Paint hardness and machine polishing

Quark · May 2, 2022

I would like to move into machine buffing and waxing with a Harbor Freight polisher Lake Country pads and Meguiar's M06 one step cleaner wax to keep it simple. I have some light swirls and a few light scratches that I want to minimize if not remove.

Question for those who may know, how hard is the clear coat on the 2012 Tahoe and would the orange Lake Country pad which is a light cutting pad get a beginner into trouble?

iamdub · May 2, 2022

Quark said:
I would like to move into machine buffing and waxing with a Harbor Freight polisher Lake Country pads and Meguiar's M06 one step cleaner wax to keep it simple. I have some light swirls and a few light scratches that I want to minimize if not remove.

Question for those who may know, how hard is the clear coat on the 2012 Tahoe and would the orange Lake Country pad which is a light cutting pad get a beginner into trouble?

I think one of our resident detailing pros might can help @adventurenali92

adventurenali92 · May 3, 2022

Quark said:
I would like to move into machine buffing and waxing with a Harbor Freight polisher Lake Country pads and Meguiar's M06 one step cleaner wax to keep it simple. I have some light swirls and a few light scratches that I want to minimize if not remove.

Question for those who may know, how hard is the clear coat on the 2012 Tahoe and would the orange Lake Country pad which is a light cutting pad get a beginner into trouble?

A 2012 Tahoe should have a decent paint depth and paint correcting to remove light swirls should be fine. As long as your machine is an orbita polisher you won’t do any damage with it.

Quark · May 3, 2022

adventurenali92 said:
A 2012 Tahoe should have a decent paint depth and paint correcting to remove light swirls should be fine. As long as your machine is an orbita polisher you won’t do any damage with it.

The Harbor Freight is an orbital. I know to do it properly I should have multiple polishes and pads and do test areas. I've read what I can find and the only truly unknown is the paint hardness and if I stick to polishing I shouldn't have to worry about the thickness. I'm not going for a full correction which would be required to remove the orange peel even though it might be okay I don't have the experience. Thanks for the input.

adventurenali92 · May 4, 2022

Like you said test small areas at a time to get a good idea of the thickness of your paint. And work from there. And yeah trying different polishes to see which ones give you the results you’re ant is always good. I have several different brands of polish compounds in my supplies

adventurenali92 · May 4, 2022

From Thompson station Tennessee, may the 4th be with y’all!! Get yourself a little travel buddy! Haha.

992dr · May 5, 2022

adventurenali92 said:
A 2012 Tahoe should have a decent paint depth and paint correcting to remove light swirls should be fine. As long as your machine is an orbita polisher you won’t do any damage with it.

Would the paint depth and correction capabilities be the same for an 07?
I'll be using a Rupes Duetto.
Thanks

adventurenali92 · May 6, 2022

992dr said:
Would the paint depth and correction capabilities be the same for an 07?
I'll be using a Rupes Duetto.
Thanks

Every vehicle is different. Paint depth will probably be thinner and what polish products to use will depend on what condition your paint is in.

Quark · May 6, 2022

I've said I'm not worried about depth so much as hardness but oh well.

Perhaps I should start another thread but I'll try it here first: Day after an oil change at the Cadillac dealership no less, I noticed a dent in the front of the hood right where one would press in closing said hood.

Can this be repaired without major surgery? It can't be reached from inside to press it out.

992dr · May 6, 2022

adventurenali92 said:
Every vehicle is different. Paint depth will probably be thinner and what polish products to use will depend on what condition your paint is in.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I don't want to clutter Quarks thread with my mess. But I do appreciate you answering me.

Quark said:
I've said I'm not worried about depth so much as hardness but oh well.

Perhaps I should start another thread but I'll try it here first: Day after an oil change at the Cadillac dealership no less, I noticed a dent in the front of the hood right where one would press in closing said hood.

Can this be repaired without major surgery? It can't be reached from inside to press it out.

I have seen some amazing PDR done to some pretty banged up cars. You could inquire in your area for someone who specializes in PDR and see if they can come out to give you a quote to fix the hood. Then send the bill to the dealership

Paint hardness and machine polishing

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