Dark Car Colors, How Do You Do It
 

Boy am I happy I have a silver Boxster, much easier to detail. My son got just a 1998 Jetta that is a dark blue/purple sort of color. He wanted us to do a machine polish/wax job on the finish like I have done on the Boxster. When I clayed, machine polished and waxed the Boxster, it became like a new car, as the finish had not been maintained by previous two owners.

We got out all the gear and did the machine polish/wax thing, but man are those dark colors harder to finish and keep clean. His car looks much better, but now that its detailed, problems in the finish have appeared. He has some waterspots on the hood that we could not get out using Griot's machine polish 2.

The finish on the car clearly had not been taken care of by its previous owner. Any ideas on how to get out those water spots. I am reluctant to use too agressive of a polish for fear of going through the clear coat. I have a new apprediation for the work that goes into detailng the dark colors. Any ideas on the waterspots, thanks,

Ed

:cheers:

water spots are etches in the clear coat and the way light reflects on it it appears as being just a stain. You'll need an abrasive polish to round out the edges of the etching. Try an agressive polish like Werkstatt Prime Strong. If polishes don't do it move onto a dedicated swirl remover. The key is to start with a lighter abrasive like a Poorboys SSR1 and then see if the spot is gone. If not go up to SSR2. If that doesn't work eiter go to next level. Once the spot is gone you have "clean up" by finishing with the SSR1 again. If the gradual steps don't work either go for the big guns and get out the Menzerma Intensive Polish or Optimum Compound.
This can be time consuming by hand but if you have an orbital buffer like a Cyclo or PC its a quick job.

+ relative to your previous experience. :D
If you have not done this before it is time consuming. However once you establish a good base, it will be "easier" to maintain from there on. A "clean" car is easier to keep clean.

A few months ago I spent 18 hours on the exterior of my car, not including wheels. It totally depends on the condition of your car.
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=43269

"A few months ago I spent 18 hours on the exterior of my car, not including wheels. It totally depends on the condition of your car.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/for...ead.php?t=43269"

OMG, that is an amazing post, I will never complain about what I have called detailing again,

Ed

:dance:

Hi, I will never buy a black vehicle again even though it's my favorite color, way to much maintenance for an old fart like me. :chicken:

Daaaaaaaaammmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn fine job you did there :cheers:

Pat, great work!! Amazing tranformation.

I start with Poorboys SSR2.5 using a lake country orange cutting pad.

Then I hit it with Menzerna Final Polish II with a lake country white polish pad.

Final Score

water etching - 0
eric95 - 1

If you can catch water spots qick enough, the can be easlly washed away with a solution of white vinegar.

P.K

I went a checked out your linked websites and your car must be immaculate. I wax my car once a week on a friday, should i up that to more to achieve a better build up.??

My friend uses poorboys products on his MK2 vw Golf GTi but it is such a hardship to do by hand (i.e) remove the polish, that i use Autoglymn products on my box s. im happy enough with the finish I used to use Maguires but wasnt happy.
If i wanted the optimum finish without the use of a machine polisher, Should i realy invest in poorboys. is there a clear differance??? what is the deal with ''S100 Carnauba Wax''
What highlights the silver the best.???

sorry for all these questions but litle beats an immaculte car that is beyond clean.

James

Assuming you still want responses on your questions...

Quote: "If i wanted the optimum finish without the use of a machine polisher, Should i realy invest in poorboys. is there a clear differance???"

Poorboys is the first and only swirl remover I've used. (I am new at exterior detailing, but have figured a few things.) Used SSR 2.5 on my old 'beater car' '96 Camry and it worked well. I was, however, using my (recently purchased PC 7424)---basically practice for ultimately using it on the Boxster. The directions on the SSR 2.5 indicate it can be used as a one-step swirl remover/polish, but if I had to do it again I'd probably get some of the SSR 1 to finish off that step. (Or some Menzerna Final Polish.) Like I said, though, it came out pretty well. I think without a random orbital, though, it would have been a hellava lot of work. Recommendation: get a PC (or whichever brand you favor)---they're not that expensive in the grand scheme of things.

Quote: "what is the deal with S100 Carnauba Wax"

Not sure exactly what you're asking. I got some S100 recently and used it on the Box. Very nice stuff. If the paint is cleaned and buffed up nicely before applying the S100, it comes out beautiful. It's actually pretty fun to apply and remove, but don't let it dry too long because it can become more work to remove. (If that happens, you can spray it with a little QD to make it easier to remove.) It's my understanding that the S100 is more or less the same stuff as P21S wax, but like half as much. It's available at a lot of Harley Davidson dealerships. Being carnauba, it won't last anywhere near as long as an acrylic, but I like the look of it. My Box is garaged and doesn't spend a lot of time in the rain and sun, so it lasts a pretty long time for me. I top it off from time to time with some Werkstatt's Carnauba Jet (which is even harder to remove if you let it dry, but is a very good product).

