Without using a PTG..

[Bullitt AK]

how do i know if its safe to polish a vehicle? not knowing how much the vehicle had been polished in the past, repairs, etc. because eventually if polished too much you will affect the base coat even if its not complete strike through?

[Mindflux]

You don't. You're flying blind (effectively).

[Bullitt AK]

even with a PTG i still dont see how you could tell how much clear is left...if all your doing is assuming that a certain amount of clear remains

[Mindflux]

even with a PTG i still dont see how you could tell how much clear is left...if all your doing is assuming that a certain amount of clear remains

Right, that's why there are more expensive PTG's that'll read layers.

[Bullitt AK]

yes but obviously most people cant afford it and 99.99% of people who regularly polish autos arent going to have one thats 3k..so you just polish and hope there is enough clear left? because to my understanding the affects wont even be apparent until later unless its a complete strike through

[Mindflux]

yes but obviously most people cant afford it and 99.99% of people who regularly polish autos arent going to have one thats 3k..so you just polish and hope there is enough clear left? because to my understanding the affects wont even be apparent until later unless its a complete strike through

Yeah, in the end you're running a numbers game. Chances are most cars aren't going to have problems with cutting through the clear but when you do that's what you have business insurance for.

Honestly I don't see too many people bring up actually having this problem. Either they don't have it often, or aren't admitting it.

[Bullitt AK]

well im just using a PC instead of a rotary too..

[detailjohn]

Right, that's why there are more expensive PTG's that'll read layers.

Paint thickness gauges that read layers only work on non metal bodied cars. Unfortunately one is not available yet for metal bodied cars that I know of.


John

[feslope]

even with a PTG i still dont see how you could tell how much clear is left...if all your doing is assuming that a certain amount of clear remains

In most cases the door jambs, inside the trunk or under the hood will have the thinnest clear coating on the vehicle. After many PTG measurements on several areas of the car you should get a pretty good idea of what you have to work with. Don't ever assume that a single panel is uniform. Measurements on my 2004 Prius hood run from 79-136 mils. Measurements on my 2010 fusion hood run from 197-212 mils. The Fusion is Pearlcoat, I would like to measure that coating thicness with one of those multi-layer gauges,

[feslope]

Paint thickness gauges that read layers only work on non metal bodied cars. Unfortunately one is not available yet for metal bodied cars that I know of.


John

Interesting, I did not know that.