Should I get more aggressive? see pics

[SmithsonGA]

I detailed my 2007 550i this past week. I only used Zaino ZPC with a white pad. See attached pics.



Seeing these pics, do you feel I could do even better if I went more aggressive with a Menzerna SIP and orange pad or other more aggressive medium polish?



Thoughts.



thx

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff270/smithsonga/IMG_2199.jpg

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff270/smithsonga/IMG_2201.jpg

[imported_DetailDan]

Cant see anything from those pictures.

[Accumulator]

Yeah, me either :nixweiss I`m always saying I can`t *really* evaluate paint over the internet all that well, but with white it`s especially tough.



But I *do* think that if you`re even entertaining the notion of "could it be better", well...if you have to ask then the answer is "yes". Once you get it as flawless as your paint thickness will allow, and then burnish it a few times with a "jeweling" polish/process...*then* you won`t be wondering if you can get it any better ;)



Brutal honesty: while it could just be the picture`s quality (as opposed to the *paint*), I will say that yeah, I think you can get it a whole lot nicer than that. In the first pic, where the light is reflecting off the left front fender, it just doesn`t do it for me. It looks clean but not well-polished/glossy.

[SmithsonGA]

that is fair enough. That is why I posted it. I also find it difficult with white.



I thought the hood shot gave the best `picture` of how glossy it is.



What would you recommend with a vehicle in this condition? e.g. what polish and pad to start, and what to transition to etc.



I saw a car that looked very good and this was the description: So for the paint we washed/clayed/2 step polish using Menzerna SIP/Uber Orange 5.5 inch pad and Menzerna PO85RD/Uber Blue Finishing 5.5 inch pad mated to a Makita. Finished with Swissvax Cleaner Fluid and applied a nice coat of Swissvax Crystal Rock on it.



I was thinking using the SIP with an orange pad, then my Zaino ZPC, Z2Pro etc.



Curious on others thoughts.

[Legacy]

that is fair enough. That is why I posted it. I also find it difficult with white.



I thought the hood shot gave the best `picture` of how glossy it is.



What would you recommend with a vehicle in this condition? e.g. what polish and pad to start, and what to transition to etc.



I saw a car that looked very good and this was the description: So for the paint we washed/clayed/2 step polish using Menzerna SIP/Uber Orange 5.5 inch pad and Menzerna PO85RD/Uber Blue Finishing 5.5 inch pad mated to a Makita. Finished with Swissvax Cleaner Fluid and applied a nice coat of Swissvax Crystal Rock on it.



I was thinking using the SIP with an orange pad, then my Zaino ZPC, Z2Pro etc.



Curious on others thoughts.Why so aggressive? Are there swrils on your paint? If you use SIP you are going to have to finish down with 106 on a white pad or smiliar. You said you saw a car with Swissvax, but you also said that we washed/clayed etc. I`m confused.

[SmithsonGA]

Why so aggressive? Are there swrils on your paint? If you use SIP you are going to have to finish down with 106 on a white pad or smiliar. You said you saw a car with Swissvax, but you also said that we washed/clayed etc. I`m confused.



sorry for the confusion and lack of knowledge.



I want the car to be glossier than it is now. I used Zaino ZPC polish with a white pad on a Porter-Cable. (then finished with Z2Pro).



The comments on SIP etc is from discussions elsewhere and the car in the picture was incredibly glossy. I figured that is what was required, but I dont know, so I was asking. I just listed the products that detailer had used.



So my question stands, for a glossier finish, what product should I add prior to the ZPC or replace the ZPC etc?



thx

[Legacy]

[quote name=`SmithsonGA`]sorry for the confusion and lack of knowledge.



I want the car to be glossier than it is now. I used Zaino ZPC polish with a white pad on a Porter-Cable. (then finished with Z2Pro).



The comments on SIP etc is from discussions elsewhere and the car in the picture was incredibly glossy. I figured that is what was required, but I dont know, so I was asking. I just listed the products that detailer had used.



