1957. How to get the best shine

[OhioTbird]

Appreciate the knowledge here.

What products are you using to get THE look on your cars?
Inside and out. Thanks

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[MRansom]

Appreciate the knowledge here.

What products are you using to get THE look on your cars?
Inside and out. Thanks

I have had good results with Produxa, on exterior. Produxa or Armor All on Dash & doors ok, but I do not use anything on seats - I do not want sticky & I don’t want slick.

 

[57tbird57]

Appreciate the knowledge here.

What products are you using to get THE look on your cars?
Inside and out. Thanks

If you cut and buff the paint then go over it with a ceramic coating it Will shine like glass with minimal up keep for years To come

 

[Bond007]

If you cut and buff the paint then go over it with a ceramic coating it Will shine like glass with minimal up keep for years To come

Could you please give directions on how to cut and buff the paint?

 

[57tbird57]

Your best bet is to YouTube it. It entails wet sanding with multiples grades of very fine sandpaper and buffing with some fine finnishing compound

 

[57tbird57]

Your best bet is to YouTube it. It entails wet sanding with multiples grades of very fine sandpaper and buffing with some fine finnishing compound

It is alot of work but thé results are amazing

 

[Ward 57]

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

If you have an orbital hand sander, there are several Velcro attachments for cutting and buffing. Used mine and with over the counter cut & buff compounds from the auto part stores to meet your needs. Cut mine with med grit & then buffed on my 30yo paint, now brilliant. time and patience is your friend.

 

[Frankie the Fink]

If you have ORIGINAL paint that's a totally different ball game!
It may be lacquer, thin, brittle and paint correction is best done by a pro...
If you have a modern paint job then a good buffing with a glaze
followed by a Carnuba wax will do wonders. The Porter-Cable 7424XP
is perfect for a hobbist and won't get you in trouble (e.g. burn through).

Porter Cable 7424XP Porter Cable 6 in. Electric Variable Speed Orbital Polishers | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Porter Cable 6 in. Electric Variable Speed Orbital Polishers with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Polishers at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

Avoid those Harbor Frieght or other El Cheapo buffers. Cheap components and inconsistent
operaion. Rotational speed and technique are critical and the instructions for the above buffer will lead you through the process.

A session with that buffer and Macquier's Ultra Glaze will yield amasing results.
Follow it up with Griot's Best of Show wax or an equivalent "Chemical Guys" product.
The same buffer above with the proper speed and pad can apply/polish the wax.

"Ceramic" is tne new buzz word and most of those products are snake oil big time...
I've tried a bunch of them and was unimpressed, maybe application by a pro
does better. Do your homework on that approach is my best advice.

 

[willcarterdc]

Finally, a topic I actually know something about! 🙂

For the interior, I use two Chemical Guys products: Nonsense Invisible cleaner, followed by Silk Shine. The Nonsense does a great job not only at lifting surface dust but also any scuffs or rub marks. (In fact, I’ve also started using it on clothing and household stains. This summer, it got deep grass stains out of a pair of very light colored linen pants!). I really love the Silk Shine: my interior is the tuxedo black and white and it leaves an amazing gloss on the black vinyl if you give it only a very light buffing after application. (I like those blacks *very* glossy, but that’s personal preference. If you follow the Silk Shine directions and actually buff it off thoroughly, it’s more of a medium/muted satin gloss look.) Silk Shine also smells amazing.

For the exterior:
I’ve been incredibly impressed with the products from a Scottish company called Mitchell & King:

https://www.mitchellandking.com/

I think I first read about them here: https://onemanandhismustang.com/mitchel ... t-reviews/

Their owner, John, is very responsive and a pleasure to work with. (And the packaging/presentation of their products is first rate: plus, John includes free samples and gifts along with the waxes!)

I bought a *lot* of their waxes (and a bunch of their liquids as well). The waxes are all handmade in-house. I definitely went a bit overboard, but (1) some of the waxes are limited editions (2) they do give different looks and (3) while they are expensive, they will last *forever*: with waxes of this quality and composition, it really doesn’t take much wax at all to do the car.

The waxes from them I’ve used so far are spectacular: easy application, easy removal, great results. (The *only* product of theirs that I’ve been a bit underwhelmed with was their metal polish. Nothing wrong with it; it was quite good, in fact. But then I discovered Simichrome and started using that instead.) The paint cleaning and coating liquids of theirs that I’ve used have also been spectacular.

I’ll try to post some illustrative pictures later.

 

[Frankie the Fink]

Everybody hits on their favorite combo of products after some experimenting and I have no religious conviction on any of the better ones... If it works for you then by all means use it. As an example, a top vendor of reproduction vintage Corvette upholstrey and interior vinyls says to just use Lemon Pledge on it - that's all. The exterior Carnuba wax products fill in minor imperfections, buff out to an amazing gloss but are transitory....a "driven" car might only get 6-8 weeks out of an applicaton. Thre are other longer lasting products (e.g. ceramic) that last longer I'm told.

 

[knuckle47]

I gotta agree with @Frankie the Fink … coming from the car wash industry (for decades) detailing was an allied service we provided. Some very high end cars with paint surfaces from enamel to high tech polyurethanes. We attended many seminars and educational series on marketing and detailing. While new products are put out monthly, the old tried and true compounds and carnauba show the best promise and as Frankie mentioned…6-8 weeks may be a good run. Be sure the carnauba wax is 100% pure carnauba. Comes from palm leaves

 

[biddle]

"Ceramic" is tne new buzz word and most of those products are snake oil big time...
I've tried a bunch of them and was unimpressed, maybe application by a pro
does better. Do your homework on that approach is my best advice.

They had a promo last year to try Rain-X 620161 Ceramic Detailer free after rebate, so I gave it a shot and I was EXTREMELY IMPRESSED. Has great reviews online too. Definitely not snake oil.

Amazon.com

 

[Frankie the Fink]

I neglected to mention the use of a clay bar after washing the car and before doing extensive detailing.
Road grit, chemicals, common dirt, paint overspray, acid rain, (and "artillery fungus", ugh! a real thing, look it up), etc...can all leave material that becomes lightly bonded to the paint and a mere washing won't remove them. If you rub your hand on the paint and it isn't glassy smooth a clay bar, used properly, will collect and remove foreign contaminents. THEN you can proceed with the detailing.
Macquire's, Mother's and several other vendors offer clay bar kits...one kit will provide many, many applications:

Amazon.com

A word about "shine", original paints (and I'm old enough to remember) had a specific "sheen", especially lacquers....its a sublte
difference but noticeable, in certain car juding circles where originality is paramount you can actually take a "hit" for overly shiny paint.
Often referred to as the "Mop and Glo" or "Glazed Ham" look. Just something to consider if you are an originality zealot or are into judging. In which case it might determine which detailing products you use.

 

[knuckle47]

@Frankie the Fink is right on target. it’s remarkable how the clay bar will help to eliminate swirl marks. Ever drive down a road and a black car drives by in the sunlight and you see circles all over ? Essentially it removes surface impurities that will be abrasively forced into your paint under the pressure of the machine. Myriads of video on how to use it correctly.