Help getting my Black Denali to Shine

[threeputt_bogey]

I have a black 2007 GMC Denali where I just can't seem to get a nice shine. I have tried the Klaass All-in-One Polish followed by the Klaass High Gloss Sealant and then a coat of Pinnacle Carnuba...but even then the car just does not look good. While it looks okay at first glance, on further inspection you can see a lot of haze and it is just not a crisp shine like I would like (expect?). I apply the waxes just as instructed but do not use any kind of power detailer...just old fashioned elbow grease. Any suggestions for getting my Denali to "glow" with these products?

 

[JonMiles]

Start with some clay, clean paint will shine more...if you can't get the results it might be time to get some polish and a buffer

 

[trhland]

you got the best wax that for sure. just make sure you clay/ and polish .get these steps down you will for sure see the results you want ..try xmt 360 . the souveran.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I apply the waxes just as instructed but do not use any kind of power detailer...just old fashioned elbow grease. Any suggestions for getting my Denali to "glow" with these products?

As both JonMiles and trhland mentioned... the secret to creating a show car finish is in the prep work, you're goal is to maximize both the,

• Clarity
• Smoothness

Of the clear layer of paint. Maximizing the clarity will enable the full richness of color to shine through, maximizing smoothness will create a glossy finish.

While this can be done by hand it's a heck of a lot easier to do it by machine and modern DA Polishers are very easy to use with little to no risk.

When I first came to Autogeek I wrote this article because I always wanted to do this kind of test and the results are usually compelling enough for most people to move from working by hand to working by machine.


Man versus Machine


Like mentioned, if you don't want to move to machine polishing at this point, then pre-cleaning the paint with a dedicated paint cleaner will give you the results you're looking for...

See this article,

How to clay, clean and wax paint by hand with Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion and Pinnacle Signature Series II Carnauba Paste Wax


See my Signature Line for more articles and videos... Also, the recent TV segment I did on Motorhead Garage actually covers this exact topic.

 

[longdx]

It may be that your paint has some swirls/hazing from automatic washes or contamination on the paint. GM clear is hard and maybe Klasse AIO is not addressing any swirls/scratches or amplifying them because of its cleaning properties. A machine with a good polish will work wonders in swirl removal and prepping the paint for a good LSP.

 

[threeputt_bogey]

Thanks for all the advice. My Denali has some swirls plus just an overall haze I do not like. I was hoping spending big $$$ on the high quality Klaass and Pinnacle waxes would help...but maybe not enough. If I have to drop more $$$, can someone please recommend a good DA Polisher for a novice detailer to invest in?

 

[S2K]

Thanks for all the advice. My Denali has some swirls plus just an overall haze I do not like. I was hoping spending big $$$ on the high quality Klaass and Pinnacle waxes would help...but maybe not enough. If I have to drop more $$$, can someone please recommend a good DA Polisher for a novice detailer to invest in?

There are 3 good DA's plus the Flex out there. I would recommend do what I did and read read read. Don't get in a hurry and do your homework. There are a lot of good threads here that can teach you all you need to know to get started and help you decide on products. Look in the forums "Ask Mike" and "Detailing 101" they are full of good information. Then start asking questions and you will know better what to ask and you will get all the answers you need. The people here are GREAT.

 

[JonMiles]

Thanks for all the advice. My Denali has some swirls plus just an overall haze I do not like. I was hoping spending big $$$ on the high quality Klaass and Pinnacle waxes would help...but maybe not enough. If I have to drop more $$$, can someone please recommend a good DA Polisher for a novice detailer to invest in?

The flex is gonna cost you a good amount, you have to invest in the polisher, pads, polish...IMO the best bang for your buck is going to be the griots 6" DA, you can get a kit with the pads and just about any polish you would need. It will give you the kind of correction you need without the high cost.

I have a flex only because I detail for a living, if it were my personal vehicles only I wouldn't invest the 500+ for the flex, pads and menzerna polishes

 

[mchess1]

I was hoping spending big $$$ on the high quality Klaass and Pinnacle waxes would help...but maybe not enough. If I have to drop more $$$, can someone please recommend a good DA Polisher for a novice detailer to invest in?

You are going to find that 95% of the "shine" you are looking for is in the preparation of the paint before you add a wax or sealant on top. Figure the LSP is the cherry on top of the sundae.

As others have stated, if you are going to be just working on your own car and not doing this for a living then I would go for the Griots. You can get setup with a nice beginners kit for the price of a Flex alone.

Now if you have some extra dough, the Flex is an amazing machine.

 

[threeputt_bogey]

Thanks for the advice on the Griots and the Flex. As a newbie, can someone tell me why the Flex is better? I don't mind spending the extra $$$ if it is "worth it" but would just like to understand the benefits of what I may be getting before dropping the extra money.
Also, when using a machine, does it matter what type of wax I use? Can I still use the same Klaass and Pinnacle Carnuba I already have in inventory or do I need some "special" wax for a machine? I see the Griot's kits come with some wax / polish already...is there anything extra I need if I go with a machine beyond the Klaass and Pinnacle Carnuba?

 

[Pristine Image]

I'm a weekend warrior who 99.99% of the time only does the family vehicles. Detailing is a hobby for me that may one day turn into a part time side job. However, I decided about two years ago to spend the extra money and go straight to the FLEX. My reasoning behind this was that the FLEX can do more paint correction than a PC. The FLEX also can correct paint quicker than a PC, or at least that's what I've seen. I really enjoy using it and to this day I haven't had any problems with it. Overall, I didn't want to get a PC only to hit a roadblock in the future and want or need to buy a FLEX as well to get the job done. Just my two cents. :buffing:

It's a tough decision because regardless the PC and FLEX is rather expensive but it all boils down to what you envision doing with it later. If you think the paint correction provided by a PC will suffice any vehicles you do then there's no point in spending the extra money on the FLEX. On the other hand, if you want to be guaranteed that you can tackle pretty much any paint correction you come across perhaps the FLEX is the one for you.