How many microns does each step remove?

I know there are a lot of variables but I'm curious what you guys have found.

I don't have a PTG so I want to estimate.

I seem to recall most medium polishes take 2-5microns?

 

You can barely measure 2-5 microns.

 

In most cases, if you were to compound, polish and use a finishing polish, you may remove around 5 microns. Using a polish like Menz Power Finish for example will remove such a small amount of clear that its almost imeasureable. You could use Menz106 and a green pad to remove light swirls from washing/drying almost indefinitely without worrying about going through the clear. Using a wool pad with 105 or Powergloss will remove a crapload of clear in a hurry. We removed 6microns of clear with Powergloss and a wool pad one time!

 

If you don't have a PTG I'm not sure what an estimate will do for you as you have no idea of how much paint thickness you have to start with (X microns - 5 microns = ?)

 

Looks like this shpould be your next investment !!! Paint Meter, Paint Gauge, Paint Gage - HighLineMeter.com

 

Not to highjack the thread but what is a typical reading of microns for a factory painted car? What's healthy and what's risky? I was looking at the highline II the other day but with out knowing anything about normal thickness numbers vs low thickness numbers, a paint gauge would be useless.

 

From what I've seen, healthy readings start at about 100-120. Most newer Mazda paints are on the thin side and tend to be around 85-90, and Mazda is known to have really thin paint. I've seen Porsche's with healthy paint readings upwards of 160 as well. Then, there's repainted cars which can have up to a 400 reading. It really depends on the car, condition, and quality of paint. If you want an article on how to use and understand PTG's, check this one out:

http://www.detailersdomain.com/blog/?p=352

 

For polishing purposes, anything over 100 is ok for compounding and polishing. I personally wouldn't sand anything under 110 -115 as you just remove too much clear. 90 -100 Polish and polishing pad should be fine, no compounding. 80 - 90 A finishing polish like 106 on a finishing pad should be safe and lower than that, glaze and wax/sealant only. We have had 5 first gen Infiniti G35s in our shop and all of them had readings on the roof lower than 70. Yikes.

 

Thanks guys. Lots that I've now learned.

So, I have a question. I assume a sealant or wax coat adds some thickness back to the paint.

Has anyone ever taken post-LSP readings?

I'm assuming at most LSP adds 2microns?

 

About 2-4 microns from your average polishing, about 6 after compounding/final polish. LSP doesn't add anything, it does but it's not close to a micron. When you buff it off only a thin layer stays on the paint. Since the margin of error on most PTG's is +/- 1-2 it's pretty hard to measure exact microns.

 

Good replies thanks

 

I was just testing that out today, My dad has had a van for 6 years now, it's done 540K KM I was doing a sliding door. It had about 172-177 Microns and I was using a Makita at various speeds from 600-3000 rpms, with a LC Yellow CCS, Standard Makita Wool cutting pad and LC Green CCS. I was using M105, I took off about 5 microns on average. *Note that how much you can take off is your really about how hard you go at it, I think I did about 8-10 passes @3000 with the wool. It also depends on how hard the clear is

 

Older clear will come away way faster as it tends to be a lot drier. As you get down to fresh clear, it won't come off any where near as fast.