I know this may sound funny to some, but quite normal to others on this board, but I actually enjoy detailing my car, A LOT. I tend to polish my car with a Porter Cable about 7-8 times per year as I have car OCD and I like my car to be perfect. My car really does not see rain and is parked indoors but I love the look of a better than brand new car. I typically use Menzerna Super Intensive Polish followed by Einszett Glanz Wax. How often is too often? I don't want to wear the clearcoat or do other damage. Anyone have any insight?

Thanks,
Adam

 

Hi Adam...your OCD is welcomed here I think a proper polishing should be done no more than 2-4 times per year. I personally don't see a benefit to it if your car is well cared for during washing. I would also step it back a bit and use Super Finish instead of SIP...that's a bit too aggressive for the frequency you're doing. So, if it were me, I'd use super finish with a white or red pad, then follow it up with glanz. If anything, glanz the car every 6-8 weeks and polish every 4-6 months. Hope this helps.

 

Isocyanate Clear Coat Thickness

Modern clear coat paint finishes are so good today that they lull people into thinking that vehicle paint has protection and shine when in reality there is not really much there, other than the clear coat that has a thickness of 1.5 – 2.0 Mils. 1 mil = 0 .001", 1000th of an inch or 25.4 Microns. The average human hair is 4 Mils, or 101.6 microns thick. As a point of reference a sheet of copy paper is 3.5Mil (89 µ)
Most vehicle paint film systems (127 - 178 µ) comprise a Primer coat of 2Mils (50 µ) a Colour coat of 1-2Mils (25 -50 µ) and Clear coat 2-3Mils (50 - 75 µ) a surface scratch that will `catch' your fingernail is approximately 0.04 Mil (1.0 µ) deep will usually require wet sanding and refinishing.
Removing more that 0.5 mil (12µ) of clear coat will cause premature paint film failure as UV protection percolates to the top of the clear coat. The half-life of paint UV protection is 5 years (exponential decay) the half-life of a quantity whose value decreases with time is the interval required for the quantity to decay to half of its initial value.

Environmental Damage

The rate of environmental exposure that negatively effects (clear coat) paint varies widely with ambient conditions (UV radiation, Environmental Fall-out, paint protection used, etc) but an approximation of 0.005Mil (0.13µ) erosion of the clear coat per annum is about average; protective coatings polymer sealants, wax, etc), being renewable are meant to be sacrificial (it is subjected to oxidation, thereby by saving the clear coat)

Paint Removed by Polishing


Using a medium abrasive polish and a rotary polisher will remove approximately 0.1 Mil (3µ (Microns)) from the paint surface (typically 4 passes at 1500-1800 RPM) but there are many variables such as polish/compound and speed / pressure used that may affect the paint removed) These numbers should be checked with a paint thickness gauge (PTG) There comes a point when you must judge wither removing a scratch will compromise the clear coat and if so you’ll have to ‘live’ with the imperfection.

If you have reservations about the amount of paint surface removed or the amount of paint coating remaining the use of a paint thickness gauge (PTG) is arbitrary


These numbers are offered as a guide only, as there are too many variables to provide any more than an approximation.


An extract from one of a series of 110 in-depth, unbiased “Detailing Technical Papers” © TOGWT ™ Ltd Copyright 2002-2009, all rights reserved.

 

Hmm, all very good and helpful information. I think at a minimum I will use Menzerna Super Finish instead and use SIP much more sparingly. I need to check my pads as well. I think I am using a green pad with the SIP and a white pad with the glanz.

I plan on keeping this car for a LONG time and want to make sure I don't damage the clearcoat or paint.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Much appreciated,
Adam

 

I think that it is important that you really think about what you are doing. Every time that you polish the car, you are removing part of the clear.

Now that isn't necessarily bad, but like many things, it should be done in moderation. If it is your opinion, that freshly exposed clear after polishing makes things look that much better, then that is totally ok. But you don't need to remove clear with the intensity of SIP in order to achieve the same results.

If you don't have heavy defects to remove, you just want to give it that freshly polished shine, then go at it as light as possible. Use a red or white pad and Super Finish instead. You will achieve the same result of a freshly polished surface, but without the clearcoat degradation.

I would also look into using a hand polish, something like Swissvax Cleaner fluid. It will give you that same look, but without the use of any abrasives. Not to mention that if you are truly OCD, as many on this forum are, putting it on and working it in by hand is actually far more soothing to the detailer's soul than using a polisher ever could be.

 

If you plan on polishing and keeping the car for a long time, you should invest in a paint gauge Adam. Defelsko makes some of the industry's finest gauges and the PosiTest Combo would be a great choice for the DIYer.

http://www.glisteningperfectionstore...t-paint/Detail

A little birdy told me to wait if I wanted one until Friday