How To: Create the Perfect Paintwork Show Car Shine (UK Style)

[Goldfish11]

I've been researching again. :bannana: :bannana:

So you all want to win the next MBClub(UK) GTG Cleanest Car competition or you just want to really impress the neighbours, or you have to much time on your hands and want to create a Show car finish on your every day run around car? Well I have finally managed to find sources for all the stuff you need in the UK so you can get this products over the internet.

Autopia the US car detailing site describe a process called creating the "Perfect Shine". This Paintcare methodology is the basis of what is required to produce near perfect paint finish with incredible depth of shine. So all credit goes to Autopia (REEESPECT as my teenage son says) for the following but the problem is with postage etc it can be a little expensive to import all you need when you need it.

Further details on the Perfect Shine method can be found on the Autopia site using the link below and selecting the "How to ...." section.

http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?autopia+MBWu4u+index.html+

A better more comprehensive guide can be found by downloading the Autopia e-book.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/lib/autopia/goldfish.exe

(The Autopia Guide to Detailing is a Windows executable ebook. Click the link to download and save the file to your Windows Desktop. Click the red car icon to run the book. You will need to register your copy to get a password that unlocks all chapters. The author, David Bynon, sends free updates 2-3 times a year.)



To create the Perfect Shine various stages and products are required. The problem has been that many of the products have only been available in the USA so unless you decide to import stuff from the US this approach has been out of reach to the UK enthusiast.

The process has 5 key stages:

1) Ensuring the paint surface is contaminate free 2) Remove Paint Defects 3) Creating the Gloss 4) Sealing the paintwork 5) The final Wax.

1) Ensuring the Paint surface is contaminate free - a) Wash your car TWICE with a good quality gloss car shampoo. Any good quality shampoo will do you can use Meguiars or Autoglym. Do use a new sponge and the 2 bucket method, (1 bucket for your shampoo water and an other bucket to rinse the sponge after each time you have placed it on the vehicle, this stops grit being dragged on the surface of the vehicle creating swirl marks, This should be your standard way of cleaning the car anyway I use a lambs wool wash mitt from meguiars if looked after it will last 12 months) Dry the vehicle with a microfibre drying cloth.

b) Examine your paintwork carefully it should be perfectly smooth use your eyes and touch, you can feel contamination often easier than seeing it. The paint should feel like clean glass. All the following create roughness on the paint and need to be removed.

Tree sap mist
Paint overspray
Industrial fallout
Hardwater deposits
Diesel fuel exhausts
Rubber particles from other cars
Bird & Insect droppings
Insect splatter

c) If you feel or see contamination use a clay system initially, clay removes the mess from the surface. Meguiars do such a system it costs about £12. One source for this is:

http://www.cleanandshiney.co.uk/

(Put "Clay" into search system to find the product, Delivery is included in the price and this compares well with local Motorist Centres.

2) Remove Paint Defects
a) Now the paintwork is really clean you can see all the other major paint defects. Touch up stone chips, scratches etc (Use a tooth pick and/or fine artists paint brush when touching up, don't use the brush in the touch up pot unless you want a big splodge ). You should then leave this to dry as long as possible.

b) Now it is time to also remove things like swirl. Use a good quality polish, a polish is slightly abrasive. Autopia always used to recommend 1z products, they now have there own label product called Sonus which will be replacing 1z on their site in 2005. The 1z - Einszett products are: "Paint Polish" and "Metallic Polish and Wax" the Paint Polish is a moderate abrasive polish and the Metallic Polish is low abrasive polish. These will remove any swirls, use the lowest abrasive polish for the job.

Paint Polish costs - £7.95
Metallic Polish cost - £6.95

The 1z - Einzett Products can be sourced from:

http://www.erazer.co.uk/

3) Creating the gloss
a) Once the paint is defect free it is now time to create gloss to do this you use a fine hand polish. The polish recomended by Autopia for many years is "P21S Paint Cleanser". This can be purchased in the UK for £14.99 from:

http://www.thepolishingcompany.com/


4) Sealing the paintwork
a) By now your car should be perfectly polished and looking great but now we move into the Show car tricks. The first thing to do is seal and protect the paintwork, for the Perfect Shine to work an Acrylic sealant is used. The chaps in the USA use "Klasse" products to do this. However they are not available in the UK and Europe, but they are manufactured in Germany. (This bit of research took me ages and was a bit like "All the presidents men" lots of people being "Economical with the truth".) The first product to use is "Klasse All in One". In Europe this is called "Carlack68". This cleans, very lightly polishes and protects the vehicle. You then place TWO coats of "Klasse Sealant Glaze" one top of this, these should be placed on the vehicle with a 24 hour time lapse between them to allow the Acrylic formulae to cure. Klasse Sealant Glaze is called "Long Life Acryl Wax" and is available from Carlack in Europe. The Sealant Glaze creates real depth of shine and enhances protection. The Acrylic finish will protect the paint for between 6 months and 9 months so you only need to do this occasionally 2 to 3 times each year.

