How long can you polish with T-Cut before damaging paintwork
Discussion
Hi, I have some light scratches on my car which I cannot feel. with my fingernail so I’m assuming they’re just in the clear coat, I have some T-Cut to get them out but I’m worried I’ll burn through it and ruin my paintwork even more? How long can you use T-Cut before you do more damage then it’s worth? Thanks
How long's a piece of string?
Seriously though it's impossible to say.
Solid colours which are topcoats (not clearcoat over base) are thinner.
If a scratch seems to disappear when wet then it will PROBABLY polish out but it's always a risk.
As far as colours that are applied as a base coat with a clearcoat (lacquer) over the top (metallics, pearls, xirillics etc):
You can be polishing away happily & all of a sudden you've got a new dull spot as you've just gone through the clear & into the colour coat.
If the car has had one of these texture removal sand & polish jobs done on the original factory finish then you've already lost a lot of the clear so you'll be through what's left quicker.
Over the last 20 odd years I've noticed that the amount of clear applied by the factory has reduced, scratches that used to be easily polished out suddenly became risky. No doubt the bean counters saving on costs.
If you try to polish the scratch smooth you increase the risk of going through compared to just taking the 'eye' off it by polishing to smooth out the damage to the clear in the scratch itself.
If in any doubt, don't use a machine polisher. Do it by hand. Takes much longer but safer.
T-cut is far too coarse. Try Farecla G3 or similar.
Seriously though it's impossible to say.
Solid colours which are topcoats (not clearcoat over base) are thinner.
If a scratch seems to disappear when wet then it will PROBABLY polish out but it's always a risk.
As far as colours that are applied as a base coat with a clearcoat (lacquer) over the top (metallics, pearls, xirillics etc):
You can be polishing away happily & all of a sudden you've got a new dull spot as you've just gone through the clear & into the colour coat.
If the car has had one of these texture removal sand & polish jobs done on the original factory finish then you've already lost a lot of the clear so you'll be through what's left quicker.
Over the last 20 odd years I've noticed that the amount of clear applied by the factory has reduced, scratches that used to be easily polished out suddenly became risky. No doubt the bean counters saving on costs.
If you try to polish the scratch smooth you increase the risk of going through compared to just taking the 'eye' off it by polishing to smooth out the damage to the clear in the scratch itself.
If in any doubt, don't use a machine polisher. Do it by hand. Takes much longer but safer.
T-cut is far too coarse. Try Farecla G3 or similar.
paintman said:
How long's a piece of string?
Seriously though it's impossible to say.
Solid colours which are topcoats (not clearcoat over base) are thinner.
If a scratch seems to disappear when wet then it will PROBABLY polish out but it's always a risk.
As far as colours that are applied as a base coat with a clearcoat (lacquer) over the top (metallics, pearls, xirillics etc):
You can be polishing away happily & all of a sudden you've got a new dull spot as you've just gone through the clear & into the colour coat.
If the car has had one of these texture removal sand & polish jobs done on the original factory finish then you've already lost a lot of the clear so you'll be through what's left quicker.
Over the last 20 odd years I've noticed that the amount of clear applied by the factory has reduced, scratches that used to be easily polished out suddenly became risky. No doubt the bean counters saving on costs.
If you try to polish the scratch smooth you increase the risk of going through compared to just taking the 'eye' off it by polishing to smooth out the damage to the clear in the scratch itself.
If in any doubt, don't use a machine polisher. Do it by hand. Takes much longer but safer.
T-cut is far too coarse. Try Farecla G3 or similar.
Far too coarse even if I’m doing it by hand with a micro fibre ? I know the scratches are in the clear coat as I cannot feel them with my fingernail, just be going over them after a wash with a micro fibre . ThanksSeriously though it's impossible to say.
Solid colours which are topcoats (not clearcoat over base) are thinner.
If a scratch seems to disappear when wet then it will PROBABLY polish out but it's always a risk.
As far as colours that are applied as a base coat with a clearcoat (lacquer) over the top (metallics, pearls, xirillics etc):
You can be polishing away happily & all of a sudden you've got a new dull spot as you've just gone through the clear & into the colour coat.
If the car has had one of these texture removal sand & polish jobs done on the original factory finish then you've already lost a lot of the clear so you'll be through what's left quicker.
Over the last 20 odd years I've noticed that the amount of clear applied by the factory has reduced, scratches that used to be easily polished out suddenly became risky. No doubt the bean counters saving on costs.
If you try to polish the scratch smooth you increase the risk of going through compared to just taking the 'eye' off it by polishing to smooth out the damage to the clear in the scratch itself.
If in any doubt, don't use a machine polisher. Do it by hand. Takes much longer but safer.
T-cut is far too coarse. Try Farecla G3 or similar.
There are a few videos on YouTube of detailers trying to polish through clear coat with a rotary polisher. It’s a big concern for detailers starting out with machine polishers so they’ve attempted to address those concerns. It takes a surprisingly long time, even longer with a dual action machine. As long as you’re not bearing down with all your weight and reapplying the T Cut multiple times I’m sure you’ll be fine.
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