Clear Coat Hardness

KD00LS

KD00LS

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Any of you paint guys know the hardness of clearcoat on our LS's? Does it differ from different color codes? (Silver Frost Metallic code TS on mine)

Scale of: Soft, Medium, Hard?

I'm trying to figure out what polish to use. I used some cheap Turtle Wax polish and I've really learned from trial and error that everything from Turtle Wax is just trash. I've really stepped the game up, now I have probably close to a grand worth of detailing supplies, all top of the line. I guess you can say I'm pretty special.
 
While it may be interesting to know the hardness of the clearcoat, I really do not think it is a factor in considering which polish to use. In general, you want to make sure you use a polish that is clearcoat-safe. It should say somewhere "clearcoat safe" or "safe for clearcoats" on the bottle somewhere. If it does not, don't use it.

The question that you should be asking is how aggressive should your clearcoat-safe polish be? The answer to that question depends on what condition your paint is in. Is it clean? Are there lots of swirl marks? The dirtier your finish is, and the more swirl marks you've got, the more aggressive your polish needs to be. In such a case, you may consider a "cleaner/polish" such as Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover. If your paint is fairly clean and with few swirls, you could use Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze.

I would add that in all cases, you should use cleaning clay and tar remover first to remove embedded contaminants. You do not want to polish a surface that is dirty because (and I learned this from experience) it takes a lot more work and the results are not as good.

I would suggest the following steps:

1. Wash
2. Remove tar and oily contaminants with a tar remover (spot treatments)
3. Clay
4. Polish with Meguiar's #9
5. Wax with a good wax or sealant (e.g., Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax)

If you're using a machine to polish, be very careful on ridges and seams since you can burn down the paint quickly. To be safe, I always do my polishing/waxing by hand.

Good luck.
 
dont let any claybar residue dry on your windows.. it will NOT come off.. i tried everything.
 
We have a professional detailer on the board.........

KD00LS said:
Any of you paint guys know the hardness of clearcoat on our LS's? Does it differ from different color codes? (Silver Frost Metallic code TS on mine)

Scale of: Soft, Medium, Hard?

I'm trying to figure out what polish to use. I used some cheap Turtle Wax polish and I've really learned from trial and error that everything from Turtle Wax is just trash. I've really stepped the game up, now I have probably close to a grand worth of detailing supplies, all top of the line. I guess you can say I'm pretty special.
Click to expand...

Check out some of his threads. He know his stuff when it comes to making your car shine.
 
is that meguires # 9 a finishing polish? i know this isnt my thread but its a good one considering i spend over 10 hrs a week on my car.. whats a good "glaze".. i think it goes on after the polish.. before the wax.
 
also is it a good idea to .. in this order.... wash, dry, glaze, polish, seal, wax? is that too much? wrong order? i clayed the car when i first got it.. and really never want to do it again.. that shiz got on my windows and will not come off.
 
Thanks for the tips guys but I'm just looking for the approximate hardness if anyone knew it off hand. All my stuff is clearcoat safe. I have Poorboys World Super Swirl Remover 1, 2, 2.5, and 3. It goes from least abrasive to most, respectively. I just don't want to use anything too aggresive. The reason I ask is I saw in another forum a professional detailer was asking a fellow member with a 2004 Lamborghini the hardness of his clearcoat.

I plan on using....

-Wash with Detailer's Pride Xtreme Foam Formula Shampoo via Gilmour's Foammaster gun
-Mild claybar
-Poorboy's SSR (?)
-Klasse Sealant Glaze
-S100 Carnuba Wax


All done via Porter Cable 7424. I guess I can't go wrong using SSR2, it's about right in the middle. Then follow up with SSR1 on a finishing pad.
 
midi_junkie said:
also is it a good idea to .. in this order.... wash, dry, glaze, polish, seal, wax? is that too much? wrong order? i clayed the car when i first got it.. and really never want to do it again.. that shiz got on my windows and will not come off.
Click to expand...


Switch glaze and polish around and you got it, claybar after dry too. Use detailing spray as a lubricant. Did you try using the claybar to get the remainder of the claybar off? If not try a glass polish with a buffer.
 
before you do that.. look at this stuff... looks amazing. http://www.zainostore.com/ guy posted about it above.

