# Best products for a Silver Car



## Dinger (Jul 26, 2006)

How do you get the depth in colour & shine into a silver car, I also work without a PC, but its open to all uses this one.
my own effort (http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12927)


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## chris182 (Nov 10, 2005)

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/showthread.php?t=10475

Have a look at different peoples opinions on there.


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## Flatcap (Apr 24, 2006)

Got to agree with Dave on this, Pinnacle Souveran takes soem beating on silver. CG XXX and P21S is pretty good too but Souveran takes it.

Here is a mini I finished with Souveran last week. Judge for yourself.

:thumb:


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

^^ Thats a cracking shot.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

^^ That is a super pic. Souveran on silver is an excellent choice for great looks on silver, its only issue being a lack of durability. Great for the summer, but not so good for winter or when you doing details for others when you want the finish to last much longer.


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## Flatcap (Apr 24, 2006)

Souveran is very good but I'm of the same school as you Dave, still no good if you've not prepped the surface.

Prep the surface properly and apply your wax properly and you'll get very good results from most waxes.

Durability wise I think Collinite 476 takes some beating, excellent for the winter. Will also give reasonalble results on silver too, if you prep....

:thumb:


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

For me, the Werkstatt acrylic twins (Prime Acrylic and Acrylic Jett) can't be beaten. All the wetness of the very best carnauba's, plus no muting of the flake (in fact they enhance it) and much better winter durability. Here's mine wearing the system...


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Everyone will have an opinion on what is best but rest assured on a propely prepped car you won't be able to tell one from another :thumb:


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## wilbz11 (Jun 23, 2006)

Brazo said:


> Everyone will have an opinion on what is best but rest assured on a propely prepped car you won't be able to tell one from another :thumb:


so true, its all in the prep:thumb:


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Brazo said:


> Everyone will have an opinion on what is best but rest assured on a propely prepped car you won't be able to tell one from another :thumb:


Not true, as these pics clearly show. In the first pair my car was properly prepped to about 95% correction, and then finished with a basecoat of acrylic sealant topped with a good quality carnauba wax. The finish is typical of a wax on silver... warm and glowing, with some wetness but no real gloss, and fuzziness in the reflections. The flake was also muted to some extent too. In the second pair my car was properly prepped to about 99% correction, and then finished with a basecoat of acrylic sealant topped with further multiple coats of acrylic sealant. The finish is typical of a sealant on silver... cold and hard, with lots of wetness and gloss, and razor sharp reflections. The flake was also enhanced too. So, in my experience, you can make silver look very different, not by the level of prep, but by the choice of last step products.

Wax finish...



















Sealant finish...


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## CleanYourCar (Jan 23, 2006)

Top ones look stunning


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Rich its totally true! Maybe on black you will detect a subtle nuance but on silver its all the same matey :thumb:

You have put up lots of pics of your cars 'wearing' the next best product which at the time was hailed as the be all and end all. Fact is every pic you've posted of your car looks ace!

Lighting has a key part to play in it and your first set of pics the light is much nice for pics than in your second set where it is overcast.


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

The second set were taken on a sunnier day... here's another shot from the other side - check out the blue sky...










Yep I'm a sales man, but I'm also a passionate enthusiast, and I have seen with my own eyes the difference, as have plenty of other local folk who have seen the car in the flesh. I started out favouring AIO and P21S (shown in the top pics in my last post), and yes, it looks fine, but it muted the flake and the reflections were soft. I then moved on to using OCW over AIO for a long time, and this gave a much harder look with a lot more gloss - due to the silicon-rich nature of the OCW, not the prep. However, this still muted the flake, even though the wetness was awesome...










So, when Jeffs was up for testing, I was actually very surprised by how much it made my flake pop, and preserved a similar level of gloss to OCW (not quite as good though, and this is the reason why I'm still occasionally seen adding a coat in between regular coats of Trigger). So, out of everything I've tried so far (and there has been a raft of other product in between that didn't impress me at all on my car - FMJ, Wet Diamond, etc), I really like the Jeffs, because it gives me what I want - popping flake, wetness and gloss, plus good durability. And, I'm sorry, but based on what I have seen, the different systems have given noticeably different looks, whilst the look after prep has always been the same.


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Its just too difficult to compare photos of a car taken in differnt light types at different time of year etc. Muting of flake aside people have posted side by side pics of differnt products on darker cars with no tangible difference noted by the majority on here and looking after a silver car myself I see no differnece between even zaino and autobrites extra wax! Maybe its just my eye sight!


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

Mothers Reflections Wax & Mothers Reflections Top Coat.










Poorboys EX-P & Poorboys Natty's.










Meguiar's #21 & Meguiar's #16










Mothers Sealer & Glaze & Mothers California Gold 'nuba










:wave:


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

They all look stunning Steve!


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

Neil_S said:


> They all look stunning Steve!


Thanks Neil:wave:

Here's another -

Mothers Reflections Wax & Mothers reflections Top Coat


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

My personal thoughts on all this is that I don't think I ever really notice a massive difference in many of the LSP's I have used, even on colours other than silver!

