be working on an older car that has quite thin original paint(Metallic),so i don't really want to remove any material when polishing.I have experience with M7,(i love the stuff) and M81 and i was thinking about using M81 via the DA to improve gloss and also fill any defects,rather than any correction work.Do you think this is the way to go? or should i infact do a gentle polishing using say M82 first?

[Murr1525]

Re: Polishing thin paint

If real thin, you may want to go by hand. Those products would be good, something with a mild cleaner wouldnt hurt like the Ult Polish, M82, applied gently of course.

[Redefined]

Re: Polishing thin paint

Is this a single stage paint your working with?

[cheeseman]

Re: Polishing thin paint

Thankyou for your repliesRedifined,it's an older Metallic paint finish,1985 PPG i believe.I'll need to have a look at the Ultimate Polish,sounds very good.I think that my main objective would be hiding the light marring that's in the paint,rather than trying to remove it,so i really want something that can be used on a frequent basis,before topping with M16.Does the Ultimate Polish have a filling effect,or should i stick to M81/7.

[Murr1525]

Re: Polishing thin paint

The wax would probably hide more than the polish. But since #7 has the most polishing oils, it would likely hide more the most for a polish.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Polishing thin paint

If you know the paint to be very thin and you're happy with a fair bit of filling, then a little M82 on a finishing pad, used lightly, followed by multiple hand applications of M07 and then wax is probably the best way to go. As long as you're easy on the M82 with a finishing pad, and you stay off high spots, sharp body lines, etc you'll be taking off almost nothing paint wise, mostly just rounding off corners of light swirls.