# Mirror like reflections of light coloured cars



## aquanuke (May 25, 2008)

Ive never detailed light coloured cars before and just did two in the last week, both silver. I was a little disappointed with the reflections where Im used to getting mirror like reflections from all the black and blue cars Ive done.

What final stage products do you find work best on light coloured cars. ie glazes. sealant, waxes?


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## Nath (Jun 20, 2010)

No matter how hard you try, a silver car is never going to give the reflections of a black car. You should be able to get a good reflection but not mirror like on a black/dark car.


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## Mick (Jan 23, 2010)

ive seen some pics that russ_ZS on here has put up before of silver cars and TBH, the shine hes achieved by properly jewelling the paint are better than ive seen on silver, hopefully he pops along and shares some.

I can only think of describing the finish he has achieved as "mirror like" :thumb:


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## aquanuke (May 25, 2008)

Thanks, im getting 'good' reflections. The bit im missing is when you look into the paint and you can see your nose kinda thing. All im getting is a dark head looking back at me 

Did not help that I did a dark blue Bentley the day before.

Getting dark in this pic , but the reflections standing away are good.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Mick said:


> ive seen some pics that russ_ZS on here has put up before of silver cars and TBH, the shine hes achieved by properly jewelling the paint are better than ive seen on silver, hopefully he pops along and shares some.
> 
> I can only think of describing the finish he has achieved as "mirror like" :thumb:


Thanks Mick :thumb:

Here it is, with Wolf's Body Wrap on it...


P1030784 by RussZS, on Flickr


P1030783 by RussZS, on Flickr


P1030778 by RussZS, on Flickr


P1030776 by RussZS, on Flickr


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## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

Good angles and sunlight helps but the jewelling and products do help.


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## aquanuke (May 25, 2008)

Very very nice Russ, what did you use to get results like that


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

I can't find the page where I documented it, but from memory I had spent ages jewelling it with Megs 205, then used Wolf's Body Wrap

As stated, the lighting helps, and some silvers are more reflective than others... what makes were they?

Some other light cars I've done:

370Z finished in Menzerna Powerlock


P1050790 by RussZS, on Flickr

Wolf's Body Wrap on Golf GTI


P1050229 by RussZS, on Flickr

Jag XK8 with Werkstat:


P1030392 by RussZS, on Flickr

Qashqai with Menz Powerlock:


P1050558 by RussZS, on Flickr

The common theme here is sealants, which definitely help a lot...


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## aquanuke (May 25, 2008)

My bad just Googled "jewelling paint" I understand now its not so much the product your using but getting the surface micrscopic flat through fine polishing so it reflects rather then refract the light.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

zaino works well on silver too.....

:thumb:


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Burnishing is the key to getting a good reflection. That and coupling with the correct products and you can be onto a winner. Silver is always one of the most trickiest colours to get clear reflections from.














































Dark colours work far better to project objects colouring within the reflection. Its just one of those things with silver's:thumb:


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

What did you use on that 911 Scott? That looks very sharp!


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

Depends on the paint on the car esp for silvers - so many different variants.

Sealant or hybrid for sure to get best 'glass / sharp ' like finish.


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

The_Bouncer said:


> Depends on the paint on the car esp for silvers - so many different variants.
> 
> Sealant or hybrid for sure to get best 'glass / sharp ' like finish.


That's impressive, what did you use on that?


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

RussZS said:


> That's impressive, what did you use on that?


Cheers Russ > Ahem my hombrew I'm afraid :thumb: - was the Mercs first full layer up a few months back


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

Silver is very rewarding when you use the correct products here are some pictures form a silver 3 series I look after.


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)

dunno if it counts as a properly light colour, but was always pleased with this on my light gold 75


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## Deano (Jul 7, 2006)




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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

definitely one of the money earners is silver....burnishing is the key but in some instances it takes a lot of light shots and angles to get the look for the camera....


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## BRUNBERG (Oct 21, 2010)

The Cueball said:


> zaino works well on silver too.....
> 
> :thumb:


Yep, it's pretty good on grey too


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## clarkey1269 (Dec 27, 2010)

anyone willing to explain what this jewelling and burnishing is? never heard it before.


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## scottys.m3 (Apr 3, 2011)

My m3 will be like that I hope


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## Gruffs (Dec 10, 2007)

The reflection is from the top layer of the clear coat. Dark colours provide a contrasting background making the reflection stand out more. Metallic grey in it's various shades is not contrasting to dark or light colours so the reflection is harder to see.

Think of a cloud on a black background, then the same cloud on a silver background. Same thing.

Some great reflections here though guys. Top work.


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## Mick (Jan 23, 2010)

clarkey1269 said:


> anyone willing to explain what this jewelling and burnishing is? never heard it before.


jewelling/burnishing as I understand it is simply another term given to the finishing stage of polishing, which is done after the compounding stage (i.e. is more about improving finish/gloss/clarity rather than actually removing defects).


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## clarkey1269 (Dec 27, 2010)

Ohhh, I see cheers for that, learn something new everyday on here


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

No one has mentioned wet sanding? 

The flatter the paint, the more reflective it is!


