Safe to level CC on new Toyotas ?

R

regal

New member
Is it safe to wetsand or use the KBM to level the clearcoat on the orange peal full OEM Toyota Yaris paint jobs or would you not risk it?
 
Absolutely not! Factory clear, especially on new Toyota's, is unbelievably thin and the risk of damage is assured. Even if you managed to wet sand all the orange peel out without going through the clear, you would still be left with a clear coat that would be much too thin to protect the paint. Premature clear coat failure would be your end result.
 
Is this consistent for all models or just certain makes and years?



Just concerned on polishing a 2005 Corolla.



And when you mean low, approximately how low is it?



Thanks for the heads-up.
 
No car detailing is worth the loose of the clearcoat in order to remove orange peel. I'd bet a very high % of all cars have orange peel. Regards
 
MDRX8 said:
No car detailing is worth the loose of the clearcoat in order to remove orange peel. I'd bet a very high % of all cars have orange peel. Regards
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The only cars that don't have it are MAYBE high-end exotics. All of your average cars have orange peel, and you just have to live with it. If you sand it down, expect to be paying for a new paint job in 6 months.
 
Nice to see so many saying to err on the side of caution (not that I really do think it's an error).



Inexpensive cars often/usually have very thin clear.



And yeah, most cars have orangepeel and it's something you generally oughta live with. My Audis, despite all the hype about the robotic painting at the factory :rolleyes: have really nasty orangepeel; for what the S8 cost I woulda expected it to be a lot better.
 
Orange peel hides the defects on the actual metal of the body panel itself, if you were to take it off, you would see dings, waves, valleys, all the defects that came from the factory. Orange peel is just an easy way to hide it, so that's what they do.
 
Orange peel hides the defects on the actual metal of the body panel itself, if you were to take it off, you would see dings, waves, valleys, all the defects that came from the factory. Orange peel is just an easy way to hide it, so that's what they do.
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Where are you getting this information?
 
Flashtime said:
Where are you getting this information?
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From a guy who's car I detailed. He used to work at a GM factory, he showed me a lot of different stuff about body panels, how to tell if it's been in an accident, repainted, etc.
 
I tend to think orange peel is a "byproduct" of the factory painting process - not an intentional goal to hide defects of stamped/formed sheet metal. Just my opinion.
 
mborner said:
Absolutely not! Factory clear, especially on new Toyota's, is unbelievably thin and the risk of damage is assured. Even if you managed to wet sand all the orange peel out without going through the clear, you would still be left with a clear coat that would be much too thin to protect the paint. Premature clear coat failure would be your end result.
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I'll be putting this theory to the test soon with my next new car. I'll be removing a substantial amount of factory clear (more than 1/2 mil) and will be washing regularly with Dawn. It will also be parked outside 24/7 in the hot S. FL sun. We'll see how long before failure will set in??
 
I tend to think orange peel is a "byproduct" of the factory painting process - not an intentional goal to hide defects of stamped/formed sheet metal. Just my opinion.
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That would be more than just an opinion.
 
David Fermani said:
I'll be putting this theory to the test soon with my next new car. I'll be removing a substantial amount of factory clear (more than 1/2 mil) and will be washing regularly with Dawn. It will also be parked outside 24/7 in the hot S. FL sun. We'll see how long before failure will set in??
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Interesting test, please keep us updated :)



In the name of science and curiosity its a significant test.
 
David Fermani said:
I'll be putting this theory to the test soon with my next new car. I'll be removing a substantial amount of factory clear (more than 1/2 mil) and will be washing regularly with Dawn. It will also be parked outside 24/7 in the hot S. FL sun. We'll see how long before failure will set in??
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Why bother? I mean yea, it's a really neat idea that will net you 5seconds of internet fame, but other than that, it's a lot of work for something that won't change what you or anybody else does.
 
efnfast said:
Why bother? I mean yea, it's a really neat idea that will net you 5seconds of internet fame, but other than that, it's a lot of work for something that won't change what you or anybody else does.
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:dohSorry you feel that way. Sanding the horizontals flat really isn't that hard if you use a DA sander. I think alot of people would like to know if removing X+ clear will lead to paint failure. I personally don't think this or washing with Dawn will cause any problems, but there's only 1 way t find out.
 
Darkstar752 said:
Orange peel hides the defects on the actual metal of the body panel itself, if you were to take it off, you would see dings, waves, valleys, all the defects that came from the factory. Orange peel is just an easy way to hide it, so that's what they do.
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I'd have to agree with this as it does make sense. Have you ever look at the side panels on the new Yukons? :D



The higher end cars tend to have smoother paint, but I'm sure this is an added costs to the car manufactures, which is probably why the lower end cars look like crap. The Clear on my fiancees RL was like glass compaired to my TSX.



You can safely level factory paint to a degree, but it will leave you with little to no room for future corrections that may be needed.
 
hmm, so what I learned is that if you see paint that has a bit of orange peel...definitely be careful.

If you have a paint gauge, measure to check how much CC is there to work with if one is available.



Regardless, take caution and remove as little as possible.

And if the car was detailed before by someone else, also need to be careful because you might have even less CC to work with.



Unless the previous detailer was using a ton of glaze/filler... :)



Did I mis-interpret or miss anything?



Great thread.
 
This is a very interesting subject :





I tend to agree with David regarding clear removal and paint failure .

Since I discover this site some time ago I was eager to try what I was learning and the ton of product that I was adquiring at a very rapid rate . So my 94 Toyota 4x4 pickup was my learning board(have 3 other cars) . I have buff it so many times trying different products , different foams and different machines that in some panels you can clearly see the primer . That was 2 1/2years ago and until today no paint failure yet . Here in Chile (Santiago)we have some nasty pollution in winter and from November until late May sun in the low to mid 90´s . My truck sits outside 24/7 . I only drive it maybe once every 10 days .

I thought for sure the paint would fail . To my surprise it has not . I can tell you guys the hood aerea is 100% free of clear . Actually looks really good .

I will repaint the truck in November just because I will give it to my son .:xyxthumbs



I hope this makes some sense .



Cheers , Jean Paul
 
jpochile said:
This is a very interesting subject :





I tend to agree with David regarding clear removal and paint failure .

Since I discover this site some time ago I was eager to try what I was learning and the ton of product that I was adquiring at a very rapid rate . So my 94 Toyota 4x4 pickup was my learning board(have 3 other cars) . I have buff it so many times trying different products , different foams and different machines that in some panels you can clearly see the primer . That was 2 1/2years ago and until today no paint failure yet . Here in Chile (Santiago)we have some nasty pollution in winter and from November until late May sun in the low to mid 90´s . My truck sits outside 24/7 . I only drive it maybe once every 10 days .

I thought for sure the paint would fail . To my surprise it has not . I can tell you guys the hood aerea is 100% free of clear . Actually looks really good .

I will repaint the truck in November just because I will give it to my son .:xyxthumbs



I hope this makes some sense .



Cheers , Jean Paul
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Are you sure you even have BC/CC paint? Being a '94 it's possible it's single stage paint.
 
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