For information on these Carlack products check out:

http://www.carlack.de/

(Carlack deny they make Klasse and say they are a competitor, but say Carlack performs 10% better than Klasse. (I have had some email discussions with them, they are also very happy to answer questions about Klasse which seems strange) However check out the "Company" section on the website and compare this with the Autopia "How to Enhance your Klasse Experience" dates and info seem to match

You can get the Carlack in Germany from the supplier but I tried this and with currency exchange etc it is really difficult. My research has found out Carlack68 is used by aircraft owners to clean and protect aircraft, it protects them from UV at high altitude so your car will be UV proof.

You can purchase 1 litre container of "Carlack68" for £19.95 and 500ml of "Long Life Acryl Wax" for £12 (price to be confirmed) from:

http://www.afeonline.com/

Select "AFE" on the welcome menu and use the search for Carlack and Acryl.

The Polishing Company www.thepolishingcompany.com also stock the CarLack range so it is worth also looking at their site.

AFE have also brought in a load of "Long Life Acryl Wax" this should be on the website in a few days but if you have problems contact Steve Dickinson at [email protected] The site is going through a technical upgrade and they have had a couple of problems. Alternatively call AFE on the telephone number in the "Contact us" section

Now the way the Acrylic sealant works in the Perfect Shine method is to produce an amazing finish that due to its chemistry can be used to place other waxes on top of this so you can layer the finish without removing the Acrylic coat. Other sealants end up being removed when you place a coat of wax on top because the solvent in the wax reacts with the sealant. Not so with Klasse and Carlack.

The finish should now be amazing but it will be a synthetic finish. Often these are said to be a "Candy Coat" finish and have less depth than a true wax.

5) The final Wax
Now for the Icing on the cake. On top of the Carlack/Acryl Wax finish you put on your Carnauba Wax. This is a show car wax which will produce an amazing depth of finish. Dark cars will look as if you are looking into a reflection in a pool of water, for lighter cars warmth and depth occur.

The wax that has been recommended by Autopia for this is P21S Carnauba Wax. However P21S is guaranteed to work in the perfect shine method because the solvents used are so mild (similiar to those used in lipstick) they will not effect the Acrylic finish.

P21S Concours Look Wax (as it is marketed in the UK) is available for £27.50

from:

http://www.thepolishingcompany.com/


You can put as many coats of Carnauba wax as you like but remember this type wax is not very resilient so you will probably need to put a wax layer on once a month.

Conclusion
So that is the five stages, however once you have gone through the process it is easier to maintain. Stages 2 and 3 will not need to be done unless required. Make sure as you go through this process you only use soft terry towls or cotton, but best of all invest in Microfibre.

Dunelm mill shops microfibre cloths for 79pence but there are other sources. Read the How to .... "Microfibre Myths, Truth and Technology" on the Autopia site before purchasing this is really useful.

http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink?autopia+MBWu4u+index.html+[/

Now the above may seem like hard work but this is where if you are lazy like me you need a little help. You may get a better finish by hand but it is much easier to use a Power Polish like the Porter Cable 7424 if you want information on this see

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=6997

This enables you to do the majority of the above within a day. You do have to wait for Waxes to cure but you can always put on a coat in about 20 minutes or so.

One little bit of bad news, it is advisable not to wax your car if the ambient temperature is under 10C many sealants and waxes do not cure well under this temperature or just take ages.


To maintain

Do use a good quality shampoo to wash your car.
Do not take through a car wash
Do use the "Two Bucket Method" to wash the vehicle everytime.
Do invest in a lambs wool wash mitt.


Sorry for typos but this has taken me ages, I wish this forum had a spell checker.

I look forward to hearing your views and tips but please please please can we avoid the prefered wax or sealant debate. I know by now many of you just love Zymol

Mr Moderator, hopefully all this research will deserve a sticky or even an entry in the how to section

UPDATE: 18 FEB2005
Mike at the the Polishing Company has seen this thread, he has put some special packs for MBCLUB members together which include everything you need for this type of process. He is now importing Carlack68. Please see the thread below for full details. Or see www.thepolishingcompany.com and quote MBCLUBGOLDFISH

 

[grasmere]

A better more comprehensive guide can be found by downloading the Autopia e-book.

