Generic Paint (Clearcoat) Hardness

[Reno]

Here is my small collection, hope this helps

Soft Paint	Intermediate Paint	Hard Paint
Alfa Romeo	Aston Martin	Audi
Daewoo	Bentley	BMW
Ferrari (up to 2005)	Citroen	Lamborghini
Fiat	Ferrari (2005 onwards)	Mercedes Benz
Honda	Ford	Mini
Lexus	Jaguar	Porsche (up to 1998)
Mazda	Jeep	Subaru (up to 2001)
Mitsubishi	Land Rover	TVR
Nissan	Lotus	Volkswagen
Suzuki	Maserati
Toyota	Peugeot
Vauxhall (up to 1998)(EU Opel)	Porsche (1998 onwards)
	Renault
	Rolls Royce
	Saab
	Seat
	Skoda
	Subaru (2001 onwards)
	Volvo

*i tried to post it on an already open sticky thread but couldnt make it as i wanted to, so i created this new thread
**this guide is generic and is about only factory paint

[ZackJones]

Thank you very much, very convenient selection!

[Mike Phillips]

Thank you Reno for putting this chart together.

This is a good starting point for people new to machine polishing, or hand polishing.

Besides taking the different manufacturer's in the different categories, because paint can and do change as technology changes, we all still need to do a Test Spot for a final determination on paint hardness or paint softness plus to dial-in a process for the car in front of us.

[Desertnate]

This is a handy chart. The only place I disagree with you is on a Porsche Cayanne. Not sure if it is because the vehicle rolls out of the same VW plant as the Tuareg and the Audi Q7, but the black metallic paint is harder than anything I've ever worked...to include a black metallic VW GTI I owned recently.

Not sure if it is due to the SUV's possibly being built in the same plants as other VAG vehicles whereas the cars are built in their own plant(s).

[Bruno Soares]

This is a handy chart. The only place I disagree with you is on a Porsche Cayanne. Not sure if it is because the vehicle rolls out of the same VW plant as the Tuareg and the Audi Q7, but the black metallic paint is harder than anything I've ever worked...to include a black metallic VW GTI I owned recently.

Not sure if it is due to the SUV's possibly being built in the same plants as other VAG vehicles whereas the cars are built in their own plant(s).

I've heard the solid black is soft and the metallic black is hard. I can only say that the Jet Black Metallic on my brother's Macan is pretty hard.

[DUBL0WS6]

I'm not sure if this is totally accurate but I was told that GM rotates paint suppliers throughout the year. So the manufacturer of the base and clear can be different quarter to quarter. I'm not sure if that's the case with other manufacturers or not.

[Desertnate]

I'm not sure of paint suppliers being different, but I've also heard the paint can differ within a brand based on the country where it was built. The paint used by BMW in their South African plant might be different what is used in the plant in South Carolina and different yet again from any of their European plants. No way of knowing for sure though...

Globalization of the industry and factoring in third party assemblers like Magna Steyr make it complicated...thus the wisdom of the test spot.

[Sizzle Chest]

Thank you for taking the time to put this chart together and post it up!

[57Rambler]

I'm not sure if this is totally accurate but I was told that GM rotates paint suppliers throughout the year. So the manufacturer of the base and clear can be different quarter to quarter.

GM uses PPG or Axalta (formerly DuPont). Sourcing is handled by the assembly plant itself. While a supplier might not be given the contract for the entire life of a vehicle, there typically is not a lot of frequent changing as paints are often formulated for the plant's specific type of paint system .

[DUBL0WS6]

The person who told me this mentioned PPG and Axalta as GM suppliers.