Questions on car show shine

[krux303]

I have a summer car that I drive only about 500-1000 miles a year. Its a complete show car. With this what is the best I could give more depth in the paint. Currently I am using the 3 step by meguiars and the car wash as well and it comes out beautifully.

First of all how long does it last(3 step). Car is garaged kept, no rain, no harsh sunlight.

Is there any other product that might be better for it?


-Thanks Jason

[Murr1525]

Re: Questions on car show shine

Any pics?

What all do you do?
1. Wash - Gold Class, 2 buckets, etc?
2. Clay - Smooth Surface clay kit?
3. Clean - You use DC#1 at the moment? That is a good cleaner, and mild. Dont need to go stronger if there are no defects to remove.
4. Polish - You use DC#2? #7 Show Car Glaze is probably top of the line.
5. Wax - You are using DC#3? Nxt Tech Wax 2.0 sure leaves a nice shine, and is the most durable product.
6. Maintain - Using Ultimate Quick Wax after future washes, and Ultimate Quick Detailer at the shows will really keep the car shining.

And of course being sure to do wheels, tires, glass ,trim, interior, etc as well. Hope that helps, the next step would be to go for a G110 type of machine instead of by hand.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Questions on car show shine

What kind of car is this you're working on?
Does it have a single stage paint or a clear coat paint?

Regardless, the way you maximize the paint on any car is to do everything you can to make the paint as defect-free and smooth as possible, this is done usually with detailing clay and products like paint cleaners and cleaner/polishes.

After the paint preparation steps are completed then you can apply a pure polish and/or a quality wax and these two types of products will take your car's finish to an even higher level.

Do you do all your work by hand?

Picture?

[electricgreen]

Re: Questions on car show shine

I have a car I show as well, also garage kept and as little rain as possible. I would add clay if you don't already do that, at least on the horizontal surfaces like hood, trunk lid and roof. Also, I use Gold Glass liquid wax. I can't remember for certain what the step three wax is, but I think the GC adds a depth and shine like nothing else. I try to stick to consumer line products that I can find and buy locally, and do everything by hand.

I do this, when I do a full detail:
Wash (two bucket) with GC Shampoo
Dry with microfiber towels
Claybar (using the system, I like the fact that I get a new towel too)
Step one paint cleaner
Step two polish
Gold class liquid wax (took me a while to convert from paste, but I prefer it now)

The wax lasts at least a month or two on my car, and I wash or Quik detail it every time we take it out and drive it. That is the same system I began to use in 01 when I bought the car and haven't really tried too many different things since. The above doesn't include plastics, tires, or convertible top, just paint care. I use microfiber towels for every step.

These are the results I have:

[Carfire]

Re: Questions on car show shine

Looks Great!!
Nice Job!!

[electricgreen]

Re: Questions on car show shine

Looks Great!!
Nice Job!!

Thanks. I thought rather than just say "this is what I do and it looks good" I would show the results of the system and let it be judged for what it actually looks like. Plus I get to think about warm summer sun and car shows when I see the pic, lol.

[InfiniteDetail]

Re: Questions on car show shine

Here's how I prep my show car for maximum depth and gloss:

1. Wash properly
2. Clay bar
3. Machine Polish (usually M80 or now I use M205)
4. M07 pure polish
5. Nxt 2.0
6. M26 yellow wax

Through alot of experimentation, this combo has given me the best gloss and depth to the paint. I recommend you pick up a G110 or similar if you don't already have one.