The difference for instance between Zaino Z2 Pro which I tried recently and Glanz Wax was very subtle (I did however find many more things I liked about Zaino which has made me buy the range).

I think sometimes as a detailer, I spend money on a product and want to be impressed, I feel a certain amount of placebo effect, i.e. it's new and I spent alot of money on it, so it must be the best I have ever tried!!

For me, prep and polishing will get me 90%, different LSP's make a few percentage difference for me.

For me, I am finding that whilst some LSP's like Zymol and Zaino offer a subtle improvement over other LSP's, the major difference seems to be that some products have an ability to lock in the shine for longer. 

This has certainly been evident with Zymol Destiny, after speaking with people who use it and seeing some cars with it applied. I am also finding this the case with Zaino.

So long as people find a product and are happy with the finish, that's all that matters.


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

That's a terrific amount of gloss! Very impressive. Any muting of the flake with the Mothers products?


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

I have to say, and this is in my personal opinion form using the products, that on properly prepared paintwork I have noticed tangible differences in the finishes offered by some LSPs over other LSPs. I dont want to start a massive Zymol debate in here, suffice to say that the most tangible differences for me have come from using Zymol HDC followed by Zymol Destiny - the closest to this combo being Pinnacle Souveran over Megs #7 but the durability of the latter was dire in comparison. 

As a hobbyist detailer, I want to get the best possible, ultimate finish from a set of products on a car I detail, and I want the finish to last. Now, a lot of the finish, and I mean a lot, will come from the preparation stages... but it is my opinion that if you go to all the effort of correctly preparing the paintwork then I want to go for the ultimate LSP to top the detail off. For me this means using a glaze for sure, for the wet look, and a for the ultimate finish I'm a big fan of Zymol. Not all details I will do with Zymol, it all comes down to the requests of the car owner - however, the best reactions I have had from owners have also come from doing the Zymol treatment and as a proud hobbyist it means a lot to get the best reaction from an owner, and there's no bigger compliment than being recommended on and asked to return to do other cars.  

These are just my views on the subject. Its important to never loose sight of the importance of the prep, but I have seen on various colours in the flesh tangible differences in the finish offered by various LSPs.


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

They all look stunning Steve and all look the same  

Another factor is paint types titanium silver on BMW's can be almost as refelctive as a much darker colour yet Renault titanium silver offers poor reflectons in comparison.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

If the car is poorly prepped it will never look great on close inspection, whatever LSP you use.
At the other end of the scale on a perfectly prepped car with swirl free paintwork the difference between LSPs becomes a little more difficult to notice. This is because the paint underneath is in such good order. 
In between these two on a moderately well prepped car, ie. what is the real world for many with just a few swirls remaining, I think different LSPs can make more of a difference.
I have noticed that when I have spent hours refining the finish of car with various grades of polish followed by glaze, that the car looks fantastic before any LSP is used. The purpose of the LSP is then to try and lock in and preserve that appearance. Generally I like to use a sealant followed by a wax.

The Holy Grail is to find the best combination of clarity, reflectivity, depth, warmth and durability in a LSP. If there was one product that could do this consistantly on all colours and all makes/types of paint it would probably completely dominate the market. Many of us are on this quest for the ultimate finish and are never completely satisfied, so will try various combinations and any new product that comes along. We have cupboards full of part full bottles/tubs of LSPs and big holes in our bank balances. It is one of the things that defines an obsessive car detailer. The great things about this forum is it allows us to share our experiences and knowledge. There will be differences of opinion but the collective knowledge will be greater than any individual (well most anyway  ).


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

GlynRS2 said:


> I have noticed that when I have spent hours refining the finish of car with various grades of polish followed by glaze, that the car looks fantastic before any LSP is used. The purpose of the LSP is then to try and lock in and preserve that appearance. Generally I like to use a sealant followed by a wax.


This is exactly what I notice, when I have prepped the paint I don't really notice a drastic improvement when applying an LSP, only a slight improvement and desire to lock in the shine.


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## Naddy37 (Oct 27, 2005)

Must admit, when I owned my silver Micra I didn't really like the colour silver. I couldn't get it as shiny as I wanted.

Of course, seeing the pictures here, and if I knew then what I now know, I'm wondering what results I could off got with it....


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

Brazo said:


> They all look stunning Steve *and all look the same *


I could never play you at cards Mark, you read me like a book:lol:


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Neil_S said:


> For me, prep and polishing will get me 90%, different LSP's make a few percentage difference for me.


