caseypayne69
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I read this and thought I'd share with you guys. Almost worth a sticky hint hint.
http://www.autopia.org/publish/articles/8/1/How-To-Polish-Paint/Page1.html
How-To Polish Paint
In a perfect world, you wouldn't need to polish your car's paint. Cleaning and waxing is all that's really necessary to protect and beautify your car's finish. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. Your car's paint is bombarded by contaminants and assaulted by foreign objects every day.
Some automotive appearance experts suggest that it's possible to maintain a car's paint without polishing at all. I'm not as optimistic. I recommend polishing when it's necessary to solve a specific problem or to achieve a desired result.
This article discusses the many different kinds of car polishes and their purpose.
UNDERSTANDING CAR POLISH
Before we can talk about polishing, we need to establish a common understanding of what polish is. The word polish is highly misused throughout the car care and appearance industry. For our purposes, a paint polish is an abrasive lotion or cream used to remove small amounts of the paint's surface. The cutting ability of the polish will determine the amount of paint removed with each hand stroke or each revolution of a buffer, as well as the resulting finish. A fine polish will create a bright, glassy finish, whereas a coarse polish may cloud the paint's surface. Each polish is designed for a specific purpose (e.g., repair or refine) and application (e.g., hand or machine).
Here's how I classify polishes:
Abrasive paper or pad - An ultra-fine grade of sandpaper (1200 to 3000 grit) can be used effectively to level a paint finish and remove imperfections. I mention sandpaper here because it is an abrasive, like all polishes, and it has its place in the polishing chain.
Compound - A compound, often called a rubbing compound, is a cutting polish designed to remove heavy oxidation, some common forms of paint damage and defects, and the scratches created by fine sandpaper.
Polish - A specially formulated blend of components designed to remove minor scratches, surface imperfections, water spots, acid rain spots, light oxidation, and the swirl marks created by compounding with a machine.
Glaze - A very fine polish. Some glazes are safe to use on fresh paint, as they do not seal. A glaze does not have enough cutting power to remove imperfections, but will increase surface gloss.
Pre-wax cleaner - A polish containing chemical cleaners to help remove minor surface contamination and dirt not handled by normal washing or claying. You may be asking why I didn't mention detailing clay. While detailing clay is an abrasive suspended in a clay or elastic base, its purpose is to remove particles from the paint's surface and not the paint itself.
Car Polish Selection
The car care market is flooded with polishes, each promising to work one miracle or another. Selection is difficult at best. For the purpose of our discussion, it's necessary to create a reference. It's important to note that polishes may be specifically created for hand or machine use. The difference between a machine polish and a hand polish is how the abrasive material breaks down in use.
The abrasives in most polishes break down (diminish) into finer particles, allowing the polish to "buff out." If you use a machine polish by hand, the particles may not break down, and the finish will not buff out properly. Conversely, using a hand polish with a machine will cause the polish to break down too quickly, and you won't get enough cutting action. A few polishes work by hand or machine, because they don't use diminishing abrasives or they are not temperature sensitive (buffing pads create heat).
Polish
Grade
Purpose
1200 - 2000 grit sanding material
6
Repairing chips and scratches, blending repairs.
2500 - 3000 grit sanding material
5
Light color sanding and leveling.
Sonus SFX-1 Restore Polish
4
A versatile fine cut rubbing compound used to safely remove grade 2000 or finer sanding scratches, other fine scratches, medium oxidation, coarse swirl marks or water spots. Leaves a fine finish ready for final polishing. Contains no waxes or silicones.
Sonus SFX-2 Enhance Polish
3
A swirl-remover polish designed to remove fine swirl marks, cob web effect and light compound hazing. Leaves a glazed finish ready for waxing or fine polishing. Contains no waxes or silicones.
Sonus SFX-3 Final Finish Polish
2
A fine polish formulated to create a highly polished finish. Contains no waxes or silicones. Leaves a wheel-mark-free finish when applied with a foam polishing pad.
Sonus Paintwork Cleanser
1
An ultra-fine pre-wax paint cleaner and glaze designed for hand or machine application. It is used to maintain paint in perfect condition. This product offers very little abrasive polishing action. Contains silicones for added gloss.
The chart above shows six grades of abrasive finish material.
Reasons to Polish Your Car's Paint
Many people believe that cars come off the assembly line with perfect paint. That's far from the case. There are many conditions that cause minor paint flaws requiring additional finishing work. Dust nibs (small particles that land in the paint while it is still wet) are a good example. Most car manufacturers take care of these problems at the factory using abrasive finishing materials. Sometimes it is the car dealer who recognizes the flaw and fixes it.
