More Pop for White?

[NuNu]

 

 

Cadillac CTSv that has been Clay Barred,Ceramic Coated, then Spray Ceramic Coated, then Ceramic Waxed and I put some BeadMaker on it but it still won't pop like I think it should. Did I apply to many products? It beads water like crazy but I just can't get that shine like I want it. Any ideas? I can't get above a 98.6 on a shine meter either? I just want to crack 100 on it and I would settle 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RayS]

HI Jonathan,

What steps did you do between Claying the car and putting the Ceramic Coating on it?   What was your prep for stripping the car, iron remover, polishing, etc.?  Did you use Surface Prep before you put on the Ceramic Coating?  The products put on the vehicle after the preparation can only provide benefit to a completely prepared vehicle.   

 

As for the layering of the products, in my opinion you added too many items and that in itself can lead to a less than optimal finish. 

[Rich]

Not quite sure why you did ceramic coat AND spray ceramic AND wax.  I had a CTS, same color.  I used machine polish,  Patriot Wax and Guard and Gloss on mine and it popped like crazy. That's a hard color to make stand out, but it did shine up nice.  Did you apply polish before you put the ceramic down?  Polish brings out the shine.  You have to polish before you apply ceramic or wax.  

[Chris@Adams]

If I understand correctly you didn’t machine polish, is that correct?

Polishing is what will make your paint pop.

[NuNu]

2 hours ago, RayS said:

HI Jonathan,

What steps did you do between Claying the car and putting the Ceramic Coating on it?   What was your prep for stripping the car, iron remover, polishing, etc.?  Did you use Surface Prep before you put on the Ceramic Coating?  The products put on the vehicle after the preparation can only provide benefit to a completely prepared vehicle.   

 

As for the layering of the products, in my opinion you added too many items and that in itself can lead to a less than optimal finish. 

I did strip and clay it but didn’t do any polishing. I actually prefer a little orange peel to a finish. I clayed then strip washed and clayed again. The next day I used surface prep before applying ceramic coating. I let it cure 2 days and looked for missed spots or anything that I may have not removed. I then did the spray ceramic letting it cure between each coat 2 days. I then applied ceramic paste wax. I then washed and used air cannon to dry before putting bead maker as the final coat. I now do my washes with ceramic wash and every so often with wash and wax. I do put a coat of bead maker on after every wash. I thought when doing it I might be applying to much product but I did the same on my Escalade and it worked well but it’s Satin Steel I think (Grey) 

[NuNu]

Oops sorry about the door panel pic. I did use the new interior ceramic on it though 

[NuNu]

Thought you only wanted to polish to fix imperfections? There is some orange peel in the paint but no swirls or anything. I really wanted to polish but since it was new I was a little scared since the car was so expensive. I did all of this coating about 2 years ago and have been working on my polishing skills on my truck and other things (See the Craftsman Cabinet doors below. I was just under the impression that unless it had flaws polish wouldn’t do much, guess I need to polish out the orange peel? 

[Chris@Adams]

You won’t remove your orange peel by polishing with our pads & Polishes. Polishing will indeed brighten up your paint even if you can’t see any visible swirls or scratches.

[The Guz]

Polishing is a majority of the gloss.  The protection product is the icing on the cake.  White is not going to give that pop like black.  It is just the nature  of the beast.  Polish it and get some more gloss then ceramic coat it.  In the right light it will "pop".  Also too many products can mute the look.  

[falcaineer]

Something I always say and teach, true shine comes from proper paint correction. The rest is enhancement and protection. 

 

I've also said this on here many times... people are probably tired of reading it, but I have yet to find a better combo on white than Paint Sealant and HGG. To my eyes, it just pops, plain and simple. And I've coated and Ceramic Paste Waxed mine, too. Still prefer PS and HGG.

 

Agreed with others above. Too many layers of too many products, or even of the same one, can adversely affect the visual clarity and finished look.  Also, since you clayed, and did so twice, you likely added some level of marring to the finish, decreasing the ability even more for the paint to really shine. Just something to consider next time.

 

Don't worry, it still looks great! We all have our preferences, and there's no single way to do things. Sometimes it's simply doing different things until you find what you like best.

[RayS]

As Chris noted, the PS and HGG on White is also my preference, then ceramic on everything else.    As for the polishing, even if you can't see anything, going over the vehicle with what was previously called Revive Hand Polish will help with the shine, if nothing else it acts as a cleaner. 

 

Just chalk this up to a learning opportunity, we've all had them and will have more in the future and that is what this forum is all about - opportunities to learn.

[tomsch63]

Great tip RayS! I've moved my black SUV over to ceramic so I have PS and a gallon of HGG. That's going to be used for my wife's MB GLK350 in the next month. She does not drive it much and it spends most of the time in the garage. This combo will last a long time. 

[Eswear]

I have a white 1988 Rx7 10AE that I'm doing detail with paint correction that I will try the PS and G&G combo on, I will post the results once I'm done.

[falcaineer]

2 hours ago, Eswear said:

I have a white 1988 Rx7 10AE that I'm doing detail with paint correction that I will try the PS and G&G combo on, I will post the results once I'm done.

 

I bet you'll love it!