Clear Coat Protection

[Jonah]

I have a 2007 Black Honda Accord. Very pleased with results of using Wolfgang Twins to remove swirls and light scratches. However, it seems that the clear coat (on the hood anyway) is "extremely" soft and vulnerable to any kind of scratching/damage. Very discouraging after spending an entire weekend working the finish.. Is there any kind of product that will offer some protection?

[HeavyMetal]

The only thing you can do is use one of the new paint coatings like CQuartz or Opti-coat that are scratch-resistant. Notice I said scratch-resistant not scratch-proof.

[OCDetails]

Sealants and waxes only make the paint bulletproof from UV rays and light protection against atmospheric contamination. Nothing I've ever used or seen can actually help prevent swirls. Even if something was out there that could prevent swirls on the paint, what prevents swirls on that product? You could wrap your car in clear vinyl and perfectly protect your paint, but then you'd have swirls in the vinyl to content with. Swirls are just a part of having a car. This is why I don't have a black one. Sorry brother. The best you can do is just be careful in your washing and drying technique and don't let anyone else wash it.

[Jonah]

Thanks for the quick replies... The paint isn't worth the expensive sealants..(too many rock chips) The scratches were caused by the driver (wife's leather purse).. I will have to give her the "keep off the grass" lecture..lol and my future is clear

[watson1000]

Jonah , i have a 2008 Honda accord and it is the worst car I have owned for getting rock chips, the front end of my car looks like somebody sandblasted it !!!!!!I wish Honda would do something about their paint .

Glenn

[jakesdad]

How do I find out how hard or soft the manufacturers clearcoat is? I know things change over time but how do I find out what was used during a certain model year or several years?
I'm looking to find out what the qualities were on the late model Porsches.....(2009)

Hard or soft?.... thick or thin?.... good or bad? Whatever?

[OCDetails]

Paint is a funny beast. The paint on my 2005 Legacy was just as thick as it was on my 2003 Pilot, but it scratched just by looking at it. I could hit a brick wall with that pilot and not get a scratch, so I really don't think paint thickness has much to do with it. I do know they changed the VOC standards around 2004 ish, so cars painted after that have come out with very fragile paint.

[Jonah]

Watson1000, I have a 2003 Honda Accord (Gold) with 4x miles as my 2007 and it has almost no nicks and very few scratches...so there may be some weight in what OCDetails says about paint quality changing... I haven't had a chance to detail the 2003 and really get a hard look at the swirls under the lights...but def less paint nicks.