adding depth to silver?

A

Andy69

New member
Ive been using P21s cleaner, NXT wax and topping with either P21s or #16 depending on my mood.



I think its given the car a real nice mirror like shine (its 2 years old) which i was happy with until i saw a brand new silver car today. The paint finish had a similar shine to mine but had a noticable amount of depth to it too. Until now, i didnt really understand what people meant by depth of a shine.



Ive ordered some AIO, 1Z Glanz and poorboys EX but waiting for that to arrive. Will these acheive that depth im after? (i dont have a PC so hand apply only). I have a bodyshop mate who said he'll flat the paint and use his pro polisher on it with 3M stuff. Would that help?



I'll try and get some pics of my car this evening
 
IIRC, a thinner clearcoat will show LESS depth, so having your friend flatten the clearcoat (assuming he means remove the orange peel) will probably result in less depth.



I have managed to get some pretty decent depth with my white paint. I really noticed it after using 3M PI III MG, AIO, and UPP. I think just getting the paint polished and well-cleaned makes all the difference.
 
I think I know the look you are after - and yes, it is difficult on a silver car!!



I have a 2001 model 3-series BMW in titanium silver. I have tried a few combinations with P21s (GEPC & wax), Autoglym twins, Wolfgang, #16 and recently Souveran.



At the moment the car has AG SRP followed by 3 coats of AG EGP and topped with #16 - this is what it looks like:



bmw3.jpg


bmw1.jpg




I have since added Pinnacle souveran to the mix (no prep, just added it to the #16 as in the pictures above) and the difference is very noticable. I know that Souveran is designed for dark colours and reds, but IMO, it adds depth to al colours just because of the nature of the wax. Sorry, no pics of the souveran yet - I'll get them soon, but it is worth trying and I dont think you will be disapointed. It certainly made a lot of difference over the P21s or #16 - and is so easy to use it is unreal!
 
Andy69- Yeah, using something like Souveran as opposed to P21S/#16 oughta help with the depth. I also get good depth on silver by using UPP for my sealant.



My wife's silver Audi has less depth with #16 than my (identical silver) S8 has with UPP or my silver/metallic gray Jag has with SRP + Souveran.



I agree about *NOT* thinning the clear in search of more depth. My S8 has terrible OP but it doesn't seem to detract from the depth at all. More clear is good for both depth and longevity.
 
Thinning the clear would be a mistake; you can find lots of products that will help you in that regard. However, the Glanz Wax will not improve depth. It's a great polymer wax that gives a great shine (and durability), but don't expect much "deepening".
 
Thanks for the replies guys,



The finish isnt orange peely, i just assumed flatting and machine polishing would bring back some of that 'brand new' look about it, but i take youre point and wont bother.



Im starting to spend a fortune on varous products now and guess im walking a fine line with my wife as she doesnt share my enthusiam for searching for the ultimate finish :argue



I think i'll try some souvergn and if that doesnt achieve what i want i'll sell it and buy a black car :D



Heres where i am at the minute (although its in need of a QD :o )



As you can see, theres virtually no depth to it at all :cry:



vectra005-vi.jpg




vectra009-vi.jpg




vectra008-vi.jpg
 
Another vote for Souveran. It does the same thing to light colors that it does to black, red, blue, and other darker colors. I have not found another carnauba that provides as nice of a look on silver (Souveran is topping UPP on my car).
 
Its looking more and more like i'll be getting some souveran....



sorry for the noob question but whats UPP an abrevation for. (Still trying to pick up on all the tech talk!)
 
If you put the Souveran (or EX and Souveran) over a glaze like Clearkotes RMG or Adams Brilliance you'll get the depth you are looking for. I wish I had pics of my neighbors silver Golf when I used RMG and Souveran (2x) that was one of the only times I was happy with the depth on silver.
 
IMO it probably that your finish needs a real good cleaning and glaze to give you that depth your after. I would get a PC if you could afford one rather than getting Souvern. Remember that the finish is 90% preperation and 10% product. I think you need to polish the paint with a PC with a mild polish like FPII or #82. Then glaze it with #7 or something similar then place a nice wax like P21S. I think sealants like NXT or EX reduces some depth and topping it does not help as much as just putting P21S alone. I find that WG is probably the best depth for a sealant. If you don't want get a PC then give AIO a try and top with a glaze and P21S.
 
I use zaino on my silver b.m. I love the results.

I cant wait for advanced car products to get Z.8 to try.

:cool:

BMFRONT.jpg
[/IMG]

reflection.jpg
 
Andy69,



UPP is Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection.



jetskie,



I do agree the final result is 90-95% prep and 5-10% LSP but my car has had very thorough prepping and Souveran really stood out compared to just UPP, UPP topped with Paste Glaz, and all of the other combinations I have tried.
 
This is a titanium silver BMW Z3 with AIO applied by PC and SG on top (by hand). I haven't yet tried a caranuba topper, really want one extra coat of SG first!



Z3011.jpg
 
Lowejackson said:
Andy, what polishes did you use before the LSP phase
Click to expand...



Its kinda irrelevant now as ive started again and got going on the following combo;



AIO, Poorboys EX x4 followed by numerous coats of 1z Glanz.



I'll see how it goes but so far im only up to AIO and 1 coat of EX and the car isnt looking anywhere near as shiny as it was when i used a P21s cleaner, NXT, P21s wax combo, but i'll stick with it and see what it looks like once i get the 1z glanz on.
 
14995almera_16.jpg




This was NXT then #16.



NXT seems to provide an excellent look on silver, as you yourself seem to have found. Just experiment with different waxes over NXT till you find one you like. Oh, and let us all know so we can try it too.



Andrew :wavey
 
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