I was working on some paint imperfections on my fathers 1992 EG hatch, and ended up with the paint condition shown in the photo. For reference, this is the Passenger front fender, and the section I was working on looked to be oxidized. I was working the section with some polishing compound and a polishing wheel, when I started to see the bright red section appear (section in question). I'm confused whether I've burnt all the way through the clear coat, or perhaps I've simply removed the oxidation and am looking through only clear coat?

Anyone have thoughts here? Thanks for the help!

 

You burned through the clear.

Probably a repainted fender that the aftermarket clear has gone cloudy.

 

Look on your pad after polishing that section. If there's red residue, then you're polishing the base and you burned through. Sometimes, really bad oxidation looks like burn through.

 

yeah that would be burnt clear coat. Ive done that before when i use to work at a paint shop, not much you can really do to fix it unless you repaint it or you want to try blending it. Wet sand it with 1k to 2k sand paper and give it a very light pass with your buffer, depending on the quality of your clear coat you should see a softer edge