KD00LS said:
Thanks for the tips guys but I'm just looking for the approximate hardness if anyone knew it off hand. All my stuff is clearcoat safe. I have Poorboys World Super Swirl Remover 1, 2, 2.5, and 3. It goes from least abrasive to most, respectively. I just don't want to use anything too aggresive. The reason I ask is I saw in another forum a professional detailer was asking a fellow member with a 2004 Lamborghini the hardness of his clearcoat.

I plan on using....

-Wash with Detailer's Pride Xtreme Foam Formula Shampoo via Gilmour's Foammaster gun
-Mild claybar
-Poorboy's SSR (?)
-Klasse Sealant Glaze
-S100 Carnuba Wax


All done via Porter Cable 7424. I guess I can't go wrong using SSR2, it's about right in the middle. Then follow up with SSR1 on a finishing pad.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah I've heard of Zaino. Some guys on my detailing forum use it and like it. Everyone's got their own favorite stuff.
 
I'm not trying to start a detailing war, as everyone has their favorites, and all products have pros/cons. We taped a car down the middle at an automotive function I hosted, where two of that forum's more respected detailers went head to head. One used Zaino and the other used Klasse. The shine was pretty much identical, but the Zaino held up better after a month of driving. The shine was still strong on the Zaino side, and the water would still bead up. The Klasse had lost some of it's luster, and didn't bead as well. Just throwing that out there.

Mark
 
KD00LS said:
Thanks for the tips guys but I'm just looking for the approximate hardness if anyone knew it off hand. .... The reason I ask is I saw in another forum a professional detailer was asking a fellow member with a 2004 Lamborghini the hardness of his clearcoat.
Click to expand...


I'm curious to know why that information would make a difference. If you had the hardness information, what would you do differently?
 
that shiz got on my windows and will not come off.
Click to expand...
Tried a razor blade ( a NEW blade) and glass cleaner? Spray the cleaner on to act as a lubricant and use the blade to cut the stuff off. You can do that for pretty much anything thats stuck to your windows except for acid rain.
 
i dont know if it was from the dry clay stuff.. ive tried everything tho.. razorblade, vinager et cetera. it may be mineral deposit.. mineral spirits didnt work.. i even tried moonshine and bacardi 151.. heh. no one can see it but me... but thats just it.. i can see it. i want my car 100% perfect.. at all times. i mean.. i even have to look for the stuff to see it. its white/clear... and it looks like it dried with water. like drips..

97stscaddy said:
Tried a razor blade ( a NEW blade) and glass cleaner? Spray the cleaner on to act as a lubricant and use the blade to cut the stuff off. You can do that for pretty much anything thats stuck to your windows except for acid rain.
Click to expand...
 
ToddG said:
I'm curious to know why that information would make a difference. If you had the hardness information, what would you do differently?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking that a light cut polish on soft clearcoat will cut through more than on hard clearcoat. I'm just trying to get the least aggressive method for the results. Like I said I just saw it somewhere, I'll start a post on detailuniversity.com and see what they say. You could be right, I'm just makin sure.
 
midi_junkie said:
no one can see it but me... but thats just it.. i can see it. i want my car 100% perfect.. at all times.
Click to expand...


I'm the same way with this car. I go effing crazy in the winter... I can't keep salt off of it.
 
KD00LS said:
A little update...

Asked the guys at my detailing board.
http://www.detailuniversity.com/forums/school-exterior-detailing/2047-hardness-clearcoat.html
Click to expand...

The answers so far (and there are only two), are not very helpful to your original question. TOGWT says that diagnosis is the key, but then provides no guidance on how to determine clearcoat hardness (or any other factor he lists for that matter).

Certainly the hardness of a clearcoat will play a role in choosing what polish to use....I think everyone would agree on that. The better question you should ask is: How can one determine what the clearcoat hardness is? And how does one measure hardness? What are the units of measurement? Since you can't scrap off a sample of the clearcoat and send it to a lab for analysis, seems to me you have to determine hardness by looking (either with your eye or with some optical measuring device). Once you know the hardness, how do you use that information to select a polish? How do you know what polishes are suitable for a given level of hardness? Does it say on the bottle? Sorry for the detailed analysis, but I have a PhD and think about these kinds of problems routinely.
 
I hear you, I was a Chem major for a little while so I was all wrapped up in the scientific method and analytical reasoning as well. I don't have a paint depth gauge so I guess I'll work my way from the least aggressive method up to test. Any other ideas Todd?
 
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