Possible to polish TOO MUCH?

[filphil]

I had a question for Killrwheels and he answered promptly. I wondered if it's possible to polish TOO much. My understanding of polishing is the removal of a minute amount of clearcoat from the paint in order to reduce the chances of the light catching that scratch so that we may see it.



Hi Killr,

Since you have that special @autogeek tag on your name, I'm assuming you're special:cheers:!

Well I have a question. I'm VERY likely getting a 2008 Honda fit in orange. I bought a porter cable kit and some xmt polishes. My plan is to order the XMT 360(since I missed that in my previous order. I have XMT SR 1,2,3 and the finishing glaze.) and use the ccs blue pads to minimize the cutting properties of the AIO all over the car. I plan on doing this to the car often, say every 2-4 months with 3 being average. So about 4 months a year I'll be doing a LIGHT polishing followed by WG spritz sealant and Pinnacle Spray Wax, each two coats. I feel that should be adequate as long as I QD often and apply the liquid wax bi-weekly and the sealant bi-monthly.

That's just a little background. The REAL question I want to ask is if there is such a thing as to TOO much polishing. The PC 7424 claims to be user friendly, no doubts about that in my mind as long as I keep moving and don't isolate the PC in one area for too long. Hypothetically speaking, how often do I have to use XMT products(namely the 360) to harm the paint? I'm afraid that I'll be over zealous with the paint polishing and damage the car's finish. I'm one of those people that will look at a single blemish and beat myself forever.

Abrasive polishing can remove a very small area of clearcoat, and doing so many many times can reduce its effectiveness. That said, polishing with a light polish (finishing) and using the correct wash and drying techniques will not provide any appreciable harm. XMT 1 is a finishing polish.

AIO products do contain some polishing benefits, but not significantly more than a standard finishing polish. Some also contain chemical cleaners (like Klasse AIO) which are not even abrasive, well more so than the average wiping.

I polish 3 times a year on average, always starting light and moving to heavier pads and polishes only as necessary and have yet to remove all clearcoat and touch the color coat.

Your idea's sound good, and you have a clear plan. Follow it, and likely only need one real polishing session yearly (XMT 3, and 1 together) and most the other time either AIO or Finishing polish will keep paint looking new. And yes Random Orbital Buffers are much safer but more patience is required. Best of luck ..

Scott

Although he may have missed the part where I mentioned that I was questioning the cutting ability of the XMT360, he pretty much answered my question in regards to damaging the paint. I figured that I may as well post this on the forum because I don't see many people asking it, possibly because my situation of getting a NEW car and doing this 3-4 times a year is a unique case because of it's condition. Although I know that the question really depends on which car a person talks about, I figure the BEST way to evaluate this and get my own answer is to buy a paint thickness gauge and measure the paint.

Here's a thread where "oldmodman" performed a test on his scrap panel. Sanding, somewhat obviously, did the most clearcoat removal while the compound with a wool pad on a rotary removed a single micron of clear coat!

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-forum/13340-paint-thickness-gauge-cheapo-harbor-freight-first-test-results.html

Although I may have answered my own question, I'll hopefully(Note hopefully) be doing a test just like "oldmodman" in order to quantify the xmt360.

Also are there any suggestions anyone wants to add to Killrwheels comments?

IS THERE SUCH THING AS POLISHING TOO MUCH?

First I need to get the car and second I need to get the cleaning supplies. I'd ask for suggestions on what to buy, but we'll leave that for another thread =D

[blacknblu]

filphil – I’m unable to speak to the abrasive qualities of XMT360, but I’m sure too much of anything isn’t a good thing. The good news is you can get a polish that will remove the defects from your paint, and not just cover them. You will be pleasantly surprised how easy your weekly cleaning is once you have the defects removed. 15 minutes every other day (Megs QD spray) and 1 hour week maintenance (wash, dry, Crystal Mist), and my car looks as good as it did after I polished.

Maintaining your car will likely alleviate the need for an abrasive polish once it’s time to burnish the shine. As killrwheels mentioned, XMT 1 won’t provide any appreciable harm, and you can step up to more aggressive products depending on the paint correction needed.

I was used to spending 10+ hours a sitting every month detailing my car with OTC products. I bought the Flex 3401 intending to cut my time in half. In correcting the paint imperfections (webs and swirls), I no longer endure marathon sessions. Simply stated, with quality products and routine, you probably won’t need to polish as often as you expect. Just my 2¢ - Did this help?

[filphil]

filphil – I’m unable to speak to the abrasive qualities of XMT360, but I’m sure too much of anything isn’t a good thing. The good news is you can get a polish that will remove the defects from your paint, and not just cover them. You will be pleasantly surprised how easy your weekly cleaning is once you have the defects removed. 15 minutes every other day (Megs QD spray) and 1 hour week maintenance (wash, dry, Crystal Mist), and my car looks as good as it did after I polished.

Maintaining your car will likely alleviate the need for an abrasive polish once it’s time to burnish the shine. As killrwheels mentioned, XMT 1 won’t provide any appreciable harm, and you can step up to more aggressive products depending on the paint correction needed.

I was used to spending 10+ hours a sitting every month detailing my car with OTC products. I bought the Flex 3401 intending to cut my time in half. In correcting the paint imperfections (webs and swirls), I no longer endure marathon sessions. Simply stated, with quality products and routine, you probably won’t need to polish as often as you expect. Just my 2¢ - Did this help?

Yes, that does help. Considering this car will be my daily driver, worrying about small scratches and lesser calibur problems is just too obsessive for my tastes. Obviously, I'll still work on the car with qd's and the like. That spurs more from the need/want to touch the car as a car enthusiast which I assume many, if not all, members on this board are.

[trhland]

i asked member(toto) on this forum in a p/m the same quistion and he said hes polished one of his trucks i think it was a pathfinder. anyway hes polished it for many years and checked the clearcote thickness and it didnt have a measurable difference!!

[filphil]

Thank you trhland for your input. Although that can be very reassuring, there are other variables to consider that killr and black both mentioned such as washing/drying techniques, abrasive properties of the polish, pad use, car, etc.

From the input I've received and the reading I've done from websites other than this site, a person shouldn't worry about this if he/she can correctly gauge which polish is appropriate for the condition of the car.

[ScottB]

as I offered prior ... using proper washing and drying techniques will help to avoid the need to polish. That and using the least abrasive method to clean paint (sometimes a chemical paint cleaner is all thats needed) will have you dressed for success for many years without issue.