What does it mean to be clear coat safe?

I wanted to really know what it meant. I thought it meant it will not remove the clear coat, but after reading some information I got the idea it cuts the clear coat even? I am confused now. Please help thank you.What does it mean to be clear coat safe?
Jacob F gave a good answer.





To add a little bit, back before clearcoat paint jobs became common in the 1980's, most cars were painted with either lacquer or enamel paint, no clearcoat.





Polishes and waxes were more aggressive then in order to remove the oxidation that was common with lacquer and enamel paint. Those paint jobs were thicker (more paint on the car) and needed a polish that was high in strong solvents and abrasives in order to provide a nice shine.





Clearcoat paint jobs are much thinner than the old lacquer paint, so those old polishes would dull and haze the clearcoat, they were so strong. Wax companies had to reformulate their polishes to not damage the new, thinner clearcoat paint systems.





Today, this is almost a non-issue. There are very few polishes and waxes that are not safe for clearcoat paint. Use products from name brands like 3M, Meguiars and Mothers and you'll be OK.What does it mean to be clear coat safe?
it came from the old days when clear coats first came around, and some cleaners/waxes were hard on the finish, some companies still use the term, every wax polish etc made in the last 3 decades should be 100% clear coat safe...





random though they did the same thing with silicone gasket maker... back when efi was first around the o2 sensors were really finiky, and the silicone would coat the sensor in the exhaust pipe and cause the sensor to fail...they then made an o2 sensor safe version... but now o2 sensors are better, and the ';non'; o2 sensor safe stuff is also fine... the name just kinda stuck
It means the product will not harm clearcoat, the top layer of your paint job.