Repairing minor paint flaws through polishing is not harmful to the paint system unless you remove too much paint. If more than 50% of the clearcoat finish is removed, you stand a good chance of premature paint system failure. If more than 75% of the clearcoat finish is removed, you will experience immediate paint system failure. It can be a very fine dance between success and failure. Here's a general rule to follow. If a scratch or other flaw can be felt with your fingernail, it's too deep to be completely removed through polishing. That's not to say that polishing won't help hide the flaw; it will.
Take a look at the following 3M diagram showing paint layers and minor scratches (marring) in the clearcoat surface. These scratches can be removed completely through polishing, because more than 50% of the clearcoat would remain.
If scratches run deep into the clear coat, as illustrated in our next 3M diagram, polishing cannot fix the problem. However, polishing a deep scratch will hide or lessen the appearance of the problem.
Non-clearcoat finishes have the same basic rules. You should not remove more than 50% of the top coat (color coat) finish when repairing a scratch or other paint flaws. It is important to understand how a polish can be used to "hide" scratches and other micro marring. In the two diagrams above, you can see that the scratches have hard edges that run at a 30 to 60 degree downward slope. It is the hard edge and angle of a scratch that creates a perfect opportunity for light reflection. It is this reflection that enhances the visibility of the scratch. A good polish rounds the edges of scratches, reducing reflection. Here is a list of problems that can be fixed or improved through abrasive polishing:
Scratches - Surface abrasions that do not extend past the first 25% of top coat material can be fully repaired by polishing. Deeper scratches can be improved as long as they do not fully penetrate the color coat into the primer.
Scuffs and rub marks - Scuffs are broad, shallow surface abrasions that are easily repaired by polishing. Rub marks are commonly caused by shoe heels (getting in and out of the car) or the bumpers of other cars. The rub mark is generally a transfer of rubber or other vinyl material to the paint surface. Rub marks are easily removed by compounding and polishing.
Micro marring - Micro marring, also known as swirl marks and spider webbing, means very small scratches in the paint's surface. Micro marring is created by machine compounding and in everyday use and maintenance of the vehicle. Micro marring is easily removed by compounding and polishing.
Etching - Paint etching is a common problem caused by hard water (tap water) or acidic water (acid rain). Bird droppings are another common cause of paint etching. Depending on the severity of the etching, polishing will repair or lessen the appearance of etched spots.
Dust nibs - Small particles of dust and other foreign material that land on the paint during the painting process create small nibs on the surface. Wet sanding, compounding and polishing will remove the visible portion of the nib and level the paint.
Orange peel - When a car is painted, the paint is applied at a consistency and thickness that allows the paint to flow (briefly) and level. If the paint is applied too heavily, sags and runs will result. If applied too thinly, the paint does not properly flow and level, causing an uneven surface called orange peel. If the orange peel is not severe, abrasives can be used to level and glaze the finish to match the rest of the vehicle.
Runs and sags - If paint is applied too heavily, sags and runs will result. If the sag or run is in the clear coat, it can be repaired, but not if it is in the color coat or primer. On a non-clearcoat paint, sags and runs in the color coat can be repaired.
Evaluate Your Car's Paint for Polishing
How do you properly evaluate your car's paint surface for polishing? Most professionals (painters and detailers) will tell you that paint evaluation is a combination of seeing and feeling. What you're looking for is a surface that's flat like glass. What you want to feel is a silky, smooth surface with very little resistance.
When perfectly polished, paint looks like a reflecting pool and feels like fine cashmere. Want to see what you're missing? If you're looking for imperfections, use good fluorescent lighting. Incandescent lighting and sunlight do not show surface imperfections as well as good fluorescent light. Feel for surface imperfections and roughness with your fingertips.
Use a light touch to gently glide your fingers over the paint surface. You'll be amazed at how much you will feel once you have trained your fingertips. You may be wondering just how much of what you see and feel on your paint should be polished away versus cleaned? This is a greatly debated question. Not too many years ago, polishing would have been the correct answer.
Today we have more choices. When possible, I recommend paint cleaning before paint polishing. The best tool for removing heavy paint contamination is detailing clay. If your paint is clean and free of visible defects, is it necessary to polish before waxing? This is another question for great debate, and there are two basic schools of thought.
One methodology proposes that polishing is not necessary, because your wax should provide the final finish. The second methodology proposes that polishing creates the level of gloss, and waxing increases depth and liquidity of the surface. I propose that a combination of the two is correct. I believe that polishing should be used to repair and perfect paint, and waxes should be used to protect paint and create a deep, high-gloss finish.
