How to tell how long to compound

[hoyt66]

My sons friend was over with his black Lexus. Someone keyed the deck lid and spoiler and he tried to " scotch brite " it off. I went thru the paces and got it 90% corrected. I was afraid to burn thru the clear. I could still on some places feel the scratches. It looks way better but not up to our standards. Is there a good rule of thumb without a paint gauge to tell where your at? Thanks

[Setec Astronomy]

Yeah, stop now. You said you got 90%...if he's not a Geek it's going to be swirled up again in a week, don't risk burning thru.

[hoyt66]

Yeah, stop now. You said you got 90%...if he's not a Geek it's going to be swirled up again in a week, don't risk burning thru.

He's def not a geek. It really opened his eyes to how good black can look. The deck lid and spoiler look awesome. He's from out of town and leaving In the morning or I'd do the whole car for him. Thanks

[AutowerxDetailing]

LOL @ trying to scotch brite away the scratch... :doh:

I think you mentioned the answer within your question. If you can feel the scratch, it's too deep to safely remove. It will need to be filled with touch-up paint in order to be completely repaired.

I've been playing a lot with my microscope and have learned that a certain width scratch (the kind you can feel with your finger nail) cannot be safely removed. Below is an extreme close up of the paint on a brand new Tesla with severe RIDS along every single panel. I measured each scratch with special software to determine which ones were worth chasing. This is one that obviously was not going to be removed with any amount of wet sanding or compounding. I typically assume each scratch is 1/2 as deep as it is wide and then can estimate pretty quickly which ones will be removed and which ones won't. Overall BC/CC on this particular section was only like 80-90 microns IIRC.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/MS_Scratch.jpg

[Setec Astronomy]

Wow talk about a scientific approach...don't let Paul Dalton steal that one from you.

[hoyt66]

LOL @ trying to scotch brite away the scratch... :doh:

I think you mentioned the answer within your question. If you can feel the scratch, it's too deep to safely remove. It will need to be filled with touch-up paint in order to be completely repaired.

I've been playing a lot with my microscope and have learned that a certain width scratch (the kind you can feel with your finger nail) cannot be safely removed. Below is an extreme close up of the paint on a brand new Tesla with severe RIDS along every single panel. I measured each scratch with special software to determine which ones were worth chasing. This is one that obviously was not going to be removed with any amount of wet sanding or compounding. I typically assume each scratch is 1/2 as deep as it is wide and then can estimate pretty quickly which ones will be removed and which ones won't. Overall BC/CC on this particular section was only like 80-90 microns IIRC.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/MS_Scratch.jpg

Great info. Thank you.

[AutowerxDetailing]

Wow talk about a scientific approach...don't let Paul Dalton steal that one from you.

Haha, I don't do this all the time for every car. Usually I use the tried and true fingernail test. Sometimes things just get out of hand with all the high-tech detailing toys I have now. :buffing:

[spence]

Nick,

Could you post a link to microscope and software you purchased ?