# Machine polishing a silver car



## joshuahornby (Apr 25, 2013)

Is there much point? Can you tell as with silver it's very hard to tell when the car is really clean! 

Sometimes if you clean silver really well can look white but on the whole silver never really looks as clean as a black car will. 

Also question about polishing would you need to use a paint depth gauge or aren't you taking paint off so it doesn't matter?


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

Use a glaze after polishing if you really want to get the best from a silver car. 
Lime prime is also good on silver as I believe the oils in it bring something to the table.


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## tom-225 (Aug 30, 2009)

TBH if thats the kind of train of thaught you have i think your wasting your time.


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

This is LP in silver.


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## great gonzo (Nov 4, 2010)

In answer to the paint depth gauge, your taking the clear coat off so yes you do need one. But if your only going for light correction (like LP) your be fine.


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## Astro (Dec 4, 2005)

Sad fact is metallics never look as good as solid colours.


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## joshuahornby (Apr 25, 2013)

So to sum up then would you say it is worth using a DA on a silver car? Will I see a massive difference? been thinking about this for a while and due to the cost etc want to make sure I will see a big difference.

It's basically a pressure washers and snow foam kit or a decent machine polisher and all the stuff that comes with that.


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## Hoochienoballs (Aug 14, 2012)

If you find it hard to tell if it's really clean then you are not cleaning it properly. It's well worth machining a silver car.


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## marc147 (Nov 21, 2011)

Deffenetly worth it


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## danwel (Feb 18, 2007)

definatley worth it


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## Dift (May 22, 2011)

It takes a while to get silver looking amazing, but it can be done.


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## spiros (Mar 30, 2010)

Yes its worth it

13 years old silver car after mashing polishing and Artdekotsos wax


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## e_king (Oct 11, 2012)

I too think it´s worth it. Here´s my neighbours car that I did.


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## Scotty B (Jul 1, 2009)

This isn't machined yet, just cleansed, SRP & Acrylic JETT sealant.



Machine polish will happen this summer hopefully.


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## Dr 0CD (Mar 5, 2011)

I've not machine polished my silver S3 yet, but just keeping it clayed, polished and waxed makes a huge difference. The flake pop and depth of shine is excellent, and similar to the pics posted above. Personally I don't think it matters what colour the car is, decent detailing is always worth it. It's just a natural consequence of lighter colours that the depth of shine isn't as obvious as darker colours.


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## TonyH38 (Apr 7, 2013)

Well said above totally agree.


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## ianrobbo1 (Feb 13, 2007)

IMO yes a silver car can look very good, as any of the "swirls" that detract from the overall appearance are often much reduced or eliminated completely allowing the true colour to shine directly through!!


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

This has not been machine polished; I just spent a lot of time getting it really, really , really clean and hand polished before waxing it.

Silver cars do take longer, but can be made to look really good I think.

Enough people have commented to me that the paintwork on my car stands out from others now.


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## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

Dift said:


>


:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho

Rather yours than mine lol


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

When done properly silver can be as reflective as black.
As for metallics not shining like flat paints ...... What utter BS ..
Ever heard of flake pop. Its the flakes reflecting through an extremely flat clear that give it the diamond look.


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

I have a silver car and yes it's worth it, at least you already have that expectation that it's not going to look like a black car but then you have the added bonus that yours will look cleaner than the 5 mins that black ones look clean

Went for a cig today and one of the guys asked me if I'd washed my car last night, I hadn't washed it since Saturday....no one I know of can say that 5 days on with a black one.

Silver rocks I've had loads of silver cars and when it beads it looks like mercury on your bonnet.

I'm no expert at this but the satisfaction I get after I've cleaned mine far out ways the grubby neighbours black car next door that's not been washed in a fortnight :driver:


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

GleemSpray said:


> This has not been machine polished; I just spent a lot of time getting it really, really , really clean and hand polished before waxing it.
> 
> Silver cars do take longer, but can be made to look really good I think.
> 
> Enough people have commented to me that the paintwork on my car stands out from others now.


Mate that is mint I'm loving your paintwork what are you using ??


