White Camry - Less than Favorable Results (HELP)

miniSguy

miniSguy

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I just did a white Toyota Camry. My first white car. I've done, black and navy blue vehicles and they turned out great, so I was fairly confident I could handle the white car. I was wrong.

It was overcast when I got the car and had to rely on my garage lighting and swirl finder light to help guage the condition. I found a swirly mess, so I decided to use the same method I used on the other vehicles: Wolfgang Swirl Remover followed by the Final Finishing Glaze. I used a Flex 3401 with 5.5" hybrid blue and white pads, respectfully.

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I also topped it with the Wolfgang Liquid Seal that I am still trying to get the hang of.
The finishing glaze was extremely difficult to remove for some reason (maybe someone can help with that).

Anyway, when the sun came out the next day, I pulled it outside and was greatly disappointed (see photos). I expected a lot more shine from the process. I did manage to remove most swirls, but it's still a mess. However, the customer was happy, but I'd like to go back and try this one again.

What did I do wrong? Should I get a bit more agressive with pads or maybe use some Uber? This was very disappointing for me, especially after spending six hours in the polishing process.

I did manage to get the interior and engine spotless and revive the headlights, so it's not a total loss, but this is bugging me.

Thanks in advance for the help!Feed back please
 
White is very hard to get a good shine from, even when its good paint. That white might have been just a flat white, in that case it wouldnt shine it would just "glow" (if that makes sense).
 
I have a Mercedes ML350 that has a great, multi layer German paint called "Diamond White". It is a $1600 option and well worth it. It seems to be a rather hard paint, however, it shimmers under street lights and glows in the sun. I have seen many great white cars in my fifty years of driving but nothing tops this Mercedes white. Having said that, it is difficult to get the right look out of it and I attribute it to the nature of the "color" white.

I have tried several things and they all look great but different. Because you get different looks it is all in the eyes of the beholder as to what "works". Here is what I find is best for me. First, I wash with CG's Citrus Clear at the LSP strip ratio (2 oz. per gal.) and then check to see if I need to clay (which I have done only once when I first got the car). Then I use P21S Paintwork Cleanser with a polish pad on the Griot 6" polisher. I then seal using Duragloss 105/601 combo on a finishing pad at a ratio of one part 601 to four parts 105. I wait until the next day and top with either Collinite 845 or go right to a plain "topper" like AquaWax or Meguiars Ulitmate Spray Wax. Both these "toppers" work well but the 845 looks a little better to me. I still use the AquaWax or Meguiars on the 845 after every second or third wash to maintain the look and enhance gloss.

I have used Duragloss 111 and it is very good too but seems not to be as rich looking and sort of hides the "diamonds" in the diamond white paint. The 105 brings those out and is further brought out by the 845. 111 would be great if your preference is a "candy" kind of shine.

Try any of these combinations on white and I think you will be pleased, but do not expect the "pop" you would get with a dark color paint.
 
I agree with serval posts above. White never looks bad (even when dirty), but it never looks great either. Black on the other hand, looks great for 30 minutes after you detail it, then it's an uphille battle to keep it clean.

Lighter colored cars can really benefit from acrylic type sealants such as Klasse or Werkstatt. CG also offers a couple acrylic products. You will get the candy coated look as opposed to a 'glow', but I feel that getting white to glow is harder than keeping black clean.
 
only thing i notice that stands out to me is that you did a 2 step in 6 hours. How? LoL i wish i could do my work that quickly
 
also keep in mind usually Toyota white is single stage paint.. May be oxidized and will not shine the same as paint with a good clear coat!!
 
White is tough to really get looking great, but it can get that way...

It just takes longer and a bit more work, but when it's right it's awesome.

However if it's a clear coat we are still working on that to make it as clear as possible.

Single stage paint....

Well one will have to get more aggressive if they really want to get the most out of it.

M105 on a polishing pad at 5 or 6 going over it slow one section at a time and making sure it's right before moving to the next section.

Follow up with M205 on a polishing pad at 4 or 5 going over it again slow...

The finish should be looking wet after that if it's done correctly...

Top with M21, NXT or UW, 2 coats....

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smack said:
Have you read this article?

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ions/22982-lesson-white-paint-teaches-us.html

Also maybe you should have used the orange hybrid pad. Also you may need something more aggressive such as the Wolfgang Uber compound.
Click to expand...

THIS!

BlackHawk said:
only thing i notice that stands out to me is that you did a 2 step in 6 hours. How? LoL i wish i could do my work that quickly
Click to expand...

And perhaps something to consider here as well. ;)

OP, You didn't say if it's single stage or BC/CC. That'll go a long way towards which way to turn. No matter what, white is going to be harder going in as the pigment is
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, iow's oxide of titanium. Meaning it is hard. I'd say grab an orange pad and go more aggressive with the compound to start. Everything else is the same, just kick it all up a notch. ;)
 
I used Optimum Hyper Polish on this white Subaru this year with good results. Polished with a PC and Tangerine Hydrotech pad.

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You can get good reflections out of white as well, shot these a few mins ago.

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Thanks for the great responses. I need to expand my pad inventory anyway and will snatch up some of the orange pads next time.
 
miniSguy said:
Thanks for the great responses. I need to expand my pad inventory anyway and will snatch up some of the orange pads next time.
Click to expand...

The orange pad and M105 would do wonders for that paint I believe.

Just work slow and make sure each section is how you want it before moving to the next one. M105 will polish it a lot so take your time doing 5 or 6 section passes.

Then with the polish you choose do like 3 slow section passes.
 
Flex 3401 + Menzurna FG400 + Hybrid White Polishing Pad. