I am planning on keeping my newly ordered outside all the time. I dont have a garage or anything of the sort. I live on Long Island NY. My car is an MC-S, BRG/BRG with chromeline exterior.

My goal is to show the green metallic fully and not show gloss only. I see a lot of cars at shows that gleam. I think they look TERRIBLE! I cannot see the lines, my mind hurts trying to figure out the shape, I cannot truly see the colour, all I see is this gleaming glass coat. I want to avoid that. So, after reading much, I can tell that wax vs sythetic sealant has a different effect visually. Which way do either go? I would want to use Zaino or Meguiars for synthetic and this maybe this Pinnacle Sommerian or whatever for the wax.

suggestions and comments?

oh, what claybar is best? I am planning on detailing it and stripping it down on day 1 that I receive the car.

 

See autogeeks.net section on waxes.

You can go Klasse twins first. The polish is not glossy. The sealant is a bit more but is a synthetic sealant. Then go with Sourveign on top of the Twins. The effect will be a deeper shine

I think the Zaino way probably is more glossy and show car like as a synthetic while sourveign is more of a deeper look

 

Thank you much. So, I should first step protect with the klasse twins then the sourveign. Yes, I want to go for depth of colour and to show off the green, not to make it glossy and make it look black on an angle. I would be very unhappy if I used zaino products then! thank you!

I will go check out that link tonight.

 

The nice thing w/ Klasse, Zaino...and probably some of the other synthetics is that they are very long-lasting. That's a big plus for a car that's outdoors. My car has been outside 24/7, too...I'm a Klasse user. In that case, as chows suggests, you could use the twins and then play w/ other wax coats to get the effect you're looking for. I just use the twins and that's all.

 

wait. the klasse twins, that is a polish or a sealant/wax alternative?

yes, I do love to wax a car. I probably dont even need to worry about the sealant as I enjoy 1x every two months to wax it. Honestly, I like to wax once a month but kinda hard from december-february. I will have to figure out a heated spot to do that in. hm. I wonder what the minimum temperature a wax can be applied ?

 

Klasse All-in-One is a polish. You could just use that but its a bit dull. If you add the sealant (Klasse Twins), its a bit shinier. From their you can add carnauba. You WILL have to rewax every 2 - 3 months as all carnaubas fade over time (but not the sealant).

 

i would use a sealant for commuters. im using Griot's Best of Show
(which is a natural wax) right now on my commuters to see how long it
lasts with application of SprayOn wax after each wash. it's gone
through 3 weeks of off/on rain, 4 washes and shows little to no
degration as far as the deep lustor and beading water.

 

Which wax shows off colour best? the brg/brg mini I want it to really show the colour and protect it more than shine.

I do want to use the most natural wax I can get as well. Life is full of chemicals :(

 

^^ i would recommend you try the Griots stuff then.

the legacy I have (obsidian black) has many different
metallic colors in the black paint and in the sun after the
Griots treatment the car looks fantastic. very deep and
rich colors...not just a generic shiny black.

Best of Show wax
SprayOn wax
SpeedShine detailer between washes

i just use the cheepo Meguiar's GoldClass wash
sold in 1/2 gallon containers for like $10 or less.

I use the Griots shampoo exclusively on my
weekend cars.

might want to look into polishes too for future use.

 

hm, griot's eh? I want it to be right the first time with the wax. I dont want to put a sealer on if I do not have to. I would though want all of the products like touch up spray and hand wax to be made by same company. my family is a bunch of organic chemists and engineers so we all know that the spray on top and the sealant (which I might not use) are meant to be compatible with only the same line of products.

I actually have an tire liquid rub on thing that will last about 5-6 months worth of shiny-ness that my father made in his lab to coat plastics from being dried out by hot solvents/hot resins/and detergent

 

^ im not using a sealant on any of my cars... unless you consider NXT a
sealant... im using that as base polymer on my G35C.

 

It's not permanent... a wash with Dawn and you're back to the clearcoat. Really, all of the major brands that people talk about in here, from Griot's to Meguiar's to Zaino and everything in-between, are going to make the car look great and will protect the finish from the worst of the elements (which is the main reason to have it on there). The real difference is going to be in longevity, given the harsh envorinment that you're going to be storing your car in.

Seeing as how I ASSUME you live someplace cold, I'd look for whatever's going to hopefully last all winter (washing and detailing in sub-freezing weather is a real drag), which means a synthetic wax and sealent. A litrle more work now, when it's warm will mean LESS work later on, and a longer-lasting finish.

But really, worst-case scenario, if you put on a few coats of wax in, say, the late fall, and then you find you can't re-wax until Spring, you really should be OK, provided you don't let things like road salt sit on the car for weeks at a time. Just keep the car rinsed of road salt and such at those coin-op places as best you can, then on the first warm(ish) day in the Spring, wash the car well, clay bar off the winter's accumulation of grime and then wax away all summer.

 

i rarely wash my commuters covered in road salt unless
it is so filthy that you can't stand looking at it.

i found that cars that do not go though the freeze/thaw
cycle actually shows less rust than cars that are parked
garaged inside and thawed every night. park your
commuters outdoors and keep it frozen in the winter.