I have the ebook, version 3.1, is that the latest please?

Ian

 

[Shude]

Excellent thread, if nothing else it's useful to see the distros listed for these products because without them most people are limited to the likes of Halfords, who for the most part just sell the ordinary car wash stuff and some rubbish polishes/waxes.

Mr Moderator, hopefully all this research will deserve a sticky or even an entry in the how to section

I think we can manage that, howto: yes, sticky: no.

 

[Goldfish11]

I have the ebook, version 3.1, is that the latest please?

Ian

I received a CD version last week with an order this version 3.3. Click on the register section of your ebook this talks about updating and use my link to download the whole lot again into a seperate file.

Autopia now have Sonus brand products and are not going to stock some of the others I mention. My ebook from 3 months ago (Version 3.1) uses 1z and P21S however a CD ebook I received with an order last week is now linking to the Sonus products. Klasse (Carlack) is really the key ingredient of the perfect shine and this has not changed (This is version 3.3).

 

[scotth_uk]

Legend - thanks for typing all of this up!

 

[pammy]

Anybody know how this would go with Diamondbrite? Edna had Diamondbrite applied and I have been using the shampoo and conserver as per the instructions, but I must admit - I do miss not playing around with wax and stuff She's not very big and not too high so I can reach all over - unlike the big red bus and do find waxing etc to be very therapeutic.

But I don't want to do anything that's going to strip off the DB.

 

[Shude]

But I don't want to do anything that's going to strip off the DB.

The diamondbrite is just a polish covered with a wax. Any kind of paint cleaner or restorer is probably going to remove it (stage one!).

 

[FastLady]

Is Diamondbrite the same as StarShield, as that's what mine has had done?

Been just using the freebie MB branded carwash I got in the StarShield 'car care pack' and a chamois leather so far and I've been wondering what I should use when that runs out, or whether I should be trying anything else instead/in addition (like wax etc.) - but if these things will remove StarShield as well then I won't bother!

 

[pammy]

The diamondbrite is just a polish covered with a wax. Any kind of paint cleaner or restorer is probably going to remove it (stage one!).

that's what I reckoned.

 

[Shude]

Is Diamondbrite the same as StarShield, as that's what mine has had done?

Basically yes. I managed to get the platinum protection kit from the stealership and it's probably the same thing as well. One stage of paint cleaner and a second stage of protection. The "replenish" stuff just tops up the layer of protection as well as washing the car.

There is nothing to stop the diamondbrite/starshield/platinum protection owners from assuming they already have steps 1-4 completed as part of the paint-protection package they bought and just do step 5 to add wax onto the top of the other layers of stuff.

 

[Flash]

I'm glad I did not apply any paint protection i.e. Dimond Brite etc. to my car. Zymol Cream Wax is the business!!! Spent 10HRS this Sunday just gone applying the entire Zymol Wax process clear Auto Bathe, HD Cleanse and Cream Wax to my baby this w/end and buffing afterwards - my legs, arms and back are still aching but it was well worth it Next month I shall only need to apply the wax to get an even more deeper shine as will be using the clear Zymol Auto Bathe Shampoo and applying wax straight after. My car now shines just like it did upon collection last Spetember (if not then even more to say the least...). The money was well worth spent on the Zymol goods (£150 plus) but it is hard work though applying it but very rewarding afterwards - neigbours thought I was mad as started 10.00AM and come 8.00PM I was still waxing my car in my garage with the light on as it was pitch black!!!

Flash

 

[Goldfish11]

Diamondbrite & other semi permenant protection packages

Diamondbrite is a paint sealer. Diamond brite stage 1 cleans the surface and prepares it, Stage 2 seals the surface. I am not sure on the chemistry used i.e. Silicon, Acrylic etc. Although it is marketed as ever lasting it does wear out. You are putting on your paintwork something that is only a few microns thick. You could probably still do the Carlack and Acryl Wax and finally the P21S Wax stage without damaging the Diamondbrite badly. Carlack has some mild polishing ability, and would improve gloss.

I did Diamondbrite myself an my wifes car. I do re-apply it occasionally but you have to make sure the paint is perfectly clean otherwise you seal in the nasties on the paint. So you still need to do the first couple of stages.

The best thing about Lifeshine and Diamondbrite is the interior upholstery protection. This Scotch Guard is really good and does mean the children just bead and roll off

I have also Autoglym Lifeshined my car, (did this after stage 1). The point is you can buy these products easily on ebay for £25 and they are really easy to apply. The stealers make more money on applying this stuff than selling a new car hence the pressure they put on you to buy it. If you do it yourself you also know it is done right.

