How many microns do you remove?

On a moderate correction I usually remove anywhere from 3-5 microns. Heavy 7-10.

 

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 µ. As a point of reference a sheet of copy paper is 3.5Mil (89 µ) One micron is roughly 1/80th of the thickness of a human hair (hair thickness depends on hair colour/ethnic origin etc)

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, there is UV protection all the way through the paint, but the majority of it rises to the top with the thinner solvents and particles.

As a point of reference a sheet of copy paper is 3.5Mil (89µ) a surface scratch that will `catch' your fingernail is approximately 0.004 Mil (0.01µ) deep will usually require wet sanding and refinishing.