High points

"High Points" is a term commonly used within the industry, and it can describe numerous issues. These could be bits of dust or contamination that got into the paintwork during painting, or just an area of paint that stands proud because of a run or sag. It can also be used to describe the peaks on paintwork with excessive orange peel.

What it means

High points are the parts of a panel that stick out slightly compared with the surrounding surface - things like sharp edges, swage lines, wheel arch lips, panel crowns and tight curves. When you sand or machine polish, these areas make first contact with the pad or abrasive, so they get more cutting action than the flatter, recessed sections. They also tend to have slightly less paint or clearcoat from the factory or after a respray, which makes them more vulnerable.

Why it matters

Edges and ridges wear through before flat panels do. High points collect more abrasion from every pass and frequently carry thinner clearcoat to begin with, which makes them the first place a machine will strike through to primer or metal on a panel that is being worked hard.

Technique adapts around that. Detailers and bodyshops ease off approaching an edge, tilt the pad away from sharp lines, or mask the highest points entirely before compounding, all to stop material coming off where there is least to spare. It also shapes what can honestly be promised: where heavy defects run straight over a high point, removing them fully may simply not be safe, and the customer needs to hear that some marks will be improved rather than eliminated before the work starts.

Where high points get flagged

Paint correction estimates, training material and sanding or polishing guides all use the term, in instructions such as be careful around high points on swage lines, or we masked the highest points before compounding. Inspectors record where strike-through has happened first, naming door edges, bonnet ridges and wheel arch lips.

Context

High points sit at the centre of safe sanding and machine polishing technique. When flattening orange peel, levelling runs or carrying out heavy correction, technicians constantly balance the need to remove defects with the risk at edges and crowns. Paint depth readings are often taken across a panel to compare flatter areas with high points; a big drop at the edges is a warning to tread carefully or avoid aggressive correction there altogether.

Common mistakes

• Polishing high points with exactly the same pressure and passes as flat areas, and then being surprised when edges burn through first.
• Running sanding blocks or discs straight over sharp creases and body lines instead of feathering up to them or masking them off.
• Chasing deep scratches or orange peel that run across high points, even when thickness readings show there is not enough clearcoat to correct them safely.
• Ignoring the shape of the panel and working with oversized pads that constantly ride up over high points instead of matching pad size to the area.

Authored by Danny Argent. Reviewed by Gary Wray. Last updated 16 May 2026.