Polishing downside?

M

Murrayhe

New member
I'm gong to have to use my PC + SMR again tomorrow (my second time since a year ago) to get out these damn swirl marks left by a "car detailing shop" who installed my bodykit. I told them specifically to not wash it TWICE but those monkeys did it anyways. :rolleyes:



Now, every time you polish a car, you're physically taking a thin coat of clearcoat off of your car. Is it bad to do this too many times? How many times is enough you think?
 
How much of the clearcoat am I rubbing off each time I do it? Put it another way, how many times can I do this before the clearcoat gets worn out?
 
LouisanaJeeper said:
It will not be a problem, especially since you are using such a mild polish, SMR. I would say up to 4 times a year is acceptable.
Click to expand...



4x a year for how many years? Is 8x ok in one month (or even a week) acceptable, as long as you don't do it again for the next two years?
 
Quote: Polishing downside?







~One man’s opinion / observations~



I offer this only as a guide, how long/many times you could polish with X grade abrasive is far beyond my capabilities:



It is preferable to polish 2-3 times to restore the paint film surface than to use an unnecessarily abrasive paint compound. Most modern vehicle paint film systems comprise; Colour coat 1-2 Mils (0.001-0.002 “), clear coat 2-3 Mils (0.002-0,003�) thickness, removing >10% of the paint film surface thickness (3 Mil - 0.003�) will cause premature paint system failure, and would require repainting.



As a point of reference a sheet of copy paper is 3.5Mil (0.0035�) thick





~Hope this helps~







Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
There's really no way to say what is/isn't safe for a given person's application. Sorry, but there are just too many variables. I'm usually cautioning people to take it easy with all the polishing, to err on the side of caution.



I've read that removing more than .1 mil of clear will cause premature failure. A strong abrasive, that's still considered appropriate for "clearcoat paint correction" (like AutoInt's Paint Correction Cream or Meg's Diamond Cut) can cut this much off in no more than 4 or 5 applications (even faster if not used properly- all those imponderable variables again).



But Oggle, what you're doing with the SMR is a LONG way from that sort of aggressiveness. Wash-induced swirls are almost ALWAYS shallow enough that they can be removed safely. In fact, *I* would get MORE aggressive and use something like DACP or at least 1Z Paint Polish or 3M's PI-III MG (pn 05937), maybe even something stronger than that. Get rid of the marring you have and then wash/dry carefully so you don't have to repolish very often.
 
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