Lifespan of Clear Coats

[06CivicSi]

On average how many times can you polish your clearcoat before it is gone??? I know there are many variables like the abrasiveness of the product and how thick the cc is. Just curious about the lifespan and if i should wait till i get many swirls and take them all out at once or take them out as they appear.
Thanks!
Blake

[supercharged]

There is no universal anwer to that question. It all depends on how you wash your car, where you live, climate and so on. You can take out rotary and remove all clear coat at once if inexperienced. To get the longest life from clear coat is to wash it once a week, and wax it once a month with quality products. That means no Black Magic, Turtle Wax, or Armor All.

[FloridaNative]

I agree with Supercharged. The factor's that your car is exposed to will determine the life of the clear coat much more than just polishing alone. Is it garaged or outside 24/7, do you live near the ocean or a construction site, bird bombs, tree sap, the intensity of the sun all of these things can wreak havoc on a car's finish.

A car's clear coat is measured in microns. Most car's have a clear coat between 2-4 microns thick. Polishing with a dual action polisher like the Porter Cable removes very tiny amounts of clear coat (a fraction of a micron) whereas a rotary can remove alot more alot faster.

As in all things in life an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and keeping your car clean with proper washing habits, and protected with a high quality wax, sealant or both will go a long long way to protecting your car's clear coat.

[P1et]

I've read somewhere that you can properly polish agressively for about 30x times before you have to start watching yourself.

[killrwheels@autogeek]

there are far to many variables to ever answer that question. Environment, polish, abrasive quality, original measuring of clearcoat, heat, UV, rubbing, drying, washing, claying and every other abrasive move.

so polish it till you see color (well unless single stage) and then sell it or have it repainted.

[supercharged]

Use a foam gun to wash with DP Xtreme foam formula shampoo or Poorboy's SS&S and a high quality sheepskin mitt. Use a quick detailer every time you dry your car.
With this you will at very worst cases need to polish your car 2-3 times a year, unless it's black. Now with 30x that should be 10-15 years.

[06CivicSi]

Thanks for all the replys! yes my car is black. and it really bothers me that it has very faintly started to swirl in direct sunlight. i will wait till it gets to the point where i cant stand it any longer and then i will remove. i need to order a foam gun and a pc. what is the best shampoo to use? also what is the best method to use when drying?

[killrwheels@autogeek]

Originally Posted by 06CivicSi

Thanks for all the replys! yes my car is black. and it really bothers me that it has very faintly started to swirl in direct sunlight. i will wait till it gets to the point where i cant stand it any longer and then i will remove. i need to order a foam gun and a pc. what is the best shampoo to use? also what is the best method to use when drying?

you have some loaded questions :

Light Swirls --- if you are worried about using an abrasive polish, then temporarily fill or hide them with a glaze. Vanilla Moose and Megs 7 work very well on black.

Soap --- to date I still prefer Poorboys Suds to any other soap. DP does make a soap specifically for foam gun with lots of suds, but it has some light streaking in hot Florida sun.

Drying --- on black cars I have a regimine for drying without swirls. First I blow dry most of the water off the car with my electric leaf blower. I then spritz each panel with a good qd'er+ (Pinnacle Crystal Mist , Poorboys Spray and Gloss, Clearkote Quickshine, FK425, Z6) and wipe off the final water and spray with my Guzzler WW towel. The qd'er adds some lubrication so towel does not rub hard against the finish, and I never do circles. Straight patterns. Try it ...