New, looking to make detailing silver worth it

J

JustinL67

New member
Hey everyone, love the site so I figured I would ask some questions.



Anyway I have a 1998 Grand Prix GTP, in the silvermist color (it's metalic, if I clean it up really good you can see the metal flake)



Anyway, I have been using the megs deap crystal system on it, and while it works well, the results can only be seen from a few feet awat, and in all honesty I don't feel that it is worth my time to detail the car anymore. Im looking for some information and some products to make it worth it. It is tempting to jump on the zaino wagon, since I have heard that sealants are very good for light colored cars, but figured I would ask the experts,



So far I am doing it all by hand, but if the final verdict on the best products work well with a porter I don't mind getting one.



Thanks guys, I did a brief search, sorry if this gets covered a lot.
 
JustinL67- Welcome to Autopia!



I've had literally dozens of silver vehicles over the years, and yeah, it takes something special to make silver really look impressive. IMO it's not just about the Last Step Product, as my wife and I have identical-paint Audis that both looks good, but look so different that you'd swear they were different paint codes. But yeah, you can do better than (just) the Deep Crystal system.



One thing to work on is removing all the marring (swirls, etc.) It can be hard to see on silver, but getting rid of it will make a difference in how impressive it looks (makes light reflect instead of refract).



Just doing the car with a combo like 3m PI-III RC (05933) then PI-III MG (05937) and *then* using the Deep Crystal would probably do a world of good.



But there are innumerable ways to go about this, I've had up to six silver cars at one time with completely different polish/wax/etc. on all of them and none of them looked "bad".



FWIW, the best look I ever got on silver is (after removing all marring and inspecting for same under five light sources to make sure I got it all) was to do some additional polishing with 1Z Pro Metallic Polish and top that with 4-Star UPP. It gave a special combination of depth, wetness, and metallic "dazzle" that I've never seen before.



So I'd pick a product line (Meg's, 3M, PoorBoy's, 1Z) and see how it works. What *I* like might not be what *you* want to see on your vehicle. But get that paint clean and marring free before you worry about the LSP, that's the "trick" to getting any vehicle looking great.



And yeah, get a PC or a Cyclo (I greatly prefer the latter).
 
Accumulator is right on with his advice. The prep work is where your shine comes from. The Megs Deep Crystal system has the basics however you may need something a bit stronger and a machine like a PC. The PC will allow you to do more and do it much faster...but it won't work miracles.



I like the Poorboy's and 1Z polishes a lot. Klasse AIO is a great product on silver.



I enjoy trying different sealants and carnaubas to see how different they look on my car. Each product tends to have its own individual character...always remember the beauty is in the eye of the beholder...in this case you.



AIO + just about anything (UPP, EX-P, P21S/S100, Signature, Natty's, etc.) will give you a finish you can be proud of if your silver car is well prepped.
 
I personally prefer AIO/UPP on silver.



SonataUPPx210.jpg




SonataUPPx25.jpg
 
Ok so I brought up all the products listed so far, as well as a bit of advice I have recieved in the past, believe it or not I have heard from a friend who has the same color as me, that Eagle One Wax-As-U-Dry had the brightest shine out of all the stuff he has used, so I think I will use that every week when I wash it.



Anyway that's not what Im asking about, just sharing I guess :bounce





So after a dawn wash, clay (brand? I've heard there really isn't a difference between $10 autozone stuff and the expensive ones you have to buy), and a rinse, your saying use some AIO, then some 1Z metalic polish, then wax with UPP? How many coats of this stuff? Is it hard to apply by hand?



What about for the weekly wash? Does an expensive car shampoo make that big of a difference, or will my meg's gold class do the trick?



Anything Im missing?



sry so long, just figured Id get all the ?'s out there.
 
I believe Scottwax suggests Vanilla Moose + EX-P on silver. I'm gonna be taking the man's suggestion when I detail my car.
 
JustinL67 said:
So after a dawn wash, clay (brand? I've heard there really isn't a difference between $10 autozone stuff and the expensive ones you have to buy), and a rinse, your saying use some AIO, then some 1Z metalic polish, then wax with UPP? How many coats of this stuff? Is it hard to apply by hand?



What about for the weekly wash? Does an expensive car shampoo make that big of a difference, or will my meg's gold class do the trick?



Anything Im missing?



sry so long, just figured Id get all the ?'s out there.
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Skip the dawn wash. Just use your regular car shampoo. Polishing will take off whatever you already have on the car.



Clay - I like ClayMagic blue (fine grade), Mother's CA Gold for OTC



I'd polish first (I typically use something like SSR1 which is mildly abrasive), follow that up with AIO, then UPP. I don't see any improvement with UPP after the second coat.
 
LightngSVT said:
Who was it that has been posting the pics of the silver Lexus with Sovereign? That car had some serious flake popping.
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That was SilverLexus. TW85 has done his Solara with AIO + Souveran too. Both were stunning...and both cars were prepped very well.
 
There are a lot of stunning combinations for silver. As always, the key is excellent prep work.



Souveran always adds a little something to my silver paint, regardless of the products it is used over. Top the Souveran off with either a carnauba based quick detailer or Poorboy's Spray & Gloss for an extra boost in slickness and appearance.



