I felt shameful today...

[agp423]

I remember people on this forum telling me that my car will never be as shiny as those black cars I see on this forum, because blue just, well, can't be that shiny. So I was satisfied with my car's detail job. Until today when I saw this:

The Cadillac on the right is mine. I went to my local country club in the morning, and in the afternoon after I ate a late lunch, I decided to go home and saw these two beauties parked by me.
Tell me how to get my car to shine like that. Here's what I'm currently using:

NXT Gen Car Wash
Clay
Next Gen Tech Wax 2.0

I'll add or replace anything on the list to make my car shine like the Benz and the M. I'm doing everything by hand, but I have no problem using professional products. I may be able to borrow a rotary polisher, or buy one then return it after one use. (I can afford a Cadillac but not a polisher )

[CieraSL]

Re: I felt shameful today...

Are there swirls or scratches in your paint? Because that will make a difference. If that's the case then you need to focus on removing them so go ahead and pick up some Swirl X and Ultimate Compound.
If scratches and swirls are not an issue, I'd top your NXT 2.0 with #26 and see if that works for you. That's my favorite combo!
You might even substitute Gold Class Car Wash for your NXT car wash and see if that makes a difference. Just a thought...

[agp423]

Re: I felt shameful today...

All the swirls on my car are on the trunk, which you can't see from the picture. there are absolutely no swirls on the side or the hood.

[CieraSL]

Re: I felt shameful today...

All the swirls on my car are on the trunk, which you can't see from the picture. there are absolutely no swirls on the side or the hood.

In that case just try topping the NXT 2.0 with #26 and see how that goes. You might even try using #7 before NXT 2.0 and see if that will give it that extra pop. Make sure to do a test spot with #7 first and see if it makes a noticeable difference before you do your whole car.


Whatever you decide to do, don't forget to post pics when you're done!

[agp423]

Re: I felt shameful today...

So
Wash
Clay
M7
NXT G 2.0 Wax
M26


Any other additions/modifications/suggestions?

[CieraSL]

Re: I felt shameful today...

No, but after you do that you might hit it up with some UQD/M135 or UQW if you want to.

[agp423]

Re: I felt shameful today...

Come on, don't hold back. What else do I need?

Wash
Clay
M7
NXT G 2.0 Wax
M26
M135

[CieraSL]

Re: I felt shameful today...

Pray hard.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: I felt shameful today...

All the swirls on my car are on the trunk, which you can't see from the picture. there are absolutely no swirls on the side or the hood.

Please don't take this the wrong way, as I am just trying to help you get the results you are after, but I highly doubt you don't have any swirls- although it is very possible they are just hard to spot.

If your car hasn't been polished within the last couple washes, it will have at least some swirls. It's just the nature of the beast.

That said, if they are as faint as they seem to be, I would suggest starting with a light polish such as SwirlX, and doing the entire car with that after a wash and clay (if needed). This will help to increase the gloss by reducing unwanted refraction of light.

M07 as others suggested can add to the wetness and depth of the paint, too, as well as help to hide minor imperfections.

[agp423]

Re: I felt shameful today...

^Some words of wisdom. Haven't polished the car in a while. Haven't really looked at it carefully in a while to be honest.

Wash
Clay
SwirlX
M7
NXT G 2.0 Wax
M26
M135
Pray hard

[CieraSL]

Re: I felt shameful today...

^Some words of wisdom. Haven't polished the car in a while. Haven't really looked at it carefully in a while to be honest.

Wash
Clay
SwirlX
M7
NXT G 2.0 Wax
M26
M135

[Eddie6th]

Re: I felt shameful today...

Hi agp,Nice car.You'll notice the the cars get darker in color from right to left and the reflections are also more prominent in the same order.Darker colors will always show more.
That's probably why you havn't really noticed any light swirling.Sometimes you see them well at dusk in a place where there is a lot of artificial lighting.

Anyway,cars looking good...

[Eddie6th]

Re: I felt shameful today...

Actually,I'd say more the difference between your car and the merc is the design of the hood.In that photo,your hood captures the light,whereas the merc's hood has a more convex shape to it.

The colors are quite similair in their depth except for the left hand car which is darker.

[Tuck91]

Re: I felt shameful today...

If your working by hand then here is what I would do:

Wash With Gold Class
Clay with Smooth Surface Clay Kit
clean/polish paint with SwirlX- work small sections if your goal is to remove swirls.
M07 Show Car Glaze/M81 Hand Polish -pure polish
NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0

maintain with UQD and UQW.


or if you dont want to spend as much time:

Gold Class Wash
Smooth Surface Clay Kit
ColorX
NXT 2.0

[agp423]

Re: I felt shameful today...

And can I replace SwirlX with M9? Will the results be the same?