So my question stands, for a glossier finish, what product should I add prior to the ZPC or replace the ZPC etc?

Not to fond of Zanio, but love Menz and Swissvax.:D

[imported_beachwolverine]

Smithson,



You probably want to read some more on the forum and do some searches. It would be helpful if you would list all your steps and products - what did you do besides ZPC. For example, what did you use as an LSP. And are there swirls? were they gone after the ZPC? etc. etc.



Also, look in Click and Brag - you will get some great insight and it will also show you how to take better pictures.

[Accumulator]

SmithsonGA- Besides doing more research (this stuff isn`t rocket science but it *is* a bit more complicated than one might think), IMO you need to really *evaluate* the paint.



The reflections on the hood look OK, but the limited depth of field in the photo and the generally flattering lighting conditions make it impossible for me to truly evaluate it. Even in my shop, with numerous types of lighting, it can take me a while to determine the true condition of a vehicle (and I`m very good at it...if it takes *me* a lot of work then it`s just not that easy).



Get some lighting that shows the paint`s true condition. Try using magnification if you need to (I use a lighted 15X magnifier now and then). See *what`s not right*. I`d suggest incandescent lighting in an otherwise dark environment, varying the illumination and viewing angles/distances. This works better with two people than with one, and it`s not something that`ll only take a minute or two per panel.



Something must be less than optimal or you wouldn`t be wondering; when my vehicles are done there`s no doubt in my mind that they`re about as good as they can get.



Oh, and I`d caution you against putting too much stock in the opinions/claims of others ;) I never care *what* anybody else thinks regarding how my vehicles look and I take every "it came out SOOOO glossy!" claim with a grain of salt. All that matters is how *you* think the vehicle looks. That said, a white BMW with Zaino oughta come out just about literally blinding in bright sun.



It seems to me that a once-over with ZPC (which I`ve never used), isn`t *really* all that much when it comes to the correction of most vehicles. On an `07 I`d expect that to yield something in the ~75% range but that`s just a wild guess as I know nothing about the clear on that car.



There are either scratches/marring too severe for the ZPC and/or the ZPC didn`t finish out finely enough (that`s not all *that* likely IMO) or something in-between. Something is causing the light to refract instead of reflect.



If you need to use something aggressive to get out severe/moderate marring, you`ll have to use a proper follow-up product afterwards. And then you might want to use a final polish (maybe the ZPC).



That process you quoted a) involves quite a few steps, b) the correction was *done via rotary* and c) it ended with a completely different final approach. I dunno if I`d compare what you`re doing to that in any way, it`s not even remotely the same type of job IMO.



I`m not familar with your paint or the products you`re using, so I can`t offer any sure-fire specific combos :nixweiss

[SmithsonGA]

thanks for the great comments.



After further review, my 550i is in great shape with potentially some minor swirls left on the surface. It already `pops` but I want to go to the next level and see if I can make it look extraordinary. Here are some pictures that used the above procedures/products and I believe incredible:



http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/PLINCLIN/DSC05880.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/PLINCLIN/DSC05901.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/PLINCLIN/DSC05760.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/PLINCLIN/DSC05683.jpg

[MarcHarris]

^ fminus detail?

[SmithsonGA]

^ fminus detail?



YES. I should have stated that.

[Accumulator]

..After further review, my 550i is in great shape with potentially some minor swirls left on the surface. It already `pops` but I want to go to the next level and see if I can make it look extraordinary...



I still think you need to get rid of the residual marring first, if you can see swirls then you simply need to get rid of them. THEN do some additional burnishing/jeweling/final polishing.



Getting the swirls out is only the start if you want the paint to *really* be impressive. If you can see swirls without going to extraordinary measures then you`re still at that initial-correction step.

[richy]

DG 501 does a great job on deep cleaning white. After you burnish, hit it with the DG and watch the crap that you`ll get on your pad.

Here`s a white Jetta I did:

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Jetta1.jpg