I spent the morning examining Clara's finish. I've been musing lately that the PW doesn't really show ANYTHING. Which is nice for swirls but for the love of God I want a crazy glossy shiny car!

So I want to try something new but tell me if this is wrong or if I've just lost my mind entirely.

Wash/clay/polish blah blah blah...

Amigo -> Klasse SG -> Epic -> P21S Carnauba

Yeah?

 

I don't know about all those steps, Mel. But having worked with the PW paint for over a year, I think you might be barking up the wrong proverbial tree.

You might work yourself crazy trying to get PW to shine and reflect like a darker color. As "Bush 41" used to say, "Ain't gonna happen".

Please don't make yourself crazy over it... we love you just the way you are. (hear the music) ?

 

Yeah maybe I'll just try the SG and see how that goes.

It just seems so backwards...like it looks pretty shiny even when it's filthy...you would think it would be REALLY easy to make it REALLY shiny then. But noooooooo...

 

I can make PW look really clean and gorgeous. Shiny even, to a degree. But reflective... nothing even remotely close to CR or JB.

But I love PW for how easy it is to maintain ! Especially compared to JB.

It's a trade-off, for sure.

But hey, if you can make PW reflect half as good as the darker colors, you will have obtained Goddess status among the OCDetailers here on NAM.

 

I'm not optimistic

It might be easier (and cheaper) to just take it to Richard!

 

But HE already has achieved God-like status ! Give it a shot, we're tired of having only 2 detailing deities !! (he and Heather)

 

try some SprayOn wax from Griots over your Epic and see if that helps.

Epic has a pretty deep gloss so may or may not help.

 

all i use it hydro after a nice wash and im pretty satisfied with the results.
that is..until i see my gf's car which i used hydro on too. makes mine look like it doesnt have a shine to it at all.
soon, i plan to buy some epic and give it a nice wax.

 

I would use Amigo, epic, hydro.

Or AIO and twins for a no brainer.

I think the only way to get a PW too look better is to fill any imperfection which those two do. I would be interested to see what some p21 prep and wax without sealant would do to your look. It might bring out a richer colour if you went all natural.

 

My wife's MINI is Pepper White, and everyone else is right - you'll never get the depth or distinctness-of-image with PW that you'll get with the darker colours.

I've tried a bunch of different stuff on her car, and I'd suggest just skipping the carnauba and going with a synthetic sealant and Hydro after each wash. I haven't used Amigo or Epic yet, but I used the semi-equivalent products from Menzerna on her car (Final Polish II and Full Molecular Jacket), and they worked well. But if you haven't used Hydro yet, that will be the real treat for you!

 

Well blah, that's what I already do. I already polish -> Amigo -> Epic -> Hydro.

 

If you want to do the proper technique, I would buff all the scratches out with Meguiars M80 using the Meguairs yellow pad and the porter cable dual action polisher. If that doesn't take all the scratches out, use something more aggressive like M83. Then its up to you if you want to use a synthetic wax or carnuaba wax. I wouldn't recommend applying a carnuaba over a synthetic, even though there is alot of talk about it on the net. If your car is a daily driver and is kept outside, stick with the synthetic, I highly recommend EPIC, it is awesome. If your car is a garage queen and doesn't see that much rain and is kept in a garage, use a carnauba. P21S is a great wax. I would polish all the scratches out, then use the P21S cleansing lotion, then apply the P21S carnuaba, its great. Feel free to ask me any other questions. Good luck!!!

 

Mel is a detailing genius. I think WE should be asking HER questions !

And if she can get a deep reflection from that PW paint, she'll pass "genius" status.

 

Naw, Prima Swirl all the way with an orange pad, then with a white pad. Follow with Epic--just like ML is doing. M80 and the PC was a fine system, but the Prima system allows far more correction ability than M80 or M83 and the W8006 pads.

Richard

 

So with a soft-enough pad, Swirl is fine enough to use as the last step before Epic? No need for Finish and/or Amigo in-between the Swirl and the Epic?

 

Most definitely. On most paints--Swirl with an Orange pad followed by Epic is all you need. Other times, a white pad and Swirl either alone or following the orange pad and Swirl works best.

As you may know--the majority of the cars I work on are black--that shows everything. The system works great for me.

Richard

 

That's good to know. With the fine polish I use now (Menzerna FPII), I can usually go from polish on a medium pad directly to my sealant, but FPII is meant to be the last step before the sealant.

Since Prima has two products in-between Swirl and Epic (Finish & Amigo), I didn't know that you could still go from Swirl on a medium pad directly to Epic.

 

Well the Prima system isn't a system that you must do every step for optimal results. Except for Cut, you can use Swirl, Finish, or Amigo alone before going to LSP--always dependent on the condition of the finish you are trying to improve.

Cut as a compound really needs a finer step before doing LSP.

Not having to use extra steps means that you have good cutting power with minimal time commitment. In my experience, the abrasives in Swirl break down to such a degree that thinking of Prima as a single polish system with multiple pads works great most of the time. And thinking of Cut, Finish, and Amigo as special cases where Swirl isn't the optimal single solution.

Richard