 

Wellllll... perhaps. But those fall and spring rains are a BIOTCH, and a grage keeps those away. God knows that there was less rust on my daily commute car (which was garaged) than there is on my Suburban (which sits outside) when I finally sold my old Mazda. Could be because the Suburban's a Chevy, though (shrug)...

 

^^ yeh, you gotta wash the car when the temps are borderline freezing...
like 30F on a sunny day to 34F. that slushy salty mess is really wat kills
the metal imho.

in the winter, its more about just preserving your car than anything else.
who cares about looks... they all look like crap anyways with ugly
snow tires and wheels.

 

Ah, I wont be putting snow tires and wheels on. im a one tire man. I will switch if the 16 all seasons that the car came with are difficult to drive with. however, I dont see that as this car is moronically easy to control compared to my other cars in the past.


If you all had a vote, which is the best at showing colour depth from all angles and the least likely to make my BRG/BRG look glossy black and reflective?

im calling up griot's people now to see which they recommend. I hear that zaino is too glossy for what I want. I dont want that show look, I want the natural look.

I also want models to posed on my car when I wake up in the morning. I dont know how that will happen but I want it. - random comment

 

P21S Carnauba is nearly pure Carnauba wax if you're in to that all natural, dolphin-safe, free-Tibet kind of thing . It is not as glossy as the Zaino I use and it is probably one of the better old-school waxes being sold.

 

Help me understand your thinking. I waxed this BRG MCS using NXT.

Are you saying there is too much gloss on this MCS?? This being an overcast day, there isn't any direct sunlight to make the metallic flakes pop.





These were waxed using a Synthetic Sealent.

Or this reflection of a street lamp on my Indi Blue paint?



The shapes look pretty clear to me.

Richard

 

too much gloss for the effect I want. I know its dark and that makes it seem even more glossy Nice job though. I want the colour not the shine to show. I want it to not show up black on an angle but green as far as it can stretch visually while still being waxed.

Goal is to show colour not shine. thats it. And to protect. How many weeks/months it lasts is no matter. I will be cleaning it as hobby to relax from doing psychotherapy during the week.

 

I hear that that stuff, while being ritzy, is high on the gloss.

I wound up purchasing:

Griots:
Claybar
Speedshine
Carnauba wax kit - hand tub not the best in show
Vinyl and Rubber protectant
Something Cleaner (can be used anywhere just like the Vinylandrubber)
some microfibre things
and this stuff that removes wax from your gear when you put it through a wash or just want to spot clean your sponge. - (might be only thing that was a waste of cash)

From autopia:
Sonus rim bright - seems mild yet not pricey
Plexus plastic cleaner - supposedly awesome on lenses, turnsignals and dash and protects them a bit.

I spent a wad of cash. Now, if all this is just "ok" i am goign to go Meguiars when it all runs out. I know my bud said meguiars at first, but I wanted to try for the first shot something exotic for the car.

 

Interesting request. Have you ever seen a new MINI in real life with metallic paint that was more flat rather than glossy? And I'm not talking about a photograph that was shot with a polarizing filter that made the gloss "disappear".

I'm trying to understand what property would cause the reflectivity of the clearcoat to disappear that would then only show the basecoat--assuming that most of the shine is coming from the clearcoat. This isn't exactly an accurate assumption I realize. The following photo shows high gloss, even though it's a single stage paint without a clearcoat.


Maybe what we are talking about is the WET Look and that you're not looking for the WET look that is mostly sought after these days.

The only possibilities I can think of at the moment would be a single stage paint system that lack a clearcoat or variability in lighting--I can photograph a car in one lighting that looks more reflective in another.

Richard

 

This 94 XJS Jag I did recently was finished in Carnauba.

This is what it looks like at 6PM


And at 1PM the next afternoon


No tricks, same car, shot at different times of the day. The second photo looks flatter and no gloss.

 

ah neat. carnauba was a good choice then. the top photo doesnt have a lot of gloss actually for what it could have. colour depth is still there.

glad i didnt waste 42 dollars


ah yes, I dont want the wet look. on girls with pale skin and gothy makeup, yes, vinyl and all, but not on my car. I was afraid to buy it at first since brg/brg was a bit dark. wet look on it would make it look black in many lights. hm.

 

Compare that to this 2000 Jaguar shot around 6PM

Finished with M21 Synthetic Sealent




Here it is earlier, under the noon sun, polished and ready for wax. By this time, the paint is normally wet, but due to the silver paint and high sun angle, the paint looks flat(matte)!


This Jeep was finished with 2 coats of Carnauba based cleaner wax, and topped with Synthetic Sealent.





Shot when I finished around the Golden Hour, the lighting makes it look gorgeous!

I guess my point is that going Carnauba or Carnauba hybrid might be the way to go.

 

hm. I wonder if anyone has done a refraction test of waxes and sealants. Also, how much % light is reflected back.

yes, carnauba is neat, I can see that yes

only you would have all those examples