Evaluate Paint Thickness Before Polishing
If you plan to sand or compound a vehicle's paint to repair or perfect the surface, you should measure the thickness of the paint first. To do so, you will need a paint thickness gauge. There are two basic types. An electronic (sonic) meter provides the most precise measurement of coating thickness.
These meters are too expensive for most enthusiasts, but should be part of every professional's tool kit. A less costly tool is the magnetic thickness indicator, which can measure coating thickness to within .001 inch (1 mil). If paint thickness is less than 6 to 8 mil, it's not safe to wet-sand or compound. If paint thickness is less than 4 or 5 mil, it is not safe to polish with a material higher than grade 2 on the polish chart.
Understand Your Car's Paint Before Polishing
Throw away everything Dad ever taught you about polishing your car, because the rules have changed dramatically in the past 10 years. There are three important changes that have made a significant impact on paint polishing. First, modern car paint systems are no longer petroleum-based coatings. All new car paint systems are water-based urethanes.
Equally important, almost all cars rolling off the assembly line today have a multistage paint that includes a top clear coat. Second, production of man-made micro abrasives has been perfected. Abrasive manufacturers are making micro abrasives engineered to an exact size and shape to produce a consistent cut. Third, the microfiber cloth industry began producing cloth materials specifically for polishing applications.
Traditional cotton terry cloth is not only yesterday's rag, it is also many times more likely to scratch modern paint finishes than a quality microfiber polishing cloth. The high-tech paint systems on the modern automobile differ from their predecessors in structure and in the care they require. In general terms, the finish layer on all cars of the past was a pigmented, oil-base, solid-body paint. When polishing these conventional finishes, you work directly on the layer of paint that gives a car its color.
The modern car paint finish has a primer layer, color layer and a clear top coat layer for added beauty and protection. Although the modern clearcoat paint system is more tolerant of everyday problems than conventional finishes of the past, it requires a little more knowledge for proper care. Understanding your car's clearcoat system is necessary to provide proper care and to facilitate repairs.
All clearcoat systems are basically the same. A clearcoat system consists of one or more primer layers, a flat color layer and a glossy, clear top layer. The primer is a corrosion inhibitor and a bonding agent for the bare metal and the color layer. It prevents corrosion and provides a stable substrate for the color and clear coats. The color layer is applied to the primer and is typically very thin. Its only purpose is to provide color. The clearcoat is two to three times the thickness of the color layer, adding to the appearance of paint depth and offering additional protection.
http://www.autopia.org/publish/articles/8/1/How-To-Polish-Paint/Page1.html
How-To Polish Paint
In a perfect world, you wouldn't need to polish your car's paint. Cleaning and waxing is all that's really necessary to protect and beautify your car's finish. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. Your car's paint is bombarded by contaminants and assaulted by foreign objects every day.
Some automotive appearance experts suggest that it's possible to maintain a car's paint without polishing at all. I'm not as optimistic. I recommend polishing when it's necessary to solve a specific problem or to achieve a desired result.
This article discusses the many different kinds of car polishes and their purpose.
UNDERSTANDING CAR POLISH
Before we can talk about polishing, we need to establish a common understanding of what polish is. The word polish is highly misused throughout the car care and appearance industry. For our purposes, a paint polish is an abrasive lotion or cream used to remove small amounts of the paint's surface. The cutting ability of the polish will determine the amount of paint removed with each hand stroke or each revolution of a buffer, as well as the resulting finish. A fine polish will create a bright, glassy finish, whereas a coarse polish may cloud the paint's surface. Each polish is designed for a specific purpose (e.g., repair or refine) and application (e.g., hand or machine).
Here's how I classify polishes:
Abrasive paper or pad - An ultra-fine grade of sandpaper (1200 to 3000 grit) can be used effectively to level a paint finish and remove imperfections. I mention sandpaper here because it is an abrasive, like all polishes, and it has its place in the polishing chain.
Compound - A compound, often called a rubbing compound, is a cutting polish designed to remove heavy oxidation, some common forms of paint damage and defects, and the scratches created by fine sandpaper.
Polish - A specially formulated blend of components designed to remove minor scratches, surface imperfections, water spots, acid rain spots, light oxidation, and the swirl marks created by compounding with a machine.
Glaze - A very fine polish. Some glazes are safe to use on fresh paint, as they do not seal. A glaze does not have enough cutting power to remove imperfections, but will increase surface gloss.
Pre-wax cleaner - A polish containing chemical cleaners to help remove minor surface contamination and dirt not handled by normal washing or claying. You may be asking why I didn't mention detailing clay. While detailing clay is an abrasive suspended in a clay or elastic base, its purpose is to remove particles from the paint's surface and not the paint itself.
