how do the motorshow cars look so good?!

A

aheyn

New member
Hey,

I just got back from Melbourne after seeing the F1 grand prix and while I was there visited their Motor Show. It was great - heaps of nice cars...

HOW do they get such depth & richness? regardless of colour or even make, they all look $1MIL bucks - the depth is amazing. The paintwork just completely pops. I know they have the lights which help exude the colour etc ... but still, the depth is there. I also know these cars are probably never driven and just for show.

My question is ... is it possible, using sealant & wax etc - to get this sort of finish? or close to it ... I know dirt & road contaminants will collect etc. I planned to use AIO and then 4 or so coats of 4* UPP. This is after washing, claying, megs paint clean, megs polish. I might top it with S100. My car is a darkish red - (probably most cloesest to the bentley continental red below - maybe a bit more red). Would I be able to get a similar sort of finish using these??

Is it an impossible task?? Detailers - let me know!

I attached some pics from the motorshow .. sorry bout the quality - lost heaps after resizing
 
Prep work...that's the main thing that sets the show cars apart from 'regular' cars. Of course it's possible that the manufacturer "hand walked" these cars through the painting process to make sure that orange peel & other minor flaws that might otherwise make it onto a "regular production" vehicle are eliminated.

I think it's likely that these cars are "custom" painted by the factory, with the paint applied extra thick so that any blemishes can be wetsanded out leaving a perfect "SHOW CAR" finish.

Of course maybe I'm full of it, and it's so early in the morning my brain is still disconnected
 
I am with Don. More than likely they sprayed a lot more paint on there than a normal car, then isntead of the machine buffers that fix the paint after the baking process, it was probably done by people.
 
aheyn
Great looking cars ... of course they are great cars period!
You can achieve that same look on your own car.
First step after a good wash would be to clay the car prior to any polishing.
This will remove and contaminates in the paint.
If your finish is in good shape and swirl free your process will produce outstanding results.
The most UPP I have applied is 3 coats (wait 24 hours between coats)
After 2 coats the returns seem to diminish.
On your red car topping with S100 after waiting another 24 hours will blow you away.
I clayed and applied 2 coats of UPP to a new Lexus a month ago and it looked every bit as good as your pictures. It is possible and this is the place to get some great advise on how to do it ...
 
That's what this discussion forum is all about.....getting that finish on our cars/trucks. Wash, clay, polish, preserve. I prefer EX or EX-P and I have several coats. You don't have to wait 24 hours with EX.
 
The lighting has a lot to do with the way these cars look. Also I'm sure that they are hand selected cars. Last I'm going to say that they use Glaze for super high gloss.

That's my .02
 
Shoot. Beemerboy beat me to it. Alot of showcars owners use glaze only, no wax or sealant. This gives them lots of gloss, negligible protection. But, since they are always protected in showrooms, no real concerns.
 
I dont know if its true but one guy at the Chicago Auto Show said that they used Meguiars NXT wax on all the cars, and used Final Inspection to take off all the fingerprints.
 
Larry

I could believe that to, but I really think that its more about lighting that make these cars look over the top shinny!!!!!!!
 
I was at the Buffalo Auto Show this year and they were no where near show quality. Every car had spyder webs, even the concepts. The worst was a black Accord with buffer holigrams.
 
Show Car Glaze :)

I'm sure there is a reason it got it's name :) from what I have seen/read they may indeed have a wax or sealant on them - then it is topped off before the show with a glaze - (or in one case I read Pledge!)

Dang the new BMW 5 looks A LOT like the new Acura TL
 
it does but you can apply a glaze over wax, basically your pushing the oils into the finish for a high gloss look, it does not last long at all (like a day or two max).
 
Man - i love that TL - awesome car!! I want one soooo bad! 270 horses - not bad for a "family car" - oh and the new stereo - the first car in the US with surround sound quality stereo!!
 
Nah, in my opinion the main reason they look so much better is because of the lights. Cars under lights look better than they do outside. Instead of having one light, the sun, these cars are under many lights which produces the sparkle on their finishes. Obviously, the higher end cars have been prepared by a detailer, but I doubt there is much more to it. And a car that has NEVER seen environmental fallout, been driven, or even been outside will have no damage whatsoever. A brand new car isn't very difficult to make shine. The challenge arises when you have to detail something several years old that has been driven and sat outside its entire life. Larry A, I don't know who your source is, but most of the cars at the Chicago show had swirls and fingerprint marks. I saw several of the staff using a windex-type of cleaner to "polish" the cars. I didn't see one bottle of NXT or Final Inspection on the showroom floor. (Though I think Meguiars might have been hiding upstairs in the product room.)
 
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