When enough is enough

[irsankao]

When you use rotary buffer and you don't have paint thickness gauge.
How do you know when enough is enough.

I have worked on severe water etching surface and I could actually feel the etching using my finger and I wanted to level the etching but
I was afraid that I would actually cut too much.

Eventually I got rid off around 85% of the etching and 90-95% of swirls this way.

I used 85 with wool pad with around 1000rpm, yeah the most abrasive combo. I haven't tried wet sanding yet.
The step as below:
85-4000 about 3-4 passes
83-7000 about 2 passes
80-8000 about 2 passes
80-9000 about 2 passes
26

How do you know if you cut deep enough already. What's the guide?

Also I want the rotary buffer how to DVD from SCG for christmas.

[cmd]

Re: When enough is enough

is 85% of the scratches and 95% if the swirls enough for you???? if not then it might be time to invest in a paint thickness guide. i would hate to see a burn through in your paint.. the very 1st time i used a rotary i burned the clear off a corner of my van. luckily it was my ride.now that ive learned were the clear is the thinnest and thickest its alot easier and i dont use a thickness guage. peaks are thin , valleys are thick , gaps and edges are very thin , trim is thin , flat panels are uniform in thickness to a point. some clears are harder than others. usually the more pricey the car the better the paint and the harder the clear (usually)

[Chex]

Re: When enough is enough

If you don't own a paint thickness gauge, you can do two things:

the first one is to ask the owner if he has ever sent his car to detailing. for example, since in Mexico people don't really care about quality detailings, they'll always send it to be compounded and waxed and who buffs it has liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle experience so imagine how poor most car washes and detailing centers do the job. and I'll not keep up the subject because most of our products also lack of quality (fortunately, there are companies who DO CARE about that)

the second thing is to make your own judgement about how bad is the surface and if you'll take the risk of working it. That usually takes time to master and I'm still on that track. the last time i used my compound was to remove very heavy oxidation from the clear of a silver ford escort. It didn't came out all, but at least it shined :P.

you'll know you've cut deep enough when you see sort of like a hole in the clear :P or the primer in a base coat , but i'd recommend you to ask the owner and in that way you'll be a little safer if you're using aggressive products.

***hey joe! can you chime in and post the thread about the paint removal please?***

hope this helps.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: When enough is enough

I have worked on severe water etching surface and I could actually feel the etching using my finger and I wanted to level the etching but
I was afraid that I would actually cut too much.

Eventually I got rid off around 85% of the etching and 90-95% of swirls this way.

I used 85 with wool pad with around 1000rpm, yeah the most abrasive combo. I haven't tried wet sanding yet.
The step as below:
85-4000 about 3-4 passes
83-7000 about 2 passes
80-8000 about 2 passes
80-9000 about 2 passes
26

After doing all of the above,

How do you know when enough is enough.

You've done enough. Time to live with the defects, it's not just about how much clear coat film build you're leaving behind for the moment, it's also about having enough clear coat film build to last over the service life of the car. (As much as is possible)

[jonny01blaze]

Re: When enough is enough

[QUOTE You've done enough. Time to live with the defects, it's not just about how much clear coat film build you're leaving behind for the moment, it's also about having enough clear coat film build to last over the service life of the car. (As much as is possible)[/QUOTE]


Thats perfect and great words to live by. I've learned this on my one car a 1999 Subaru Impreza. Looks fantastic but still has a few defects that are un removable due to clear coat problems. Its better to do less than more, because you can always go alittle further but you can go back and undo whats been done. Good luck with it. Probably still looks great!

[Snotty]

Re: When enough is enough

Id be very conservative with the machine buffer and stop as soon as any defects that would take too long by hand are gone. Then pursue excellence by hand.