Fully agree with this - proper prep is the most important factor by far, and the last time we did my car it looked dripping wet after the finishing polish, so was 90% of the way there. As Glyn says though, being the obsessive people we are, for me that last 10% to get the exact look I want has been a quest akin to that for the holy grail, and one that continues to date, because despite my love of Werkstatt, it's still not as wet as OCW... but OCW hides my flake. :wall:

I'm really quite surprised that some don't see the difference. If you think about the material properties and chemistry of different LSP's, it's not really hard to figure they will have different optical properties and hence generate some visual differences. No matter how good the prep work, you put FMJ on a solid red car and you can't fail to notice the difference to when the same car wears a high quality carnauba wax. In the following images the car was prepped to perfection, but on the left it was topped with Pink Wax, while on the right it was topped with FMJ. To my eyes, and despite the lighting difference, the two finishes are again like chalk and cheese, with a real difference in the nature of the shine and the clarity of the reflections.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

I do agree to the importance of prep - this is the key to getting the best possible finish and the reason I have gone to the extremes of perfecting my rotary finishing as I believe is give a more crystal sharp finish than that achieveable from the PC. Prep is the big stage of the detail, and why we all spend many hours getting the paint set up for the final icing on the cake in the LSP. 

But as Rich eludes to above, there are subtle differences in the appearances generated by different LSPs, and I have noticed these differences on finishes I consider to be fully 100% prepped - with a swirls free and crystal sharp rotary finish. Now, after this stage the paint does look fantastic, and many LSPs I have used from here dont add much if anything to the finish... What does for me add to the finish however is a glaze - the way these products wet the paint and deepen the colour, there is always a clear difference in the depth of shine and depth of colour after an application of a glaze product, and this difference is at its most noticeable on dark coloured cars - on PC demo days, I demo #7 as well and the difference it makes always makes owners step back and take notice.

There are also differences in the styles of shine - notably between sythetic products and natural products. I am always aiming for the ultimate finish, and even though the LSP is only the extra say 10% of the finish, I still believe that in my quest for the holy grail, its worth going for the ultimate LSP. Whether this is Werkstatt, Pinnacle, Zymol, Meguiars whatever, will depend on you own personal opinions on LSPs - for me, my choice is Zymol and Pinnacle for the ultimate in looks. Now perhaps the reason I am a big fan of Pinnacle Souveran and latterly Zymol Destiny and Concours after using these is because of the oil contents of these LSPs which deepen finish, and my persdonal taste is to go for a deep a colour and as glossy and wet a finish as possible. These products seem to suit what I am looking for in products.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Dave KG said:


> What does for me add to the finish however is a glaze - the way these products wet the paint and deepen the colour, there is always a clear difference in the depth of shine and depth of colour after an application of a glaze product, and this difference is at its most noticeable on dark coloured cars


I totally agree with that. A lot of people tend to skip the glaze stage, but in doing so you miss adding real depth and richness to the finish. Although most noticeable on a dark car, there are still benefits on lighter colours too.


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

WX51 TXR said:


> Fully agree with this - proper prep is the most important factor by far, and the last time we did my car it looked dripping wet after the finishing polish, so was 90% of the way there. As Glyn says though, being the obsessive people we are, for me that last 10% to get the exact look I want has been a quest akin to that for the holy grail, and one that continues to date, because despite my love of Werkstatt, it's still not as wet as OCW... but OCW hides my flake. :wall:
> 
> I'm really quite surprised that some don't see the difference. If you think about the material properties and chemistry of different LSP's, it's not really hard to figure they will have different optical properties and hence generate some visual differences. No matter how good the prep work, you put FMJ on a solid red car and you can't fail to notice the difference to when the same car wears a high quality carnauba wax. In the following images the car was prepped to perfection, but on the left it was topped with Pink Wax, while on the right it was topped with FMJ. To my eyes, and despite the lighting difference, the two finishes are again like chalk and cheese, with a real difference in the nature of the shine and the clarity of the reflections.


I have seen these on your web site and was very impressed with them as a comparison of sealant vs wax. I agree the difference is night and day! But solid red is a million miles from silver and silver is what this thread is about .

I suppose the deciding factor is If I was to prep a silver panel and apply 2 different LSP's to it would you or anyone else be able to tell where the join was? Or indeed if I had cheated and only applied one LSP? Or dare I say none at all


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## Rich @ PB (Oct 26, 2005)

Next time I do a major detail on mine I'll test it - answer it once and for all. Pure wax finish on half a panel, pure sealant on the other - then photograph the panel and see what we can see. Game on! :thumb:


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## CleanYourCar (Jan 23, 2006)

Lighting also makes a big difference. I know I can take two photos one after another and they will look completely different. 

Agree with everything pretty much above though and some good points raised.

I must admit I do like the wet look, so tend to reserve sealants for base coats (probably the only exception to this is silver and a few other metallics) and then top with somthing oily.


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## TigerUK (Apr 1, 2012)

Flatcap said:


> Got to agree with Dave on this, Pinnacle Souveran takes soem beating on silver. CG XXX and P21S is pretty good too but Souveran takes it.
> 
> Here is a mini I finished with Souveran last week. Judge for yourself.
> 
> :thumb:


the mini cooper looks great in silver, and also the gun metal silver. it's the curves that make the most discrete colours pop out. This is one car you don't need to buy in black to show off your paintwork. Actually black minis look ugly.


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## fulcrumer (Feb 25, 2012)

That is some thread revival


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