However, without an understanding of car finishes and the skill to polish or buff the scratch correctly, a car owner can easily remove too much clear coat and cause MORE damage. By rubbing away too much of the clear coat when attempting a car scratch repair, a car owner can cause hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of damage. Consider this, the average clear coat thickness on a vehicle is four thousandths of an inch. From a cosmetic repair standpoint, a technician can safely remove 1 or 2 mil of thickness. Beyond that point, the technician is in danger of over thinning the paint causing what is known as a buffer burn.

The reason this occurs is the vast majority of car owners do not understand the differences are between waxing, polishing, and buffing a vehicle finish. Polishing and buffing are abrasive processes that remove paint just like sandpaper. On the other hand, wax protects the paint by sitting on top of it creating a slippery, shiny protective barrier. The bottom line is that buffing and polishing reduces the thickness of the clear coat. The result is buffing and other polishing activities can easily be overdone by and inexperienced person. A delicate touch is needed.