Quote: "What highlights the silver the best.??? "

Dunno. Hey, 2 out of 3 ain't bad, Right?

Bambino Don,
if you are waxing your car once a weak you are doing it far too often.
Waxing should be limited to once a month, a little less frequently if you are using an acrylic paste wax. I use FK1 High Temp 1000P and I think I can easily get two months out of it. If you want to maintain the highest possible shine after a wash use a quick detail spray like Aqua Wax from duragloss.com, or z8 from Zaino or 1Z Lackfinish. I follow this up with a once over of FK1 425 which creates a teflon like barrier.

For a silver car I'm not really big on the carnauba waxes like S100 and P21s.
I think those waxes are better for reds and blacks. Carnaubas are used to add depth and you don't really get that with silver.

That is almost exactly what I ended up spending on mine to get rid of the water spots. Most of it was with the Workstatt Intensive Care Polish and a Griot's orbital. Turns out the Griot's may not have been my best choice because of its low torque, but since this was the first time I'd done something like this, I felt safer with it. I probably spent three hours just on the hood.

Using Perfectlap's advice, after I polished, sealed and waxed it, I finished it off with FK1 425. Easy to apply and, after having driven it around 50 miles, it still looks like I just finished the work on it. Amazing stuff. Once we get a sunny day that I'm home, I'll take a couple pictures and post 'em. :cheers:

I need to take some pictures myself.
p.s.
The Fk1 425 has one nice aspect to it, if I run my fingers over it and I no longer feel the familiar dewey slickness...I know the wax is now exposed and the 425 has faded.
I'll do a quick wiped down with Optimum No Rinse car wash (diluted to quick detail strength) in a spray bottle and then spray with the 425. Depending on the weather, I can go 3 or 4 weeks without having to do a full on wash...just wheel cleanings(bucket and brush) and a top rinse. I find that the less I touch the paint the longer the wax layering will last.

Quote: "For a silver car I'm not really big on the carnauba waxes like S100 and P21s. I think those waxes are better for reds and blacks."

Trumped by PerfectLap on a detailing question---imagine that!

Like I said, I don't know what's the best approach on silver. I'm driving seal grey, a darker metallic that, like the reds & blacks, responds wonderfully to carnauba.

Hey PL, I thought you used Jeffs Werkstatt acrylic jet. Do you use both it and the FK1 1000P (which is also apparently a synthetic)? If so, I guess the Werk would go under the FK?

i saw these pictures on another site that someone posted, didnt know what was you. you did a great job man, turned out pretty damn good.
is it still clean now after some time?

don't get me wrong, S100, Souveran, P21s are a 1000% improvement over bare silver paint. The Carnaubas bring out the glimmer in metallics. I'm just lazy or spoiled on the low effort of silver so I don't put in the effort because carnaubas don't last nearly as long as the acrylic synth waxes that give silver less mettalic sparlke but do give a great wet/glass look, especially at night.

as for Werksttat, I do use the acrylic sealant (Trigger) imediately after the Prime polish(Strong). Generally speaking I find that sealants tend to bond very well with polishes from the same brand. I only do this combination with each season change, its more protection than dressing.
For monthly waxing I use the 1000P as a base because its nuke proof it dries like cement. I could stop here and the car would be protected and shiny for 4-7 months minimum depending on 425 spray coverage. The 1000P is like adding a layer of clear coat, works very well with the spit shine method and I only get out that huge tin (FK1 have issues with portion control apparently) every couple of months or so. I think using 1000P high temp every month would be overkill. A light waxing of FK1 Pink Wax(also in a HUGE tin) for monthly use keeps the shine at 10/10's. Sometimes I'll switch it up and use Souveran liquid wax as my monthly to add a little glimmer or Aqua Wax spray for a wetter look... But 425 is always the LSP (last step product). Kinda crazy when you think about it but I'm pretty sure the paint will continue to look new for another ten years at least. I'm always amazed when I pull up next to a Honda or Ford that is no more than 4 years old and is already rusting or the paint is dulled down to the base layer.

I just keep it simple I guess. I wash every Saturday morning my 2008 C350 Sport, 2004 Tahoe & 2002 Boxster S (all black) using Meguiars Gold Class Car Wash, clay rub & then a good carnauba wax only when they need it. Then I do a rim touch up and cleaning every evening and use a California duster in between just for quick cleaning. I also use Porsche top cleaner/conditioner and then Plexus for the rear window on my 02.

I am not overly obsessive but I do enjoy them looking nice and shiny. ;)