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## ffrs1444 (Jun 7, 2008)

Park it in the sunlight and you will see , my white car is the same until you look close up in the sun , but now good as gold well worthy the time and effort


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Dougnorwich said:


> Mate that is mint I'm loving your paintwork what are you using ??


G3 BodyPrep Shampoo + G3 Clay Mitt to clean it followed by AG SRP applied with a cotton polishing cloth and then finished off with 2 coats of AG HD wax.

Knacker's your arms though; I must get a da if only to apply the SRP! 😊


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## TonyH38 (Apr 7, 2013)

GleemSpray said:


> G3 BodyPrep Shampoo + G3 Clay Mitt to clean it followed by AG SRP applied with a cotton polishing cloth and then finished off with 2 coats of AG HD wax.
> 
> Knacker's your arms though; I must get a da if only to apply the SRP! 😊


It looks fantastic, does you proud.


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

AllenF said:


> When done properly silver can be as reflective as black.
> As for metallics not shining like flat paints ...... What utter BS ..
> Ever heard of flake pop. Its the flakes reflecting through an extremely flat clear that give it the diamond look.


 I was surprised to find that the flake in the Reflex Silver paint on my VW Golf actually took on a Bronzy / Gold effect and really stood out once I had polished and waxed the paint. Before the paint looked a quite flat silver.


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## Dowsett (Mar 24, 2014)

GleemSpray said:


> G3 BodyPrep Shampoo + G3 Clay Mitt to clean it followed by AG SRP applied with a cotton polishing cloth and then finished off with 2 coats of AG HD wax.
> 
> Knacker's your arms though; I must get a da if only to apply the SRP! 😊


Raising a thread!

I have used these exact products and my silver car doesnt look this good! Has it been machine ;polished before?

This was a pic i took to try and show the swirl mark. I agree that silver can 'pop'. You can see the flake in it.


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## M400BHP (Feb 18, 2015)

Mine is way over due, by about 2 years


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## subarufreak (Oct 20, 2013)

14 year old clio


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## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

Dowsett said:


> Raising a thread!
> 
> I have used these exact products and my silver car doesnt look this good! Has it been machine ;polished before?
> 
> This was a pic i took to try and show the swirl mark. I agree that silver can 'pop'. You can see the flake in it.


Am pretty sure that it hadn't been machine polished by previous owner, as it is quite swirly on the black window pillars and I know it was a fleet car previously.

I have to say that good old SRP does a great job of cleaning paint, even if it doesn't do much in the way of correction.

I would suggest that by hand (even though I am no expert) that time spend doing a couple of coats of SRP with a decent cotton cloth or mf pad will bring out a lot of clarity in paintwork.


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## danwel (Feb 18, 2007)

As above, if you've not got a machine then SRP will do a great job. I just did my daily hack albeit green but it transformed the car


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## Dowsett (Mar 24, 2014)

Yer, i still use SRP (only got a tiny bit left) and HD wax. Was thinking of using autofinesse polish as few people have recommended it.....im not sure though.

I was just curious as that silver looks really glossy compared to mine.


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## danwel (Feb 18, 2007)

It's 95% in the prep mate, a good decon and clay is where it's at. I've just done my rav 4 and was amazed at the results.


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## Bathie92 (Sep 7, 2012)

As a detailing enthusiast, I can say that Silver is worth doing.. However i wonder if the OP is experiencing the difficulty i find when detailing silver. Its So hard to see where you have applied product, and often find myself putting loads of product on just to make it stand out, Where as something like black you can apply a nice thin layer of wax and feel as though you are effectively applying.. 

I wonder if there are any products that stand out with colouring to make this easier?


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## footfistart (Dec 2, 2013)

I have a moondust mondeo TXS and I must admit its extreme hard to see anything but worth doing. This is mine after a good going over plus c1 application.



















There was plenty of swirls but I could only see them in the dark with a flood light on about a mile away. I used left ultimate compound and m205 on orange and green pads. It's not a full correction but about 90% of all swirls gone apart from deeper ones.

It's worth it  although you can get away with not doing it.


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