by David W. Bynon
Copyright (c), 2003, Autopia Car Care -- All Rights Reserved
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The Perfect Shine |
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"If your car’s paint is relatively new and in excellent condition, getting the perfect shine is actually pretty easy. "
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People often ask me how I make and keep my cars looking so picture-perfect. “What wax do you use?” is the
question that comes up most often. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. If you want the perfect
shine, you have to do a little work, and you have to work to keep it maintained. If your car’s paint is
relatively new and in excellent condition, getting the perfect shine will be far less work than a car that's
five or more years old with heavy oxidation.
SIX REQUIREMENTS
The perfect shine comes when the paint surface is in good condition, free of all contaminants, polished,
protected, glazed and waxed. Let’s look at each of these six requirements individually.
Good Paint Condition
For the first 12 to 18 months of a new car’s life, the paint is relatively oxidation-free and in good
condition. If you maintain your new car’s paint with regular washing and protection, oxidation will
remain minimal and cleaning the paint will be a minor task. Plan to wash or Quick Detail your car weekly.
Free of Contaminants
As you drive your car, debris from the road (i.e., tar, oil, bugs, etc.) will lodge itself on your car’s
paint. The longer this debris is allowed to remain, the more difficult it is to remove. This is just one
reason that regular washing is so important. Your car also will attract other contaminants as it sits
outside. Birds, bugs and neighborhood kids seem to have a natural attraction to beautiful cars. These
contaminants must be removed; you can’t wax over them and expect to get a show car finish.
Polished
Polishing is necessary to remove minor blemishes, including surface scratches, swirl marks, pitted areas
(minor road stone nicks), and scuffs. When polished, the paint finish will feel perfectly smooth. Your
hand and polishing towel will literally glide over the surface. Feeling a perfectly polished car is a
stimulating experience for most car nuts. There’s nothing quite like the polished fenders of a Porsche,
Ferrari, Corvette or my neighbor’s Woody (woof!).
Glazed
Here’s a term that’s grossly misused in detailing. The term glaze refers to creating a high gloss finish.
So, to glaze paint means that you're bringing up the best gloss possible. You glaze paint with a very fine
"glaze" paint polish. Glazes are paint treatments used to fill small surface scratches and swirl marks.
Most glazes are made from a blend of carnauba waxes or silicones and fine polish. Polymer glazes are also
available. If using a wax-based glaze, the glaze's filling ability generally only lasts a matter of days
before swirl marks and light scratches reappear. If you’ve ever had your baby professionally detailed only
to have swirl marks reappear a week later, now you know why.
Protected
Paint is protected when it’s sealed from the elements and contaminants. It used to be that paste waxes,
both natural and synthetic, were the best sealants. Not any more. The king of sealants today is the
acrylic polymer. These micro-thin coatings are 5 to 10 times more durable than the best waxes. They
offer extended protection from the elements and provide a super-slick surface that reflects more light
than all but the best waxes.
Waxed
Waxing is the final step of the perfect shine. We’re not talking just any wax, here; we’re talking about a
pure, natural carnauba wax. Pure carnauba waxes don’t have cleaning properties or synthetic compounds.
They are made from a blend of carnauba waxes, beeswax and natural oils. It’s this quality show car wax
that gives the paint depth and warmth. I know, I know, it kind of sounds like we’re talking about a fine
wine or something. Just don’t underestimate the value of a great wax to final results of the finished
product.
Now that you know the six requirements for the perfect shine, I’ll share with you my personal tips that keep
my cars turning heads. The first thing to know is that I treat my toys differently than my daily driver.
It’s very difficult to maintain a perfect shine on a daily driver, unless you only drive it a mile or two a
day. Show cars (toys) are easier, because their job is to stay beautiful.
THE SHOW CAR FINISH
My toys get the show car treatment 2-3 times a year. In between these weekend long events, they get a simple
weekly maintenance that I will explain later. Here’s the basic weekend tasks (paintwork only):
1. I wash the car twice with a high concentration of car wash.
2. After the wash and dry, I examine the paint with my hand. If I find rough areas, I use a good detailing
clay and lubricant to remove the contaminants. I finish the cleaning process by going over all of the painted
surfaces with a quality pre-wax cleaner. To get the best cleaning action, I use a quality cotton terrycloth
applicator to apply and a plush microfiber buffing towel to remove the residue and buff.
3. After using the clay bar and the pre-wax cleaner, your paint will literally squeak. You will also be able
to see all of the paint defects, which means it's time to get out your polish and treat each area of damaged
paint. If I find heavy scuffs or surface scratches that I can feel with my fingernail, I repair these areas
with an good scratch remover formula or fine rubbing compound. Swirl marks and other minor blemishes I polish
out using a swirl-remover polish formula. Any polish designed to remove 1200 to 2000 grit sanding marks will
handle swirl marks. I also use the same polish to go over any area where I used a rubbing compound to restore
the full luster of the paint.
4. Once perfectly polished, it’s time to seal the paint and lock in the beauty. Even the best wax is no match
against pollution, road salt, and other contamination. Use a synthetic formula that does not contain
abrasives. You already did all of your polish work in the steps above. Also, if you use an abrasive
formula (any formula containing polishes or cleaners), you won't be able to apply more than one coat. I
recommend two or three coats. Each coat should be allowed to cure (dry) for at least 12 hours before
applying the next coat.
5. When you’re finished sealing, you’ll be looking at a beautiful finish. Your first thought will be “hey,
the car looks awesome… I must be done”. Not so fast, bucko! You want the "Perfect Shine," right? Okay,
then, be patient and wipe your car down with your favorite detailing spray and wait 24 hours. You’re
almost there.
6. The final step, the literal icing on the cake, is waxing. Many will ask “after sealing, why wax?” The
answer lies in the richness of color, depth and clarity that only a high quality carnauba wax can bring out
on a polished surface. For this job I reach for only two products: P21S Concours or Pinnacle Souveran.
Both of these waxes will bring out additional shine, depth and color richness like you're never seen. If
you have black, red, dark blue or rich yellow paint, you're in for a real treat.
On steps four through six I use a quality foam applicator to apply and a plush microfiber towel to remove
and buff. Nothing else works quite like quality microfiber. It’s lint free (really!) and its tiny
micro-hooks pull the excess sealant or wax away from the paint for faster buffing.
PERFECT SHINE MAINTENANCE
If you’ve finished the six steps to a show car, “perfect shine” finish, you’ll need to do some light
maintenance to keep it looking great. If it’s a true show car (toy), keep it covered. Even while neatly
tucked away in the garage you should keep your car covered. This keeps dust and pollutants off of the
beautiful finish, and the wax won’t evaporate as quickly (yes, wax evaporates).
Next, plan to do a Quick Detailing on your car after each outing. Choose a detailing spray containing a
quality carnauba wax. This will replenish the wax lost through evaporation. The Quick Detailing will
normally take no more than five to ten minutes. With a good Quick Detailing program, you’ll find that you
can cut washing back to once every couple of weeks. So, in the long run, Quick Detailing will save you
time and keep your car beautiful.
BUFFING UP THE DAILY DRIVER
While all of the steps above will work wonders on the daily driver, the reality is that the hard work will
only last a few weeks before you need to do it all over again. To keep your daily driver looking its best,
perform steps 1 through 4 every four to six months, and wash your car weekly with a mild car shampoo. Use
a good quick detailing spray after each washing to restore the shine.
SUMMARY
If you're a car appearance fanatic, creating the "perfect shine" is akin to finding religion. The technique
discussed here is not the only method, it's one of many. The true secret is revealed by spending more time
rubbing your paint with gloss enhancing products.
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