My two favorite combinations are the ClearKote line topped with Souveran and AIO/UPC + UPPx2 topped with Souveran. In the shade, my paint truly appears to have a pane of glass sitting on the surface and in the sun, it is incredibly wet, the metallic jumps out, reflections are sharp (for silver), and there is just an overall glow. I posted pictures of my car about a week ago that gives a rough idea of how my paint looks, though a camera can only capture about 25% of the appearance. :)
 
Yeah, Souveran can look great on silver if you don't mind redoing it all the time. People act like it's a wax for black/red only, but it was my wife's favorite on silver. Souveran over 1Z MP would probably be incredible, but I currently want something more durable on those cars.



JustinL67 said:
So after a dawn wash, clay (brand? I've heard there really isn't a difference between $10 autozone stuff and the expensive ones you have to buy), and a rinse, your saying use some AIO, then some 1Z metalic polish, then wax with UPP? How many coats of this stuff? Is it hard to apply by hand?



What about for the weekly wash? Does an expensive car shampoo make that big of a difference, or will my meg's gold class do the trick?
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Soap: Meg's Gold Class doesn't have enugh lubricity for me, I'd worry about marring the finish (I gave my GC away).



Clay: Store-bought stuff should be fine. Use plenty of lube and don't rub hard (marring again).



Polish/etc.: the AIO is a basically non-abrasive paint cleaner, the 1z Metallic is a mildly abrasive polish. I wouldn't use them both, but if you do, use the 1Z MP first and then the AIO. But again, I'd choose between them.



*I* would go with the 1Z MP I think...but get the "Pro" version in the round 1-liter can (more expensive but worth it) as it's *much* more compatible with UPP (the consumer MP has too much wax in it and the UPP doesn't bond all that well). It'll work fine by hand, better by machine.



But the AIO is great for all sorts of things so I'd get it too. Certainly not money wasted or anything like that.



I'd probably just do one coat of UPP and then add another one after each of the next few washes. UPP is easy to use by hand or machine. If you want to use a QD after the wash (instead of just adding more UPP), I'd get the one made to go with UPP, I believe it's called 4-Star Ultimate Gloss Enhancer (UGE).
 
To make my brothers silver look good I usually polish with Poorboys or Menzerna and move onto a glaze like RMG or VM and top with something like EX/Signature/Souveran. I can get the silver looking really wet by leaving the wax on for about an hour and spit shining with S&G or Crystal Mist. The prep is most important though.
 
I think I may mix and match your input. Some 1Z mettalic polish pro, with souveran. I found a kit on topoftheline for the souveran line of products, the wax, shampoo, spray on wax, and cleaning "lotion" with some towels and applicators for $100.



So what do you reccomend for a regular car wash?
 
I have two silver cars, one with VM/EX-P/Natty's and one with VM/UPP/Natty's. Both cars had preps of clay/SSR 2.5 (if needed)/SSR 1 (if needed)/PB's ProPolish. Of the two, I like the UPP a bit better. I found NXT darkened the paint a bit in a way I personally did not care for.
 
JustinL67 said:
I think I may mix and match your input. Some 1Z mettalic polish pro, with souveran. I found a kit on topoftheline for the souveran line of products, the wax, shampoo, spray on wax, and cleaning "lotion" with some towels and applicators for $100.



So what do you reccomend for a regular car wash?
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Oddly enough, I find the Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo to be awfully hard on Souveran :nixweiss Seems to strip it right off.



The Paintwork Cleansing Lotion is OK stuff, but yeah, I'd use the Pro MP instead.



For a regular wash I use Griot's (not too expensive if you buy it in gallons). Before switching to that I used Meg's #62 and before *that* I used Pinnacle.
 
I think the trick to silver is the prep work. Once you have the paint buffed out to as good of a shine as you can get (I like Mezerna PO85RD, but everyones got their own favorite polish), try using Klasse AIO followed by 3 layers of Klasse SG. I think you'll like it.
 
themightytimmah said:
Once you have the paint buffed out to as good of a shine as you can get ..., try using Klasse AIO followed by 3 layers of Klasse SG. I think you'll like it.
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Heh heh, I must be the only guy on Autopia who doesn't like KSG on silver :p :o



Last time I had it on an Audi I disliked it so much that I stripped it off, yet I've lost count of the people who think it's *perfect* on Audi silver! Yeah, it looks OK on the MPV with the heavily-metallic Mazda paint (at least after the third or fourth layer), but on most vehicles I simply don't care for it....just a personal preference thing and I sure realize that I'm in the minority :D
 
What pisses me off is how expensive this stuff is, and not being able to see if it is worth it. I'm gonna throw in the towel and just stop giving a crap if I waste $75 or so, or if I go with souverine it would be like $150 :eek:
 
No doubt detailing products are expensive and as a result, plenty of research is needed to make sure you are buying what is right for you. Of my $2,000+ collection, only $100 or so of that was spent on products I ended up not liking.



Decide what you are looking for, read about the product and the experiences others have had, and decide if a given product is worth the money to YOU. I initially thought Souveran was a true waste of money so I ordered it in a kit that contained nearly every other Pinnacle product. Now that I have used Souveran, I think it is worth the asking price.
 
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