What Wax for Light Silver

[Z28ImpalaSS]

I currently use Zaino and am very happy with it on most of my cars. However, I have a 1981 Corvette with original 2 tone Silver over Dark Blue that I just cannot seem to get that "POP" in the shine out of. The Car looks very good though, but I'm wondering if anyone can recommend something better (Wolfgang, Pinnacle etc.) to get me that shiny,wet look etc.
Thanks for your help.

[Buddy]

If you're interested in a nice nuba Pinnacle Signature Series II just looks beautiful on silver. When I put it on my Silver Monte Carlo SS it just pops all over the place. You can't go wrong.

[Gunslinger]

I had a '78 Silver Anniversary Corvette and tried several waxes and the best was Griot's Best of Show Wax. It really made the car "pop" and the finish looked a foot deep. My previous favorite wax didn't come close to it for depth and sparkle.

[loudog2]

SSII, P21s 100%, Dodo diamond white/ light fantastic, Supernatural, RBOE and fuzion. Just to name a few!

[Rsurfer]

Maybe it needs to be polished better. By that I mean using a finishing polish like Menz 85rd or Ultrafina. Remember the LSP is only 10% of the final finish.

[Tesla]

If it looks good on black, it'll look good on anything!

[ScottB]

Dp MaxWax, Pinnacle SigSerieII, Wolfgang Fuzion, or Dodo Supernatural all look nice on silvers and bring out the wetness factor. You can even use them to top your Zaino.

[Z28ImpalaSS]

If you're interested in a nice nuba Pinnacle Signature Series II just looks beautiful on silver. When I put it on my Silver Monte Carlo SS it just pops all over the place. You can't go wrong.


Dp MaxWax, Pinnacle SigSerieII, Wolfgang Fuzion, or Dodo Supernatural all look nice on silvers and bring out the wetness factor. You can even use them to top your Zaino.

Thanks guys. I'll have to check into some of these.:dblthumb2:

[Meghan]

Pinnacle Liquid Souveran would be my choice, just because I have seen it look amazing on white, so it should do well on light silver too. Signature Series though looks amazing on silver just haven't seen it on light silver yet. Either way we will what to see pictures when you are done.

[Mike Phillips]

Does it have a clearcoat finish or a single stage finish?

1980 was the transition year, (near as I can tell), for clearcoat finishes for Corvettes. A couple years ago I was the guest speaker at the National Corvette Restoration Society and while I was there I did a swirl remova demo on an all original numbers matching Corvette with the original clearcoat finish and one of the judges told me 1980 was the first year for clearcoat finishes but only at one of the plants where there built?

He said some built that year had single stage paints.

If it is single stage then it likely has oxidation of the flae which is "in" the paint and getting it to"pop" (maximizing clarity) will be hard to do because the problem is throughout the entire layer of paint, not just on the surface.

Do you see pigment coming off the paint when you polish it with any kind of paint cleaner?

:)

[detail viking]

I really like Duragloss 101 or 111 for silver. DP Max Wax is on sale for $20 right now though. I want to try that as well and it's a good time for it.
:xyxthumbs:

[Z28ImpalaSS]

Yes it is basecoat/clearcoat paint that is all original. Car has never been wrecked or painted. Also I am not getting any color pigment off of it at all. The car has been properly prepped and polished,and the Zaino does give it a great shine. Under florescent light and in the sun the car looks really good. The color is not a true silver, but almost a very light grey with silver metallic in it. Please remember, this an almost 30 year old paint job, so I do not want to do more damage than good. I was just wondering if there was something else out there that someone had used on a similar color that added a lot to it.

[ScottB]

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/dressed.JPG

Souveran on quicksilver, the polymers in SSII by Pinnacle will enhance the flake while showing the same wetness and depth.

[bmw5541]

My car is Titanium Silver. I have use P21S Concours Carnauba and love it. My new favorite is Natty's Red. It has a beautiful wet look, and if you happen to have metalic flakes, it really makes them pop.:dblthumb2:

[Mike Phillips]

Yes it is basecoat/clearcoat paint that is all original.


Just wanted to double check. As for getting paint to "pop", or getting the metallic flake to "pop", usually when people describe the paint like this what they mean is they want the metallic flack to jump-out and dazzle your eyes.

If you're working on a clear coated car then getting the metallic flake to pop means making the clear layer as clear as possible so you eyes can see through it to the color coat and metallic flake under it. This is does in the correction step.

when trying to do this on a single stage paint then it can be difficult if the paint is old because the flake will be oxidized inside the paint and you can't polish out each flake. This is why I wanted to double check the type of paint you had because the 1980's was the transition time from single stage paints to early basecoat/clearcoat systems.

Besides the 1980 Corvette at the 2007 NCRS Nationals, the other oldest all original Corvette with the original clear coat finish that I've buffed out was this 1982 Corvette.

It's hard to find clear coats paints this old that are still in great shape. All too often too many other detailers have hacked them up and they get repainted.

It belongs to April who's known as "The Vette Lady"

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2AprilsModel.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2AprilFinished2.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2AprilFinished4.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2AprilFinished5.jpg

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2AprilAtShow1.jpg


In the background is Chip Foose signing autographs. After this show he asked me to come by his shop to talk to him about sanding and buffing out his cars, which I did but nothing ever came from it. I tried multiple times to take over the sanding and buffing of his cars but just never got the phone call. He's a super nice guy but also a very busy guy. I think we'll have a chance to work together in the future, at least I'm always willing.

:)