Thin Clear Coat Daily Driver - Check Me

[GotoDengo]

This summer I bought a 2011 Black Infiniti G37 Sedan that was somewhat neglected -- etchings from various things, some too deep to safely remove with wet sanding (done in August by a good local detailer). I don't expect a flawless finish, but I do want to get the best look I can while preserving what CC I have.

Proposed maintenance:
PC DA polisher (finishing pads and MF only);
Poor Boys Black Hole (fillers and no abrasives, right?);
Collinite 845 wax;

I've lurked for awhile and this combo seems to have worked for several people.

Thanks for any advise you can give.

[flatstick]

This summer I bought a 2011 Black Infiniti G37 Sedan that was somewhat neglected -- etchings from various things, some too deep to safely remove with wet sanding (done in August by a good local detailer). I don't expect a flawless finish, but I do want to get the best look I can while preserving what CC I have.

Proposed maintenance:
PC DA polisher (finishing pads and MF only);
Poor Boys Black Hole (fillers and no abrasives, right?);
Collinite 845 wax;


I've lurked for awhile and this combo seems to have worked for several people.

Thanks for any advise you can give.

how bad are the defects in the paint ? can you get us some pics maybe ? I am just thinking of protecting the original cc with the following thoughts...Since the clearcoat is thin you could use a non abrasive paint cleaner followed by a ipa/ carpro eraser type wipedown. from there you can use a coating to take the daily washing bird bombs etc. you can even wash and apply the Pinnacle coating booster every few washes to keep the coating going strong.if you are trying to hide a lot of defects then the coating would not be your best option and you may want to go the glaze , wax route to conceal or lessen the defects.

[Charleston]

I think if you have a very thin clear, it is time to add a Opticoat or something along those lines. You need a thicker superficial barrier.

[GotoDengo]

I know nothing about it, so I'll start looking into it.

Thanks for the tip.

[GotoDengo]

My photo ops will be limited for a while but will upload when I can. I don't know anything about coatings, so I'll start researching it.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[allenk4]

Why do you think the Clear Coat is abnormally thin?

[GotoDengo]

My detail pro wet sanded it and told me no more polish. He's an old guy -- very experienced but low tech. So I haven't tried to have my paint measured. I just assumed it's now pretty thin based on his advice.

[The Critic]

Just remember, that model year has scratchshield paint. There's a label under the hood that should confirm this.

This will make paint correction quite challenging since any heat that is generated during the polishing process could potentially activate the self healing feature...

[GotoDengo]

Just remember, that model year has scratchshield paint. There's a label under the hood that should confirm this.

This will make paint correction quite challenging since any heat that is generated during the polishing process could potentially activate the self healing feature...

It does have scratch shield. But my detailer did a nice job with it. I'm ok with the remaining defects (I saw it before buying); I just want to minimize the avoidable minor swirls and things without further compromising the paint. Rather have blemishes than repaint a panel or hood.

[allenk4]

I wonder what affect wet sanding has in "Scratch Shield"?

Please post some pictures of your paint. Close-ups and sun shots please