Getting the Maximum Gloss

G

Grabby

New member
I'm going to refer to Paul Dalton here so please don't bash this topic before it even started. :spot I'm going to ask if what he claims is actually true.



I remember reading on his site (or somewhere who quoted him) that to get a maximum gloss across across a panel, there should only be a difference of 2 microns in regards to paint thickness across the board when measured with a paint depth gauge. How true is this?



Thanks.
 
The more even the paint is at the microscopic level the better the gloss and reflection will be. Look for some of TH0001's click and brags. He explains it too.
 
Wonder how to deal with RIDS...no way I'd thin the clear on an entire panel down to the depth that's left after taking out a RIDS.
 
my thought exactly accumulator. I guess those are instances where you DON'T acheive that 'maximum' gloss. But, is more than 2 microns of difference really noticeable (besides using a PTG)???
 
I guess we are only talking about brand new cars or newly painted cars that are pretty much flawless.. This cant be meant for a DD :) Fix the swirls and damage you can without thinning the paint all the way and be happy with the gloss you acheive is my 0.2 cents. going anal on something like this will likely do more harm than good.
 
Paul Dalton and Todd work on exotics or custom paint. Generally custom paint will be much thicker and flatter than paint applied on the assembly line.
 
wannafbody brought up a *very* good point! I measure all sorts of variations on my vehicles, even the factory original sections (and it's not like the A8/S8 are cheaply built cars). A *really* nice paintjob would be a whole 'nother ballgame.



dublifecrisis- As long as the variation is somewhat gradual and not a case of peaks-and-valleys in a small area, I would *GUESS* that it's just not a big deal. But OTOH, I *can* tell where paint, even just *clear* has been blended into a panel (astounds my painters when I do this :D ) and maybe the whole thickness issue is part of what I'm picking up on.



This stuff ends up being *so* subjective and the subjects are all different...most people I know, even "car people" who are heavily into the concours scene, don't see stuff that I consider obvious. The final burnishing/jeweling step that makes all the difference for me (even on our daily drivers) is utterly transparent to them...they simply can't tell if I've done it or not. So when we take this thing even farther, and start talking about *microns*, well, I dunno :think:
 
Considering that pretty much every vehicle (even cars hand painted) have a certain amount of orange peel, it's pretty much impossible to achieve maximum possible gloss without tons of sanding and clearing. There's really no appearance difference between a panel that has a clear thickness variance IMHO. There's no difference in looks between a panel that has 5 mils of clear compared to one that has 50 microns(1 mil = ~25 microns). Creating max depth, gloss and reflectivity through polishing(burnishing/jeweling) is achieved with correcting the finish completely 1st and working down the pad/product abrasiveness scale and focusing on the final finishing steps.



Palt Dalton claims to level paint in his multi-step detail process, but is he actually sanding any vehicles, especially multi-million $ ones and making them totally flat?
 
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