Car Polish Selection
The car care market is flooded with polishes, each promising to work one miracle or another. Selection is difficult at best. For the purpose of our discussion, it's necessary to create a reference. It's important to note that polishes may be specifically created for hand or machine use. The difference between a machine polish and a hand polish is how the abrasive material breaks down in use.
The abrasives in most polishes break down (diminish) into finer particles, allowing the polish to "buff out." If you use a machine polish by hand, the particles may not break down, and the finish will not buff out properly. Conversely, using a hand polish with a machine will cause the polish to break down too quickly, and you won't get enough cutting action. A few polishes work by hand or machine, because they don't use diminishing abrasives or they are not temperature sensitive (buffing pads create heat).
Polish
Grade
Purpose
1200 - 2000 grit sanding material
6
Repairing chips and scratches, blending repairs.
2500 - 3000 grit sanding material
5
Light color sanding and leveling.
Sonus SFX-1 Restore Polish
4
A versatile fine cut rubbing compound used to safely remove grade 2000 or finer sanding scratches, other fine scratches, medium oxidation, coarse swirl marks or water spots. Leaves a fine finish ready for final polishing. Contains no waxes or silicones.
Sonus SFX-2 Enhance Polish
3
A swirl-remover polish designed to remove fine swirl marks, cob web effect and light compound hazing. Leaves a glazed finish ready for waxing or fine polishing. Contains no waxes or silicones.
Sonus SFX-3 Final Finish Polish
2
A fine polish formulated to create a highly polished finish. Contains no waxes or silicones. Leaves a wheel-mark-free finish when applied with a foam polishing pad.
Sonus Paintwork Cleanser
1
An ultra-fine pre-wax paint cleaner and glaze designed for hand or machine application. It is used to maintain paint in perfect condition. This product offers very little abrasive polishing action. Contains silicones for added gloss.
The chart above shows six grades of abrasive finish material.
Reasons to Polish Your Car's Paint
Many people believe that cars come off the assembly line with perfect paint. That's far from the case. There are many conditions that cause minor paint flaws requiring additional finishing work. Dust nibs (small particles that land in the paint while it is still wet) are a good example. Most car manufacturers take care of these problems at the factory using abrasive finishing materials. Sometimes it is the car dealer who recognizes the flaw and fixes it.
Repairing minor paint flaws through polishing is not harmful to the paint system unless you remove too much paint. If more than 50% of the clearcoat finish is removed, you stand a good chance of premature paint system failure. If more than 75% of the clearcoat finish is removed, you will experience immediate paint system failure. It can be a very fine dance between success and failure. Here's a general rule to follow. If a scratch or other flaw can be felt with your fingernail, it's too deep to be completely removed through polishing. That's not to say that polishing won't help hide the flaw; it will.
Take a look at the following 3M diagram showing paint layers and minor scratches (marring) in the clearcoat surface. These scratches can be removed completely through polishing, because more than 50% of the clearcoat would remain.
If scratches run deep into the clear coat, as illustrated in our next 3M diagram, polishing cannot fix the problem. However, polishing a deep scratch will hide or lessen the appearance of the problem.
Non-clearcoat finishes have the same basic rules. You should not remove more than 50% of the top coat (color coat) finish when repairing a scratch or other paint flaws. It is important to understand how a polish can be used to "hide" scratches and other micro marring. In the two diagrams above, you can see that the scratches have hard edges that run at a 30 to 60 degree downward slope. It is the hard edge and angle of a scratch that creates a perfect opportunity for light reflection. It is this reflection that enhances the visibility of the scratch. A good polish rounds the edges of scratches, reducing reflection. Here is a list of problems that can be fixed or improved through abrasive polishing:
Scratches - Surface abrasions that do not extend past the first 25% of top coat material can be fully repaired by polishing. Deeper scratches can be improved as long as they do not fully penetrate the color coat into the primer.
Scuffs and rub marks - Scuffs are broad, shallow surface abrasions that are easily repaired by polishing. Rub marks are commonly caused by shoe heels (getting in and out of the car) or the bumpers of other cars. The rub mark is generally a transfer of rubber or other vinyl material to the paint surface. Rub marks are easily removed by compounding and polishing.
Micro marring - Micro marring, also known as swirl marks and spider webbing, means very small scratches in the paint's surface. Micro marring is created by machine compounding and in everyday use and maintenance of the vehicle. Micro marring is easily removed by compounding and polishing.
Etching - Paint etching is a common problem caused by hard water (tap water) or acidic water (acid rain). Bird droppings are another common cause of paint etching. Depending on the severity of the etching, polishing will repair or lessen the appearance of etched spots.
