mtodde
Silver Car Fan
Lee (SilverLexus) and I got together today to do a little silver detailing.
I had some micromarring on my hood that has kicked my butt for a while so the hood was my focus. Every time I see my car under lights I see some fine cobwebbing; previous attempts to polish it out left me pretty frustrated. Its one of those things that only people like us can see, but knowing it is there is all it takes to make me neurotic.
I washed with 1Z Exlcusiv before heading to Lee's and after parking in his garage (which provided some much needed shade!) I hit the hood with some Spray & Wipe to remove any debris from the ride over. My wash method is anal to some, but I know some of you are even worse! I use 3 buckets - a wash bucket with a grit guard, a rinse bucket with a grit guard & a 3rd bucket for wheels & tires (I used the old Detailer's Pride wash for that) but I only use 2 mitts - 1 for the lower areas like bumpers/ rocker panels & the windshield and the other for the rest of the car...wheels & tires get a nice assortment of brushes.
Since I had used SSR 2.5 with limited success, Steve recommended a LC orange pad...I had one of the LC VC pads in orange just waiting to be tried out. It seems that LC pads may work a bit better with Poorboy's than some of the other brands. I made an effort to work the SSR 2.5 very slowly working the product in at 4 and going up to 6 to break it down and did 2 applications with the orange LC VC pad...one note, these pads really glide across your paint. It looked like I got about 95% of the micromarring but I had a bit of hazing so I did an application of SSR 2.5 with a plain old white LC polishing pad. at speed 5..my paint was looking pretty glassy...one note the VC pad is worth the extra bucks. To get a fine polishing & because I'm just anal I applied SSR 1 with a white LC polishing pad...again I notice that the regular pad just isn't as nice as the VC; I worked the SSR 1 at a speed of 4-5.
I love AIO with any carnuba so the next step was to apply AIO with an Excel finishing pad at speed 3 and then it was finally time for some Natty's blue. At Steve's suggestion I spritzed the applicator (used a Cobra mf app this time) with some Spray & Gloss...it really helped to apply a thinner coat and it also seemed to come off much easier than my application 2 weeks prior.
For the rest of the car I just hit it with Spray & Gloss using one mf to work the S&G in and a second mf to buff it off. The rest of the car has an awful lot of protection (AIO + EX-P + 2 coats of an Autogeek sealant + Natty's + Signature + Crystal Mist + Natty's + Natty's Blue) and in the next couple of weeks I'll polish the rest and go with AIO + Natty's blue...after 2 coats of blue I think it will be time for a coat of the regular Natty's...then it will be time to start over! :lol :rolling :LOLOL
I'll post plenty of pics below. You should be able to see that the blue formula really enhances the flake and adds some depth & wetness; the reflections are awesome. I do believe that you sacrifice a bit of the clarity & slickness from regular Natty's, but the gains are a good trade off even on silver! Hopefully yoou agree.
I had some micromarring on my hood that has kicked my butt for a while so the hood was my focus. Every time I see my car under lights I see some fine cobwebbing; previous attempts to polish it out left me pretty frustrated. Its one of those things that only people like us can see, but knowing it is there is all it takes to make me neurotic.
I washed with 1Z Exlcusiv before heading to Lee's and after parking in his garage (which provided some much needed shade!) I hit the hood with some Spray & Wipe to remove any debris from the ride over. My wash method is anal to some, but I know some of you are even worse! I use 3 buckets - a wash bucket with a grit guard, a rinse bucket with a grit guard & a 3rd bucket for wheels & tires (I used the old Detailer's Pride wash for that) but I only use 2 mitts - 1 for the lower areas like bumpers/ rocker panels & the windshield and the other for the rest of the car...wheels & tires get a nice assortment of brushes.
Since I had used SSR 2.5 with limited success, Steve recommended a LC orange pad...I had one of the LC VC pads in orange just waiting to be tried out. It seems that LC pads may work a bit better with Poorboy's than some of the other brands. I made an effort to work the SSR 2.5 very slowly working the product in at 4 and going up to 6 to break it down and did 2 applications with the orange LC VC pad...one note, these pads really glide across your paint. It looked like I got about 95% of the micromarring but I had a bit of hazing so I did an application of SSR 2.5 with a plain old white LC polishing pad. at speed 5..my paint was looking pretty glassy...one note the VC pad is worth the extra bucks. To get a fine polishing & because I'm just anal I applied SSR 1 with a white LC polishing pad...again I notice that the regular pad just isn't as nice as the VC; I worked the SSR 1 at a speed of 4-5.
I love AIO with any carnuba so the next step was to apply AIO with an Excel finishing pad at speed 3 and then it was finally time for some Natty's blue. At Steve's suggestion I spritzed the applicator (used a Cobra mf app this time) with some Spray & Gloss...it really helped to apply a thinner coat and it also seemed to come off much easier than my application 2 weeks prior.
For the rest of the car I just hit it with Spray & Gloss using one mf to work the S&G in and a second mf to buff it off. The rest of the car has an awful lot of protection (AIO + EX-P + 2 coats of an Autogeek sealant + Natty's + Signature + Crystal Mist + Natty's + Natty's Blue) and in the next couple of weeks I'll polish the rest and go with AIO + Natty's blue...after 2 coats of blue I think it will be time for a coat of the regular Natty's...then it will be time to start over! :lol :rolling :LOLOL
I'll post plenty of pics below. You should be able to see that the blue formula really enhances the flake and adds some depth & wetness; the reflections are awesome. I do believe that you sacrifice a bit of the clarity & slickness from regular Natty's, but the gains are a good trade off even on silver! Hopefully yoou agree.
