How to determine paint "hardness"?

[custmsprty]

I also answer this question in my how-to book,

The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine


I'll send a prize to the first person that shares the page and the what I wrote.

Section 4 Page 19 Paint Hardness or Softness

Polishable: Capable of being polished.

Polishability: To the degree a surface or coating can be polished.

Too hard, extremely difficult to level paint in an effort to reomove below-surface defects.

Too soft, so soft that just the act of wiping the paint with a clean soft microfiber polishing towel can instill swirls and scratches.

The best paint sysems are some where between these two extremes. This would be a paint system the average person can work on. By this I mean a paint sytem soft enough that defects can be removed but hard enough to resist scratching through normal maintenance procedures while still providing long service life.

I purchased this great book as soon as it came out on ibooks, it's a must have!

[Mike Phillips]

Section 4 Page 19 Paint Hardness or Softness

Polishable: Capable of being polished.

Polishability: To the degree a surface or coating can be polished.

Too hard, extremely difficult to level paint in an effort to reomove below-surface defects.

Too soft, so soft that just the act of wiping the paint with a clean soft microfiber polishing towel can instill swirls and scratches.

The best paint sysems are some where between these two extremes. This would be a paint system the average person can work on. By this I mean a paint sytem soft enough that defects can be removed but hard enough to resist scratching through normal maintenance procedures while still providing long service life.

The above portion is good, I started using the words polishable and polishability about 15 years ago on MOL, seem to help describe what we do and the characteristics of some paints.


There's another portion I wrote about how to tell hard paint from soft paint and I'll include it here later. Believe it or not, I don't have a copy of this book in my office. I usually do but when guests visit Autogeek I tend to give them a copy and thus I end up having to put in an order for more books. (They are provided to anyone that takes any of the automotive classes).

I purchased this great book as soon as it came out on ibooks, it's a must have!

Thank you!

It's hard to write a book where you share yourself, your insights and your experience gained over the years from buffing out thousands of cars (and other things), and also teaching classes. I read once that the best way to learn is to teach.

[mk9750]

I read once that the best way to learn is to teach.

The way the medical profession teaches is exactly that. It is know as "see one, do one, teach one". You observe, you do, and then the real learning is done by the teaching of others.

I am very active in the Boy Scouts (now Scouting), and our Troop uses this method extensively. A new Scout watches at a meeting while an older Scout demonstrates how to set up a tent. The new Scout practices at a meeting, and then puts his new knowledge to good use setting up his own tent (with the guidance of an older Scout) during his first campout. Within a campout or two, the new Scout is expert at setting up tents. Next year, when a new batch of new Scouts join the Troop, that guy is now the demonstrator, guiding the newest Scouts toward learning a skill.

Almost universally, Scouts that are getting ready to leave the Troop to attend college point to this method of learning as the single greatest influence on their success - Not only in Scouting, but in their lives. The process works, and it works so well that a 17 year old young man can recognize the value it provided himself.

See one, do one, teach one - A great plan for your classes, and I am sure it is why you see so many people here express positively their experience attending your classes. I hope to be among that group someday soon.

[custmsprty]

The above portion is good, I started using the words polishable and polishability about 15 years ago on MOL, seem to help describe what we do and the characteristics of some paints.


There's another portion I wrote about how to tell hard paint from soft paint and I'll include it here later. Believe it or not, I don't have a copy of this book in my office. I usually do but when guests visit Autogeek I tend to give them a copy and thus I end up having to put in an order for more books. (They are provided to anyone that takes any of the automotive classes).






Thank you!

It's hard to write a book where you share yourself, your insights and your experience gained over the years from buffing out thousands of cars (and other things), and also teaching classes. I read once that the best way to learn is to teach.

I have a hard copy of your book too, but what I really like about your ibook is the interactivity of the videos. It's helped me numerous times to illustrate to a person what we are going to achieve and how.

[Mike Phillips]

The way the medical profession teaches is exactly that. It is know as "see one, do one, teach one". You observe, you do, and then the real learning is done by the teaching of others.

I have an article very similar to the above, the date I wrote it is September 22nd, 2004 - Today is September 20th, 2018. In 2 days, this article I wrote will be 14 years old!

Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

The owner of a car dealership, (I think), flew out to Apple Valley, California where I lived at the time and picked me up in his plane and then flew me to Malibu where he lived. He kept his Ferrari in an hanger at the airport in Malibu. He had a guy that he paid to wash and wax his cars but he wanted the swirls removed out of his Ferrari and he knew his guy didn't have the tools, knowledge or skills to do the job. So he hired me to basically teach this young man how to do this type of work.






I wonder what ever happened with this guy?

By the way, lots of pictures and information in the actual write-up that's still just as accurate today as when I wrote it.


Before





After - Sun was getting low in the sky so here's what I got....




And the proud young man that did the majority of all the work...

Martin



"Each one, teach one"

I am very active in the Boy Scouts (now Scouting), and our Troop uses this method extensively. A new Scout watches at a meeting while an older Scout demonstrates how to set up a tent. The new Scout practices at a meeting, and then puts his new knowledge to good use setting up his own tent (with the guidance of an older Scout) during his first campout. Within a campout or two, the new Scout is expert at setting up tents. Next year, when a new batch of new Scouts join the Troop, that guy is now the demonstrator, guiding the newest Scouts toward learning a skill.

Almost universally, Scouts that are getting ready to leave the Troop to attend college point to this method of learning as the single greatest influence on their success - Not only in Scouting, but in their lives. The process works, and it works so well that a 17 year old young man can recognize the value it provided himself.

I was a Boy Scout, great experience, I like the camping parts the best...

See one, do one, teach one - A great plan for your classes, and I am sure it is why you see so many people here express positively their experience attending your classes.

I hope to be among that group someday soon.

I hope you can make a future class too, I do everything I can to make sure you have GREAT cars to train on and it's hands-on from start to finish - very LITTLE sitting time as I know people learn from doing, not sitting.

[Mike Phillips]

I have a hard copy of your book too, but what I really like about your ibook is the interactivity of the videos.

It's helped me numerous times to illustrate to a person what we are going to achieve and how.

Thanks for sharing that.... my next books will be even better.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Test spot! To determine hard or soft, my first test spot is to use a FINISHING polish with a polishing or finishing pad. If this combo leaves micro-marring, the paint is on the softer side. Micro-marring is most noticeable on black paint.