To be quite honest its more fun using the process described above and ultimately it will give far better protection if you do it twice a year than diamondbrite.

So have fun doing the above if you don't like the results strip it all off buy some more diamondbrite off ebay and re-apply this.

 

[Shude]

If you do it yourself you also know it is done right.

It is usually applied by the "saturday boy" at the stealership, some kid with a pile of bottles and rags. Well worth the £300 I'm sure!

 

[pammy]

he he - I already have a DB kit

 

[Flash]

It is usually applied by the "saturday boy" at the stealership, some kid with a pile of bottles and rags. Well worth the £300 I'm sure!

Whenever our cars go to the Stalerships we always tell them "Not to Wash the Exterior..." yet alone trust them to do the Dimondbrite treatment etc. as Shude put it "Saturday boy...". I cannot see any staff/emplyee taking as much care/pride/attention to detail and would just rush through the job. If you want swirls over your paint then get MB to wash ur car after a service

Flash

 

[Howard]

I'm glad I did not apply any paint protection i.e. Dimond Brite etc. to my car. Zymol Cream Wax is the business!!! Spent 10HRS this Sunday just gone applying the entire Zymol Wax process clear Auto Bathe, HD Cleanse and Cream Wax to my baby this w/end and buffing afterwards - my legs, arms and back are still aching but it was well worth it Next month I shall only need to apply the wax to get an even more deeper shine as will be using the clear Zymol Auto Bathe Shampoo and applying wax straight after. My car now shines just like it did upon collection last Spetember (if not then even more to say the least...). The money was well worth spent on the Zymol goods (£150 plus) but it is hard work though applying it but very rewarding afterwards - neigbours thought I was mad as started 10.00AM and come 8.00PM I was still waxing my car in my garage with the light on as it was pitch black!!!

Flash

I totally agree, that Zymol Gear is the daddy, my car feels so slippery its unreal, (not on the roof at the moment though, a heron landed on it earlier and had a big poo !!)

Dad did his CLK with the blue Cleaner wax (smells like my old surfboard wax) and the CLK is now like a big dark blue mirror. He doesn't like to admit when i discover something better than him, but was forced to admit i had when i gave him the Zymol to try .He's gonna call Zymol and see if he can become a dealer for them, thinks there could be demand for super shiny boats ...

 

[Goldfish11]

Not zymol again

I knew the Zymol Boys would start getting excited when I posted this thread

I know its good stuff but as my little survey showed most people can't tell the difference between Zymol and Meguiars NXT

Zymol is quite expensive but does produce good results, why not try using Zymol after you have done Stages 1 to 4. You may get even more amazing results!

But as it says on my tub of P21S Carnauba Wax "We think this jar contains the finest wax money can buy at any price A rich blend of pure no. 1 yellow carnauba wax and beeswax delivers a dynamite shine that last and lasts" but who believes marketing hype

The good thing about the Zymol system is for it to work you have to use a paintwork cleaner. Effectively you are doing the same process outlined above but without the Klasse/Carlack stage.

PS I have two sets of Dimondbrite for sale, each set should do about 3 cars, if anyone is interested PM me

 

[Goldfish11]

Free Zymol

Check out this:

http://www.zdouk.com/newsarticle.aspx?articleID=36

With one small purchase you get free zymol for life


Wow just found some slightly cheaper

http://www.zdouk.com/detail.aspx?ID=86



PS Just had a great idea why not do a group purchase if every member of the MBClub puts in £2 we could get this stuff, set up a rota, and get our free refills for life as it runs out. :bannana:

 

[Goldfish11]

Layering

The process I describe is called "Layering". I have found an article that describes how David from Autopia discovered this effect by accident. For all you Zymol fans. Zymol seems to have been his prefered wax until 1997. I hope you find this article of interest. The Better Car Care ezine also has some other articles on Klasse and polishing techniques. So have a little surf it makes interesting reading (for sad car care enthusiasts like me!).

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=36

 

[Busker]

Thanks Goldfish11

I hope I'm not alone in wanting to thank Goldfish11 for all his efforts on here. I know from experience that he has spent a great deal of time researching this information whether that be on the web, swapping emails or actually buying and using the products himself.

But what now, if he has arrived at the "Perfect Shine", will he fill his spare time with?

I do know one thing: the US economy is better for him, all those PC polishers that have journeyed over the pond.

I just want some better weather now!

Thanks once again sir - you're a true gent.