Detailers: How d oyou assess clearcoat thickness?

Raymond Lin said:
General consensus are that German paint are hard where Japanese cars have softer paint.

Even still, I would start with a finner pads to see if that works, if it takes too much work to get the finish you want then move up.
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I agree with what you're saying, but what if I do that and think 'I want to remove those last few scratches, I will give it one more pass'.
Would this be a fair comment to make:
A DA polisher will be fine provided I am not making repeated passes with a hard pad and severe cutting polish.
 
You should approach it the same way you would a clear coat except be cautious as generally speaking, single stage paints can be much softer than clear coats with the exception of single stage white paints due to the pigment type.

What this means is be extra careful around any raised body lines, edges or corners as you could easy remove too much paint and expose the primer underneath.

Most single stage paints react well to polishes that contain some kind of oil in them as the oil soaks in and bring out the full color of the paint.

Saying that, its unlikely its single stage if its a 2010 model.

What polishes and pads do you have? I would start with a polishing rather than a cutting compound/pad. That way you get a good result and are just left with RDS. You can then move onto a harder pad or more abrasive compound.
 
mejinks said:
What polishes and pads do you have? I would start with a polishing rather than a cutting compound/pad. That way you get a good result and are just left with RDS. You can then move onto a harder pad or more abrasive compound.
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Nub question: What is RDS?
I will bare in mind about watching out for raised lines. The Micra really didn't have any but I will definitely watch out for it in the future.

I have:
1 x Menzerna Compounding Pads 135mm (6") - Not opened yet
1 x Menzerna Polishing Pads 135mm (6") - It won't last long I battered it :p
1 x Menzerna Finishing Pads 135mm (6") - Very soft pad
1 x 250ml - Menzerna Power Finish (P085RD 3.02) Cut 3.5 Gloss 3.0 - Medium cutting polish
1 x 250ml - Menzerna Final Finish (PO85RD) Cut 1.0 Gloss 5.0 - Mostly shine, minimal cutting polish.

As I haven't used the hard pad (it is pretty damn hard!) and don't have any deep cutting polishes I felt I was playing it safe :).
I definitely need some smaller pads as I really did give the medium 6" pad a good battering on corners of trim - Foam was flying everywhere :p.
 
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RDS = Random Deep Scratches. Some will be visible before removing swirls, however onces swirls are removed they are easy to see. Whether it is safe to remove enough clearcoat to get rid of the RDS has to be taken panel by panel as it is completely based upon clearcoat thickness.

I would expect a micra, being japanese, to have paint in the softer end of the spectrum in which case you wouldn't need a heavy cutting pad or polish. In the Menzerna range IIRC there is only Fast cut above power finish and doubt you would need that unless you are dealing with some very deep RDS or very hard paint.

Definatley worth getting some smaller pads though, I have 3 inch pads to match my 6 inch pads, makes it easy to get the smaller arears or in the heavier body sculpted areas without as many problems. One thing to look out for is that you don't need to apply so much pressure due to the smaller area.
 
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