Dust nibs - Small particles of dust and other foreign material that land on the paint during the painting process create small nibs on the surface. Wet sanding, compounding and polishing will remove the visible portion of the nib and level the paint.
Orange peel - When a car is painted, the paint is applied at a consistency and thickness that allows the paint to flow (briefly) and level. If the paint is applied too heavily, sags and runs will result. If applied too thinly, the paint does not properly flow and level, causing an uneven surface called orange peel. If the orange peel is not severe, abrasives can be used to level and glaze the finish to match the rest of the vehicle.
Runs and sags - If paint is applied too heavily, sags and runs will result. If the sag or run is in the clear coat, it can be repaired, but not if it is in the color coat or primer. On a non-clearcoat paint, sags and runs in the color coat can be repaired.
Evaluate Your Car's Paint for Polishing
How do you properly evaluate your car's paint surface for polishing? Most professionals (painters and detailers) will tell you that paint evaluation is a combination of seeing and feeling. What you're looking for is a surface that's flat like glass. What you want to feel is a silky, smooth surface with very little resistance.
When perfectly polished, paint looks like a reflecting pool and feels like fine cashmere. Want to see what you're missing? If you're looking for imperfections, use good fluorescent lighting. Incandescent lighting and sunlight do not show surface imperfections as well as good fluorescent light. Feel for surface imperfections and roughness with your fingertips.
Use a light touch to gently glide your fingers over the paint surface. You'll be amazed at how much you will feel once you have trained your fingertips. You may be wondering just how much of what you see and feel on your paint should be polished away versus cleaned? This is a greatly debated question. Not too many years ago, polishing would have been the correct answer.
Today we have more choices. When possible, I recommend paint cleaning before paint polishing. The best tool for removing heavy paint contamination is detailing clay. If your paint is clean and free of visible defects, is it necessary to polish before waxing? This is another question for great debate, and there are two basic schools of thought.
One methodology proposes that polishing is not necessary, because your wax should provide the final finish. The second methodology proposes that polishing creates the level of gloss, and waxing increases depth and liquidity of the surface. I propose that a combination of the two is correct. I believe that polishing should be used to repair and perfect paint, and waxes should be used to protect paint and create a deep, high-gloss finish.
Evaluate Paint Thickness Before Polishing
If you plan to sand or compound a vehicle's paint to repair or perfect the surface, you should measure the thickness of the paint first. To do so, you will need a paint thickness gauge. There are two basic types. An electronic (sonic) meter provides the most precise measurement of coating thickness.
These meters are too expensive for most enthusiasts, but should be part of every professional's tool kit. A less costly tool is the magnetic thickness indicator, which can measure coating thickness to within .001 inch (1 mil). If paint thickness is less than 6 to 8 mil, it's not safe to wet-sand or compound. If paint thickness is less than 4 or 5 mil, it is not safe to polish with a material higher than grade 2 on the polish chart.
Understand Your Car's Paint Before Polishing
Throw away everything Dad ever taught you about polishing your car, because the rules have changed dramatically in the past 10 years. There are three important changes that have made a significant impact on paint polishing. First, modern car paint systems are no longer petroleum-based coatings. All new car paint systems are water-based urethanes.
Equally important, almost all cars rolling off the assembly line today have a multistage paint that includes a top clear coat. Second, production of man-made micro abrasives has been perfected. Abrasive manufacturers are making micro abrasives engineered to an exact size and shape to produce a consistent cut. Third, the microfiber cloth industry began producing cloth materials specifically for polishing applications.
Traditional cotton terry cloth is not only yesterday's rag, it is also many times more likely to scratch modern paint finishes than a quality microfiber polishing cloth. The high-tech paint systems on the modern automobile differ from their predecessors in structure and in the care they require. In general terms, the finish layer on all cars of the past was a pigmented, oil-base, solid-body paint. When polishing these conventional finishes, you work directly on the layer of paint that gives a car its color.
The modern car paint finish has a primer layer, color layer and a clear top coat layer for added beauty and protection. Although the modern clearcoat paint system is more tolerant of everyday problems than conventional finishes of the past, it requires a little more knowledge for proper care. Understanding your car's clearcoat system is necessary to provide proper care and to facilitate repairs.
All clearcoat systems are basically the same. A clearcoat system consists of one or more primer layers, a flat color layer and a glossy, clear top layer. The primer is a corrosion inhibitor and a bonding agent for the bare metal and the color layer. It prevents corrosion and provides a stable substrate for the color and clear coats. The color layer is applied to the primer and is typically very thin. Its only purpose is to provide color. The clearcoat is two to three times the thickness of the color layer, adding to the appearance of paint depth and offering additional protection.