Paint too thin to polish?

[rover137]

I bought myself a Paint Thickness Gauge (PTG) and have had some interesting results on my 2019 Hyundai. The car is around 2 years old and i have hand polished twice with Megs Ult Polish by hand. I have used a DA twice with a finishing polish as well. Once with Scholls S30+/Orange SDO LC polishing pad and once with Scholls S30+/Black SDO LC finishing pad. Used Scholls S20 in some isolated areas. Paint was in good nick from new and i wouldn't expect these combinations to not remove much. Bought the car new, dealer didn't touch it as requested.

The PTG I bought was the CEM DT 156. It had good reviews and seemed reliable and accurate at +- 3%. I calibrated the gauge before use. Measurements are:

Bonnet: 86 - 120 Microns
Doors: 70 - 122 Microns (bottom edges being the lower readings in the 70s)
Rear: 84 - 105 Microns

This is where it gets confusing. I did the jambs to try estimate the amount of clear.

Jambs: 64 - 94 Microns.

So, either some parts of the car have minimal clear, or the Jambs have decent clear?

Is this too thin to polish. A pro detailer told me you shouldn't polish more than once. I mean we here do it 1-2 times a year. I told him i need to put another Ceramic coat on soon and he said just remove it chemically then put it on. This feels wrong to me. Should i stick to 'glaze/cleaner', or no harm continuing to polish once every 3ish years when the car needs a new coat and to remove light wash marring. I will not correct with anything more aggressive then the above - S30 and a Orange or Black SDO pad.

[mbkite]

Poor boys pro polish it’s a chemical cleaner. Use it with a da. Amazing results

[rover137]

Poor boys pro polish it’s a chemical cleaner. Use it with a da. Amazing results

This will remove the remnants of a coating and it is ok to ceramic coat after? Are you saying i should opt for a cleaner with these readings?

[98CayenneTA]

Measure under the hood also.

A primer and base coat combined will be around 35-60 microns. 100+ microns I consider to be a healthy factory clear.

Light polishing should only remove 1-3 microns
Medium polish 4-7 microns
Heavy 7- 12

[rover137]

Yeah they are the figures I’ve come up with in terms of removing microns with different stages of aggressiveness.

Thanks for the suggest for under the hood. Will give that a go!

I guess it is those random 70-80 readings. While they are rare and usually at the edge of the bottom of the doors, they still worry me.


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[98CayenneTA]

Are you measuring right on the edges?

What kind of measurements are you getting a quarter inch to half inch away from the edges?

[rover137]

The 70-80 readings are about an inch from the edges of the bottom of the doors it seems. Will get some more readings and do under the hood too!


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[rover137]

Are you measuring right on the edges?

What kind of measurements are you getting a quarter inch to half inch away from the edges?

So i measured under the hood (bonnet) and got 48 - 60 readings. The panel here was all matte like - i assume this is where you meant?

Measured again on edges of the doors, hood etc. Main areas i as getting 70-80 was the bottom of the driver and passenger doors right on the edge as close as i could get. The odd 70ish reading and then i even got one random one in the 60s. There were also some 80-100 readings in other areas on the edges of the doors. Not uniform at all, but that is to be expected i guess.

[98CayenneTA]

So i measured under the hood (bonnet) and got 48 - 60 readings. The panel here was all matte like - i assume this is where you meant?

Correct, I measure under the hood because a lot of manufacturers do not clear under the hood.

So your primer and base coat together is around 50 microns.

Subtract 50 microns from your panel measurements and that's about how much clear you have to work with.

Now this me and not necessarily advice but if that was my personal vehicle I would not be afraid to do a light polish over the whole thing.

[Tasmania]

Car manufacturers like Mazda are painting car's so thin you will need a full re spray in less thsn 5 year's. But some people these day's 5 year's is a long time to own a car.

We live in a disposable world.

Check out (Car Craft Auto Detailing) on YT and check for the Mazda video with thin paint. Sandro is one of the best detailers in Australia.