Opinion on Silver Car requested

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NoSuchSol

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Hey Folks,

I have an '07 Mazda CX-7 in Silver that my wife drives. We purchased it in '09 and it's in pretty good shape. Baring a couple scratches and road rash(from 4 trips from CA to TX and back), it doesn't show much damage. Under fluorescent and natural sun it certainly doesn't appear to have any swirls. From the time we purchased the car it's been a test bed for a few different products and the last detail was done with our work vehicles.

I'm wondering about the process - should I stick at detailing the car by hand, or would the car actually benefit from a machine polish? If I'm not seeing swirls are they really not there?

Thanks
Drew
 
NoSuchSol said:
Hey Folks,

I have an '07 Mazda CX-7 in Silver that my wife drives. We purchased it in '09 and it's in pretty good shape. Baring a couple scratches and road rash(from 4 trips from CA to TX and back), it doesn't show much damage. Under fluorescent and natural sun it certainly doesn't appear to have any swirls. From the time we purchased the car it's been a test bed for a few different products and the last detail was done with our work vehicles.

I'm wondering about the process - should I stick at detailing the car by hand, or would the car actually benefit from a machine polish? If I'm not seeing swirls are they really not there?

Thanks
Drew
Click to expand...
Silver is the color that hides defects the best. That said, you don't think you see them but when a good cleaning and polish are finished the paint becomes clear and much brighter. I would wash, clay, then use a good All In One (AIO) you will notice a difference. The silver will pop much more and there will be a new shine to your paint!:props: well worth the effort.
 
I have had very good results on my wife's silver Acadia by hand using a variety of products; and extremely pleased is how I would describe the feeling. It's on lease so unless I feel the urge to use my 3401 on it, by-hand will be my preferred approach.

I use either a polishing pal or P21S foam applicator.
 
I would use Blackfire products on it. They really make the silver pop on my Mustang and add reflectivity that is harder to get with silver colors. You may want to start with Total Polish and Seal if you are wanting an AIO.
 
NoSuchSol said:
Hey Folks,

I have an '07 Mazda CX-7 in Silver that my wife drives. We purchased it in '09 and it's in pretty good shape. Baring a couple scratches and road rash(from 4 trips from CA to TX and back), it doesn't show much damage. Under fluorescent and natural sun it certainly doesn't appear to have any swirls. From the time we purchased the car it's been a test bed for a few different products and the last detail was done with our work vehicles.

I'm wondering about the process - should I stick at detailing the car by hand, or would the car actually benefit from a machine polish? If I'm not seeing swirls are they really not there?

Thanks
Drew
Click to expand...

If I had a '07 vehicle that is wife driven, and I maintain it near flawless by hand, then that in itself would be a miracle. Even if your lsp is a coating, there will be apparant swirls.


What you're asking is a philosophical question. Observation vs. Knowledge of Reality.
Akin to the "If a tree falls in a forest...". << Enter these key words at Wikipedia to get my drift.

My two cents from a detailing stand point is yes, they are there. As much as buffer trails can be hidden from view (only to arise at a later point in time), unless seen by chemical wipe down to check true condition of the corrected finish.

Thank you for this thread hand. :dblthumb2:
 
NoSuchSol said:
I'm wondering about the process - should I stick at detailing the car by hand, or would the car actually benefit from a machine polish? If I'm not seeing swirls are they really not there?

Thanks
Drew
Click to expand...

As others have mentioned: The "swirls" just may actually be there.
But what your eyes are seeing, or not, is what really counts...
...that is: as far as meeting your expectations for your vehicle's appearance.

Speaking of counts...

One of the subjects-within-a-subject/topic this Mike Phillips article addresses is Time.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...asked-questions/20257-man-versus-machine.html

Example:

"Final Results.

The surface prep steps by Hand: 1 hour and 45 minutes
The surface prep steps Machine: 30 minutes.


That's a difference of 1 hour and 15 minutes for one half of a hood done by hand versus machine".


-You have to remember...The processes in the above referenced article
were done by a Professional Detailer with upteen years of experience!!
Of course: YMMV!!


-So...IMO...Even if you currently see no swirls, your vehicle...
as well as you personally...will benefit from
a "machine", going forward, for your detailing processes.

:)

Bob
 
Thanks - I'll read through the article and see what I think. My main question was if I would see a difference in quality over hand work vs. machine work. That article might answer my question.

If I make the move for machine, I'll be switching to Chemical Guys products to do the polish and finish. I've been through way too many popular products already (meguiars, klasse - still a favourite, Blackfire, Zaino). The Chemical Guys looked pretty good, but the polishes... V34 36 are by machine. I highly doubt I need to go heavy AND I'd much rather experiment on my old car versus the new one.

Thanks again!
 
NoSuchSol said:
Thanks - I'll read through the article and see what I think. My main question was if I would see a difference in quality over hand work vs. machine work. That article might answer my question.
Click to expand...

If you do quality work, and the paint is not in dire need of correction, you would not see a difference between hand/machine with silver paint.
 
If you can't see it then don't polish it. Mazda has one of the thinner paints out there of all cars so you should take care not to polish it too often.
 
polishing also amps up gloss and reflection, more than just removing swirls. It can still be somewhat notable on silver. Also look to products like Optimum Spray Wax and Reload to amp up silver.
 
As other have said, there are some swirls there that you just aren't seeing. The other thing that probably aren't seeing is oxidation. If you car has spent it's 5 year life under the sun of the Southwest US then you can bet there is going to be some fading and oxidation that you won't notice until you polish a section to compare.

As far as hand work vs. machine, it will depend on the polish. I'm not sure if chemical guys polishes are diminishing abrasive (DAT) or not. If you plan to do it by hand, you won't be able to break down the diminishing abrasives found in many polishes (Menzerna & 3M), so you should be looking for something like Meguiar's 105 & 205 (SMAT).

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...anted-know-about-meguiar-s-smat-products.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...s-order-smat-products-might-surprise-you.html
 
We just traded our silver 2010 CX-7 in a few weeks ago and I understand where you are coming from. When we got it home it looked good. When I was done with it it looked GREAT. Anything that you do to your vehicle will make it look better.
 
I'm in the same boat with my 2010 Ford Fusion. It looks good but I will be using Poorboys Polish w/ Sealant next week so we will see how it turns out.
 
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