How many times polishing a finish is too many?

I'm sure this is extremely variable depending on multiple factors (clear coat depth, stage of paint, chemicals used, pads used, etc), but I can't say I've ever seen this addressed.


For example (hypothetically speaking), with a brand new car, could you essentially do maintenance PC work every weekend for a year straight without any negative effects?

What is the most you have polished the same car?

 

that's a good question. way to many factors to even speculate on something like that. I wouldn't say you could go at it ever weekend. Your ideal goal would be to properly maintain the vehicle so you don't need to use any aggressive compounds. You want to keep things so that you can just blas your car with some Menz 106 or power finish or something like that.

 

If you were using a pc with a black pad and 106FA weekly, it would be months before a PTG would see any difference in thickness.

 

Interesting I always wanted to know if there was a suggested limit. But since every vehicle has a different paint depth it really matters on that more than anything I would say.

 

Too many variables... just too many...

 

It all depends on how thick is your paint and how many microns you are removing each time you polish. PTG is a must!

 

unless u got super powers to knock on the paint and by the frequency it returns gives u the thickness and... ok nvm please continue

 

Thanks guys.

I really want a PTG; wish I had the cash.

 

I'll sell you my highline II in a few weeks... I'm upgrading.

 

PTG is your friend. Just keep track of what you take off every time you correct, and try not to use anything more agressive than necessary when you correct. I say don't worry about it unless your already has unusually low paint depths to begin with.

 

Maybe cause I'm a noob but I don't get the question. I polished my car several months ago. Granted it's a Benz 2010 but with a bi-weekly washing and detail with an occasional Oro, fusion, power lock topping when I get the urge but the paint always feels like it's in perfect condition and I wouldnt polish her cause there is no reason to. So why would anyone want too polish /kill a perfectly good paint job every week?

 

I think the OP was just asking hypothetically, how long would his paint last. You wouldn't polish your car weekly, or even monthly for that matter.

 

Have a 04 Infiniti and in the beginning I must have polished every month or two using mainly SIP and 106..just trying out different buffers and combos of pad and polishes. Started out with about 110 mics. and 6 yrs. later have about 90 mics. Infiniti's are known for soft paint, but as you can see very little clear gone in 6 yrs. And yes I don't use any aggressive polishes anymore...don't have too.

 

well i would begin to be cautious from now on if i were you with only 90 microns left.

 

Yes...this was all hypothetical.

Thanks for the replies.

Don't tempt me bro...I need to save for my wedding in October.

 

and then you'll haev less to spend on detailing goods too!
But i think i should figure a way to use a microphone to measure the thickness of paint... im pretty sure theres a frequency associated iwth the paint that gives off how thick it is
Itd be like smash your iphone onto the paint for measurement LOL
actually that would be bad, but i think there should be some relation between the knock knock trick and the frequency it emits
any physists here?

 

that would be near impossible because every panel will have a different resonate frequency. Maybe you could figure it out if you had a perfectly bare panel and then a painted one by calculating the change in resonate frequency due to mass loading (the paint) the panel.

 

Most vehicle paint film systems (127 - 178 µ) which comprise a Primer coat of 2Mils (50 µ) and a Colour coat of 1-2Mils (25 -50 µ) and Clear coat 2-3Mils (50 - 75 µ) a surface scratch that will `catch' your fingernail is approximately 0.04 Mil (1.0 µ) deep will usually require wet sanding and refinishing.

Generally speaking the clear coat makes up 50% of the total paint thickness. The paint system is split 50-25-25% please note that this is a very general approximation
Measure the inside of door; this will give you an approximation of the paint system minus the clear coat. The difference between readings inside the door and on the exterior paintwork gives the thickness of the clear coat) it should be noted that some vehicles do not have a clear coat)

Removing more that 0.5 mil (12µ) of clear coat will cause premature paint film failure as the ultra violet (UV) protection percolates to the top of the clear coat, there is ultra violet (UV) protection all the way through the paint, but the majority of it migrates to the top of the clear coat along with the thinner solvents and particles.
Therefore removing clear coat ultra violet protection is not a linear process; by removing a small percentage of the clear coat paint tends to remove a larger percentage of UV inhibitors. So once you remove too much clear coat you'll have no paint UV protection other than what you apply with a LSP

Environmental Damage

The rate of environmental exposure that negatively effects (clear coat) paint varies widely with ambient conditions (UV radiation, Environmental Fall-out, paint protection used, etc) but an approximation of 0.005Mil (0.13µ) per annum is about average; protective coatings polymer sealants, wax, etc), being renewable are meant to be sacrificial (it is subjected to oxidation, thereby by saving the clear coat)

Paint Removed by Polish / Compound

Using a medium abrasive polish and a rotary polisher will remove approximately 0. 1 Mil (3µ) from the paint surface (typically 4 passes at 1500-1800 RPM) but there are many variables such as polish/compound and speed / pressure used that may affect the paint removed) There comes a point when you must judge wither removing a scratch will compromise the clear coat and if so you’ll have to ‘live’ with the imperfection.

If you have reservations about the amount of paint surface removed or the amount of paint coating remaining the use of a paint thickness gauge (PTG) is arbitrary
Paint thickness will often depend upon the OEM paint specification, which can vary by vehicle assembly plant. It’s interesting to note that painters must now demonstrate proficiency with an electronic paint thickness gauge in order to become certified to perform paint refinish warranty work for General Motors Corp. (GM) vehicles.

These numbers are offered as a guide only, as there are too many variables to provide any more than an approximation.

How much paint are you removing? -How much paint are you removing. - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online