How hard / thick is the clear coat

[mikec1404]

I bought a 23 GT in Shadow Black last fall and the paint is in tough shape with a lot of heavy swirl marks all over the car. I have a Porter Cable 7424 polisher and am trying to determine how aggressive I can be while keeping in mind I haven't had to do this type of work for awhile. Is there enough there to accommodate a two stage process or should I stick to some sort of single stage process.

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[skinnyb]

Best thing to do is measure it. I have a paint thickness guage. Has come in handy quite a few times. And they aren't very expensive. Good rule of thumb is the door jambs only usually have 1 coat of clear so it is typically thinner there. So measure the jambs, then all over the car to get a base idea how much clear you have to work with...

 

[kilobravo]

Best thing to do is measure it.

Yep, do yourself a favor and get one of the gizmos to measure the thickness but keep in mind, the number you get represents the thickness of ALL the paint coats, not JUST the clear.

As bad as that clear coat is OP, you may not get all of the swirls but you'll get the vast majority of them. Start on an area that isn't super important like behind one of the rear fenders that also indicates the most paint and as you learn the polishing technique with a Dual Action polisher, take your time and work on say a 15" square area.

Do a couple passes, see what the results are visually, and then re-measure the paint thickness. If you're using a medium or fine pad and medium to fine compound, what you'll find is that you haven't removed very much clear at all..a few microns. It doesn't take a great amount of paint to produce gloss and the key is simply not to go to far.

Tip: A good light is your friend and that's another small expenditure I recommend making. There are a zillion online like this one.

Good luck and I think you'll be excited at just how much correction you can accomplish.

 

[Bikeman315]

Hi Mike. Ask yourself this question and be honest. How skilled am I in paint correction? You noted you haven’t done this in a while. Based on your answer might you consider letting a pro tackle this? Not disrespecting your ability but it’s something to think about.

 

[C-WOODS-70]

I had a couple of very light scratches above one of the rear wheels that didn’t reach the color. I wet sanded them out with 3000 grit trizac, and then a 4 step cut and polish process and all was fine.

 

[Johnny maverick]

As said it doesn't take much to burn through the thin clear they applied. Start small with a light polishing compound. See your results and adjust accordingly. Do I need a more aggressive compound or is what im using getting the results I'm looking for. After your done and happy seal it and wax it.

 

[DFB5.0]

As a very general rule of thumb, Mustang paint is on the medium hardness side. Having said that, some colors can be softer than others within the same brands paint system. This is where your test spots come into the equation.

As mentioned, tape off two or three 10x10-inch sections to perform a few test spots. On my S650 with a Shadow Black painted roof, I used Sonax Perfect Finish on a yellow ShineMate cutting pad, so a moderate one-step compound with a moderate cutting pad. The paint responded very well to that combo. But, it wasn't swirled out like yours's, so you are probably going to need something more aggressive.

If you can get away with a one-step compound, great. I'd probably start with Scholl S20 Black, which is a very capable compound that finishes out nicely. Try using a light cutting pad, step up to a moderate cutting pad if you need more. Again, this is where your test spot helps you decided how far to you need to go.

If a one-step doesn't get you in the ballpark, then I'd suggest looking at Griot's Fast Correcting Cream. Start with the same light cutting pad and step up to the moderate if needed. On some paints, this will finish out nicely, but you might need a second step with a finishing compound to clean up any haze left by the FCC. In which case, I'd go for Carpro Reflect, one of the best polishes you will ever use.

Clear coat is tougher than many think. Unless you are being deliberately abusive or careless, you can absolutely do this in a safe and effective manner. Dual Action polishers like the Porter Cable are designed to be user friendly and safe.

This video shows what you have to do to blow through clear coat..............................

 

[mikec1404]

Thanks for all the responses. It is in unheated winter storage so am gathering supplies right now in order to be able to work on it later this spring.

As Bikeman said, having it professionally done is always an option but I am going to at least make an attempt at it since I have the polisher. I'll just make sure I do my test spots towards the bottom of the car.

I'll post the results but it is going to be a few months before things thaw out here.

 

[S550HPP]

3M™ Perfect-It™ 1-Step on variable speed rotary at low speed with wool pad will cut that fast follow with quick go over with med and fine foam pads then swirl remover on red pad with light water spritz.

That 1 step is amazing polish! It's literally 3 in 1. Might not even need med pad.

After this every six months or so hit it quickly with med pad and swirl remover on red pad.

On a black car full PPF is a must have unless like polishing.

Be extremely careful on edges can burn through quickly. I mask all edges off except body contour transition edges.

 

[Bikeman315]

Thanks for all the responses. It is in unheated winter storage so am gathering supplies right now in order to be able to work on it later this spring.

As Bikeman said, having it professionally done is always an option but I am going to at least make an attempt at it since I have the polisher. I'll just make sure I do my test spots towards the bottom of the car.

I'll post the results but it is going to be a few months before things thaw out here.

As always on this forum you have received some excellent advise. I’m betting on your doing a great job. Please post pics as you progress through this project.

 

[T Fades]

best to start with the least aggressive cut compound, and if needed then go to a more aggressive cut compound, then go back over with the lesser aggressive compound, then a finishing compound (with no cut).

 

[mikec1404]

Somehow the stars aligned and I was able to take a couple of days to dedicate working on the swirl marks

1. Prewash with Carpro Lift. From what I understand, this will help remove any previous waxes/polishes

2. Wash with Carpro Reset.

I was pretty impressed with how clean the car was. I never really thought about what I used for soap but that has changed.

I had a friend who had some Meguiars products ( #2 and #9) which he let me have so started with those for compounds since they were free.

I did take a thickness meter around before doing anything and everything was pretty much the same around the car except the door jambs which were a bit less.

After testing on a spot on the lower quarter behind the driver's door, I came up with the following method.

1. Lake Country orange pad using Meguiars #2
2. LC white pad using Meguiars #9
3. LC black pad using Carpro Reflect.

Using the paint meter afterwards did not show much appreciable change in the finish thickness; at least as far as I can tell.


Test spot before:

Test Spot afterwards:

Is it perfect? Nope. The after picture probably make it look a little better than it actually is. But it is improved significantly enough that I can live with it for now.

 

[S550HPP]

Black is brutal - professional paint correction and full PPF is only option really, other wise perfect-it polish twice a year careful with edges.

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