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## badman1972 (Jun 24, 2010)

Silver is a much harder colour to achive a good level of reflective shine, but have found with good prep and Werkstat AJT that a very nice result is possible :thumb:

I have also seen plenty of different LSP choices making great results when the paint has been properly prepared


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## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

badman1972 said:


> *Silver is a much harder colour to achive a good level of reflective shine*, but have found with good prep and Werkstat AJT that a very nice result is possible :thumb:


I agree with you silver is a much harder colour , because of that we need LSP can gives super wet-look over reflection "dynamic shine" . I find P21s Concours wax x2 gives best result in silver and light gold colour . after good prep stages I like to go with Menz PO85RD to add extra clarity , and then a coat of sealant will adds extra reflectivity , finally the carnuba wax will adds extra wetness .


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## Sirmally2 (Feb 28, 2011)

I Managed this on my insignia, this was before i found DW... Imagine what i could have done if i knew of the existance of this place


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

One of the best looking silver cars I've seen on here was an R34 GTR detailed by Heavenly Detail. :argie:

Here it is: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=67873&highlight=nissan&page=3


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## Dingo2002 (Apr 4, 2007)

silver can reflect well but only at acute angles really. You'll never get a direct mirror reflection like you will on black.

these are some i acheived



















Lighting is your best friend as on a dull day these reflections would not have been so clear.

Dean


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## badman1972 (Jun 24, 2010)

Found one of mine from a few months back with a few coats of Werkstat AJT


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## awbimmer (Aug 4, 2012)

Wow, some very good paint work on this thread! Seems Wolf Chemicals Bodywrap really does do the trick over alot of the other options out there for silver cars...


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## Rayner (Aug 16, 2012)

Haven't read the replies but I was quite impressed with Blackfire Crystal Seal...



















No correction work has been done and all by hand.

The BIG bonus for me as this is my dads truck is that it took 15 mins to seal from start to finish. The sheeting is awesome too - even better than the FK1000P that I've got on mine. Not great on the front screen though, and I have no idea on durability atm as this was only 2 weeks ago.


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## organisys (Jan 3, 2012)

I found this post insparational!

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=286027&highlight=DrDax


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## Scotty B (Jul 1, 2009)

Werkstatt Acyllic JETT:


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## cobra (Feb 18, 2012)

ive found that fk1000p looks very glossy on metallic grey


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## BertST (Jan 24, 2012)

I like to use dodo juice rainforest rub on my silver focus. Gives it a nice glossy look but it only seems to last a few days


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## SystemClenz (Oct 31, 2008)




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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

MidlandsCarCare said:


> What did you use on that 911 Scott? That looks very sharp!


Only just noticed teh question so appologise there. Cabbie had a 2 stage machine polish and Permanon. ((3 had an enhancement sith Scholl S17+ and was finished with Zaino Z2 ( ZFX'd ) and sandwiched with 3 layers of Z8 iirc. Write up is in the studio somewhere.


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## slim (Jan 6, 2010)

Good Evening, some of our silver bug, using AJT...


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## shaunmods (Dec 2, 2010)

Just thought I'd stick a few pics of some reflection results I've got on my motors  I do love white cars lol

My Corsa was wearing Poorboys White Diamond topped with Dodo Juice Light Fantastic in these photos -



















My Combo van wearing Auto Finesse Tough Coat


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## awbimmer (Aug 4, 2012)

That looks brilliant mate


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## DOBE (May 4, 2012)

Glossworks glaze and fk1000p on a silver Mazda,










SNH on my CW Type R


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## TopSport+ (Jul 22, 2012)

Looks awesome


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## Cat Face (Jan 9, 2011)

You know a car is clean when you can no longer tell what the original colour is!


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Sealants are the way to go for silvers, a proper hybrid wax or a sealant like Autofinesse Tough Coat or AJT, just keep on topping and building on your layers with a sealant and you will see the shine boost and reflectivity will be sharper, this is the easiest and quickest way, or wise burnishing is the way forward as mentioned through this thread but takes alot of time and patience, but the results are worth it if your want your silver paint to stand out from the other silvers out there :thumb:


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## SystemClenz (Oct 31, 2008)




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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

The problem of reflection is all about contrast really. Ever notice if you out of your office window at night for example you get a reflection? Obviously in the day you just see out of it.
It's a similar thing with silver.. You need the right light otherwise unfortunately it just looks "flat" (which is part of the brilliance of silver). At night under lights it lights up like a Christmas tree with beautiful reflections.. Want to wow a group of people at a meet up at night? Rock up in a beautiful silver car.

For example.

Here's my car when I detailed it for Ultimate Dubs back in March. it was an overcast day, grey everything.


IMG_5529 by xjay1337, on Flickr

Basically no reflection at all.

Here's a picture of my car in the sort of crisp sunset of a summers evening.










A bit more reflection!

Where as here, we have a bright, beautiful day, taken with no light source on the vehicle.










And in it's natural full frame state -










No fancy nano wax ceramic sealants here, just good quality products applied by a soft and gentle hand (sounds like a kleenex advert).
My point is it's not so much the products or techniques (well, of course it is up to a point) but while it's very easy in almost any light to get black, or any darker colour, looking very reflective, it's a lot harder to get silver looking the same, even if the level of detailing is the same.


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## Princy (Dec 14, 2011)

I found it a struggle to get any decent reflections from my last white car and my now daily driver which is a 5th gen Celica, till I resprayed it in single stage Ford Arctic White and I'm made up with the result










Paint after polishing and wipedown only, no glaze, wax or sealant. That finish was no way possible with it's previous paint


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