Larry R

Unfortunately, my car has gotten some scraches in the paint. You can just baely feel them with your fingernail. I talked to my paint and body guy who I have used to paint my other hot rods, and he thinks they can be removed, but he says he may have to do some very light sanding with very fine paper, So I wonder just how thick is the clear coat, will it be able to be sanded just a bit without going through it? Thanks for any input, Larry

HANNY

Larry, i'm no expert but have tried the claybar thing with good success for light scratches. Some others might have better ideas tho. good luck, those damn scratches will drive a guy nutspaul

yur2slo

If it's a very light scratch, sanding it with some 2000 grit (1500 if it's a little deeper) then buffing it out should not be a problem. Just need to be careful, these factories get away with using as little clear coat as necessary nowadays.

cmonkey713

Check over in the Car Care Section. There should plenty of posts overthere on the subject.

mksz51

If your body guy is good you should trust him. They generally know what they are doing. Quite a few owners have had their cars wetsanded and then buffed to remove or minimize orange peel. Granted, that is only taking off the "high spots" but some careful wetsanding followed by buffing can take care of a lot of minor scratches.

talon90

The clear coat thickness is between 1.5 and 2.0 mils (.0015" - .002").

It can be wet sanded. Make sure who ever does it knows exactly what they are doing. It is very easy to break through at that thickness. The color coat is between .7mils and 1.2 mils. (a piece of paper is typically 3 mils for reference. The car has a primer coat, a color coat and a clear coat. Once you get through the clear it is a short trip to the body panel from there. Just remember that your clear coat is your primary protection from the elements.

car2fast4you

If it were me - I wouldn't use sandpaper on the paint, unless you're experienced.

There are many types of rubbing compounds out there that will take out most light scratches.

After using the rubbing compound, the clearcoat will have a hazy appearance to it.

Next, go over it with a swirl-mark remover.......basically, a very fine rubbing compound.

Finally, use your favorite wash or polish to fully restore the shine.

I've had great success using this method.
It sometimes takes 2 or 3 rounds of buffing & polishing - but, the scratches eventually come out.
A little at a time is the safest way to go.

I can recommend some excellent products for this, if you're interested.

Body Teacher

What also needs to be remembered is that you are making the clearcoat even thinner than factory which can lead to degradation of the clear due to not enough film thickness. The ultraviolet light protection provided by the clear is lessened when it is thinner. Ever seen a vehicle going down the road with the clear turning white and eventually pealing or wearing through? That's a possibility depending upon climate.

Raazor

It's four nodes thick.