I posted this question in another thread, but I don't know how many people have read it and I would really like some insight... This is the one detailing item that I don't fully understand so I was hoping you guys could enlighten me a little. What micron reading is considered to have plenty of clear coat to work with? What micron reading is considered too small to even try to compound or polish? Thanks in advance.
There is no hard number to look for, and as most paint meters tell overall paint thickness it is hard to tell how much clear you have. There is a few things that can be done, take paint readings in door jambs, under the hood as those areas will have less clear coat sprayed thus you can get a measure of how much clear the rest of the car has on average by looking at those lower readings and subtracting that from the average thickness of the panel in question you get a ballpark number of how much clear is left. Numbers I do not know, but I would say if overall paint thickness is around 100-120 micron you are pretty safe, if it is in the 90s you are good as well for thinner paint systems, below 75ish be careful. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in, I know DaveKG has a great thread in the university section about paint thickness you may want to check that out.
Here are two good threads that should answer your questions: http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f37/assessing-paint-thicknesses-ptg-10015.html http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f37/paint-correction-what-you-should-considering-10078.html
