What products should i use to bring out red paint?

[Mantic6t9]

I`m picking up a red m3 this weekend and want to know what products really bring out red paint. The car`s paint looks to be in very good condition and probly only needs a good wax.



here is a pic

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid66/pb984b3bce27a1a05daebd3b30826b98b/fbdffdcb.jpg

[shaf]

Hmm, I usually don`t read posts asking about product recommendations for specific colours since I believe this to be so subjective, but here I find myself anyway. :)



This is horribly over-generalized, but people tend to prefer carnauba waxes for "warmth" and synthetic sealants for "bright reflectivity". Some synthetic products like Blackfire and Platinum are supposed to bridge these two though. It`s not a simple thing to do, but try running searches involving a products` name and "red". Or try a title search or two. Red, I believe, can be considered a dark or light colour so you can look for threads about those too.



I`m not sure how carefully you have inspected this car, but get to know it really well when you get it home. See if the surface really is swirl-free and if it needs a claying job at all. Having the paint prepped well in the first place will be a priority before worrying about what to use for protection.



At some point you will also have to decide if you want to go with a synthetic or carnauba or both, if you haven`t already done this of course.



EDIT: Oh yeah, congratulations on getting an M3! :bow

[Andre']

Prep work is the key to a perfect finish, a good wax or paint sealant on an improperly prepared finish will only add a marginal improvement to the finish. I`ll give you a couple of things you can do to determine the condition on your vehicles finish.



1. after a good wash, put your hand in a plastic zip-lock bag and slide your hand over the surface of your BMW. If the surface is not smooth, but gritty, you need to clay the finish. Search keyword {CLAY}



2. In direct sunlight or very good indoor lighting look for scratches and swirlmarks. if you see any scratches or swirlmarks, the use of a fine compound or Swirlmark remover would be necessary to remove them. If you see no imperfections or only minute ones, you should still consider using a pre wax cleaner, this will not only help add gloss, but it will also remove any mild oxidation. Search keywords {swirlmarks} {scratches} {pre paint-cleaner}



When all the prep work is done you can add a wax or sealant. I`ll list some of the best for you. Zaino, Klasse, Poorboys EX, S100 and Platinum. That`s not all of them but it`s a good start, you can search the forum for them.



One last tip download this http://www.autopia.org/download.php?op=getit&lid=1

[medic159]

I always prefer several coats of Zaino on my red car. See the pics from my sig.

[imported_indy]

I use a sythetic wax as the first coat for reflectivity, then layer

several coats of carnuba on top of that for warmth/depth. It really makes my red paint look gooood.:D

[imported_phareous]

Blackfire is said to be good for red and black. Also under that I would try Klasse AIO or Meguiars DACP to shine it up

[imported_Intermezzo]

My recommendation would be Platinum. If durability is secondary to looks, then try P21S or Souveran. But as Andre said, it`s all in the prep!!



Man I love that car!! Hope it all works out for you. Looking forward to hearing how it goes.

[Deanski]

My SC430 has both Zaino and Souveran paste over it! Very wet looking, almost as one person put it" Red looks as if it`s still in fluid state".



If just wax, Souveran, S100, Poorboys, Moose etc are very good! See what Scottswax has done with these products! (shamless plug)



Regards,

Deanski

[gnahc79]

If you want to slap on a polish before the wax, Jngr had great results with AIO



power of AIO (http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23482)

[Patrick]

Personal experience...........AIO, BF polish, then All finish paint protection.....If your anal, like me, go with a coat of S100 the next day.......

The polish is necessary to use after the AIO due to recommendations by CMA, to use prior to AFPP........

It a deadly combo........:bow

[Mantic6t9]

So AIO has no abrasives? I`m a noob here so i`m going to ask noob questions. What does the AIO do and when should you use it?

[chris0626]

What does AIO do? Well, Jngr`s Behold the Power of AIO (http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23482) thread is what motivated me to buy it.

[Patrick]

Im not sure if its its chemical or abrasive properties that clean, but its a fairly light product......Its like the name implies All in One...Cleans and protects, can be used to remove light oxidation and scratches/swirls, and has better than average protection qualities for a all in one product, maybe a month of protection...Can/Should be topped with another layer of protection, be it Carnauba, or acrylic/polymer.....

[Mantic6t9]

I`ve been reading about S100 and it`s probly what i`ll be using for wax. Should you use AIO if the car already has nice paint?

[shaf]

Originally posted by Mantic6t9

I`ve been reading about S100 and it`s probly what i`ll be using for wax. Should you use AIO if the car already has nice paint? Sure. Before applying a non-cleaner wax it`s best to do some sort of pre-cleaning. If you have no problems to remove then you just don`t have to worry about rubbing in the AIO and can be more gentle. AIO topped with a carnauba wax is a fairly popular combo. Personally I`m not convinced that AIO is 100% non-abrasive, but in any case, it is very gentle - I wouldn`t worry about it.