ColorX on Metallic Black?

[quinton]

Hi I have a 84 Toyota Pickup which I had painted metallic black a few years ago. Since it has seen many country roads, it doesnt look so good anymore. Will the ColorX work well on the metallic paint? I would like to bring out the metallic so it looks new. I thought about doing the ColorX first and then doing a coat or 2 of the NXT Tech Wax. Sound good? Thanks!

[quinton]

By the way, here are some pics of it using Gold Class.






Thanks for looking.

[4.6GT]

Good looking truck -- i think the Color X/NXT combo will be a winner for you. I used NXT on my black GT and couldn't be happier with it.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi quinton,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Recently I detailed black 1947 Plymouth Special Deluxe Coupe with a basecoat/Clear coat finish. While not a metallic finish, the clear coat came out very clear, restoring a like new finish.

The trick to seeing the metal flakes, or Mylar flakes in a metallic finish is to make your clear coat as clear as possible. This means removing anything on the surface, or in the finish that will cloud your eye's view of the color, or the metallic under the clear.

For this black 1947 Plymouth Coupe, I used,

Meguiar's Quik Clay System - It had white over spray paint all over the finish
ColorX
NXT Tech Wax x 2

The results speak for themselves. The owner just about jumped out of his skin when he saw it for the first time after detailing it. Just by coincidence, he brought it by tonight and it still looks great.

Before



Before



White paint overspray all over the entire car



After



All work was completed by hand.

ColorX & Tech Wax - Good Tag Team!

Mike

[rusty bumper]

Great job Mike...I save that picture to the hard drive!

When you do a hand job such as this, do you tend to use the foam applicators for the cleaning, or do you use terry pads??

[quinton]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Hi quinton,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Recently I detailed black 1947 Plymouth Special Deluxe Coupe with a basecoat/Clear coat finish. While not a metallic finish, the clear coat came out very clear, restoring a like new finish.

The trick to seeing the metal flakes, or Mylar flakes in a metallic finish is to make your clear coat as clear as possible. This means removing anything on the surface, or in the finish that will cloud your eye's view of the color, or the metallic under the clear.

For this black 1947 Plymouth Coupe, I used,

Meguiar's Quik Clay System - It had white over spray paint all over the finish
ColorX
NXT Tech Wax x 2

The results speak for themselves. The owner just about jumped out of his skin when he saw it for the first time after detailing it. Just by coincidence, he brought it by tonight and it still looks great.


All work was completed by hand.

ColorX & Tech Wax - Good Tag Team!

Mike

ok one question.. Is there anywhere on here I can read about the claying process? I've heard you can mess up your paint if you don't do it right?

Thanks for the replies guys!

[ftboomer]

Beautiful job Mike!

You did that all by hand? What's the secret to gettting the spider webs out via ColorX by hand? I used the same combination by hand and still had the cob-web effect.

TIA

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by quinton
ok one question.. Is there anywhere on here I can read about the claying process? I've heard you can mess up your paint if you don't do it right?

Thanks for the replies guys!

Hi quinton,

The answer to your question is "Yes", you can read about it right here. Claying your car is pretty straightforward and simple.

Probably the most important things you can do to insure success is,

a) Start with a clean car. Wash the car thoroughly before claying the finish.
b) Take your time and focus on the task at hand.

I always say,

”Paint is a thin, delicate coating that is easily scratched and easily dulled”

This is especially true for clear coat finishes.

Here are the basics,

1. Knead you clay bar into a flat pancake shaped wafer.

2. Lubricate your clay by misting some quick detailer onto the surface of the clay.

3. Lubricate your finish by misting some quick detailer onto the surface of your finish.

4. Hold the clay bar in the palm of your hand and push it across the surface in a back and forth motion as though your were rubbing a bar of soap across your skin.

5. Take note of the way your finish feels as you begin to clay, and how the feel changes as you continue to clay the surface.



You should be able to distinguish by the feel of how the clay bar is gliding over the surface when the surface is clean. To double check, dry off the area with a towel, or microfiber cloth and feel the clayed area with your clean dry hand. Compare how that area feels with an area immediately next to the clayed area.

The clayed area should feel smooth as glass, the unclayed area will feel grainy, bumpy, rough or just plain covered with tiny little bumps. These tiny little bumps are all kinds of contaminants that have bonded to your finish.

After you get a feel for how long to push the clay bar over a given area in order to remove all the bonded contaminants, mist some more quick detailer to another section and begin claying that section. Move around, section by section until each panel has been clayed. Most of the bonded contaminants will be found on the horizontal surfaces. If you want to be thorough, then go a head and clay the vertical panels.

In the pictures above of the 1947 Plymouth Coupe, I needed to clay the entire car, including the stainless steel trim, grill and glass because of the white paint overspray.

As long as your using a good quality clay bar, you shouldn’t have any problems. Also, as your claying the car, stop and inspect the surface of the clay and if common sense tell you it’s becoming tainted with contaminants, knead the clay, in a way that you expose a new, clean surface. Then repeat the initial steps by misting the surface of the clay with a quick detailer, and the surface of your finish with some quick detailer and begin claying again.

Hope this helps…

Mike

[CHzo6]

Can ColorX be applied with the PC or only by hand?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by CHzo6
Can ColorX be applied with the PC or only by hand?

Hi CHZo6,

Both. I used it last week with the PC using a W-7006 pad on about the 5.0 setting, followed by a Tech Wax with a W-9006 pad on the 3.0 setting, and the results make my red paint look wet.



Both the Bronco II in Extreme Makeovers and the 1947 Plymouth which I have not uploaded the write-up for yet were polished by hand using ColorX.

Hope this helps...

Mike

[Tim Lingor]

Hey Mike,

Wow! Great pics!!!

I also see that you tried the NXT with the W-9006 Finishing Pad. I have always liked to use the Finishing Pad with the NXT!!

Tim

[rusty bumper]

Great job on the truck Mike.

1st time I've ever seen a convertable truck!

[TrufflePig]

Re: ColorX on Metallic Black?

hi mike,

i know this is older and we've spoken about this. but one more question.

"Hi CHZo6,

Both. I used it last week with the PC using a W-7006 pad on about the 5.0 setting, followed by a Tech Wax with a W-9006 pad on the 3.0 setting, and the results make my red paint look wet."

i'm quoting you there.

is it best to use the W-7006 pad or the recommended W-8006 or 9006.

is it because the 7006 would have more bite to it so it'd be the same or close to as applying it with a TT?

thanks Mike.

[TrufflePig]

Re: ColorX on Metallic Black?

***bump***

[sneek]

Re: ColorX on Metallic Black?

:P Techniques change over time.

Mike also had a thread about buffing out a Merc with ColourX and a W7006, but I think that the officially recommended pad is the W8006. I bet you that it would work, and I kind of doubt that much damage could be inflicted but it's not a Meguiar's recommended technique. Remember "Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done" . A W8006 is less aggresive.