It will not hurt the clear coat because we are not using any abrasives or scratching off the surface, however, it will remove all the particles such as break dust, water spots, and oxidation on top of your clear coat and polish the metal to a glass-like finish. Our formula of metal polish + cleaner as well as the sealer + repellent are completely safe. It’s recommended that you finish up with the sealer in order to make sure you keep the integrity of the clear coat layer that’s already there. Our sealer + repellent will actually help keep up the protection that a clear coat provides. It’s highly recommended you use the total metal polish system for the very best results with the least amount of harm to your metal surface. If you want to remove clear coat or any remnants of it (due to hazing, flaking, or discoloration), we recommend using steel wool to apply Sheen Genie. In this process we suggest heavily saturating the steel wool with the metal polish + cleaner to prevent any new hair-line scratches.