What color paint

[Kabitz]

Hi guys
I want to start practicing with my Hercules forced rotation DA.
What is the best tattle tell color to learn on...also what type of clear coat hard soft etc ?

Thank you
Gary

[2black1s]

Black! No if's, and's, or but's about it.

As far as hard vs. soft goes, generally speaking it's easier to remove defects from softer paint but it can be finicky getting to the final finish. Hard paint is typically just the opposite... it takes more effort to remove the defects but it's a little easier to achieve the final finish.

[opie]

^^agreed with 2black1s.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[Desertnate]

Black! No if's, and's, or but's about it.

As far as hard vs. soft goes, generally speaking it's easier to remove defects from softer paint but it can be finicky getting to the final finish. Hard paint is typically just the opposite... it takes more effort to remove the defects but it's a little easier to achieve the final finish.

To add to this, I'd say a solid/piano black, not metallic. The metallic flakes can make swirls harder to see and the way it reflects light while polishing will make it harder to see your work and evaluate the results.

As for paint hardness, for the reasons given here, I don't think there is one answer. Both take a totally different approach and you'll need to learn both. My approach to my Japanese cars is totally different from how I handle the German cars I've owned.

[Kabitz]

To add to this, I'd say a solid/piano black, not metallic. The metallic flakes can make swirls harder to see and the way it reflects light while polishing will make it harder to see your work and evaluate the results.

As for paint hardness, for the reasons given here, I don't think there is one answer. Both take a totally different approach and you'll need to learn both. My approach to my Japanese cars is totally different from how I handle the German cars I've owned.

German paint being harder paint than Japanese paint ?
How about the paint on the US auto makers cars ?....big 3

Thank you.

[Desertnate]

German paint being harder paint than Japanese paint ?
How about the paint on the US auto makers cars ?....big 3

Thank you.

From my experience Japanese cars and German cars are opposite ends of the spectrum. I'll foot-stomp the fact this is only my opinion based on vehicles I've corrected. There are others here with way more experience.

I've found Subaru and Honda are the softest with Toyota only a bit harder, but still pretty soft. Mazda and Acura seems to be a little bit more moderate.

I've only worked on black German cars and I found a black metallic Porsche Cayenne to be rock hard, a black metallic GTI just a touch softer and a black metallic BMW 4-series was a bit softer than the Porsche or VW.

I've only worked on one US car; a Dodge Charger Scat Pack in blue pearl. I think I'd put it in the middle of the hardness spectrum. A bit harder than the Mazda and a bit softer than the BMW. It was fairly simple to work with.

[Optimus Grime]

From my experience Japanese cars and German cars are opposite ends of the spectrum. I'll foot-stomp the fact this is only my opinion based on vehicles I've corrected. There are others here with way more experience.

I've found Subaru and Honda are the softest with Toyota only a bit harder, but still pretty soft. Mazda and Acura seems to be a little bit more moderate.

I've only worked on black German cars and I found a black metallic Porsche Cayenne to be rock hard, a black metallic GTI just a touch softer and a black metallic BMW 4-series was a bit softer than the Porsche or VW.

I've only worked on one US car; a Dodge Charger Scat Pack in blue pearl. I think I'd put it in the middle of the hardness spectrum. A bit harder than the Mazda and a bit softer than the BMW. It was fairly simple to work with.

1000% agree. You can sneeze too hard near my Honda and it will scratch and don’t get me started on the piano black trim near the windows. I’ve had the pleasure, or displeasure, of coating some Audis, VWs, Mercedes, BMW and a Volvo. They all had paint much harder than any Japanese car I’ve worked on. The Mercedes was the worst. Anything more than a light swirl needed a microfiber pad and a two step to take care of it, especially since it was black.

I did work on a new Grand Cherokee a few weeks back. I was pleasantly surprised to see how thick the paint was compared to a Japanese vehicle. As far as hardness, I’d put it in between European and Japanese cars.

[Bill D]

Because I have a Honda, ie soft paint, I'm a maniac about only washing via foam gun and multiple mitts if necessary. Being so crazy about it has served me well over the years. Who knows how much marr ing I've prevented.

[2black1s]

To add to this, I'd say a solid/piano black, not metallic. The metallic flakes can make swirls harder to see and the way it reflects light while polishing will make it harder to see your work and evaluate the results.

As for paint hardness, for the reasons given here, I don't think there is one answer. Both take a totally different approach and you'll need to learn both. My approach to my Japanese cars is totally different from how I handle the German cars I've owned.

I agree with the metallic comment. When I said "black", solid black is what I meant.

There are many variations of metallic blacks, but personally, I don't even consider those as "black" regardless of the color name. To me, black is black, and that is solid or pitch black. Anything else is not truly black in my opinion.

[Kabitz]

I was able to pick up a hood from a 2010 Black Raven Escalade SUV with some nice superficial marks on it.
Thanks for all your input guys, much appreciated !

Gary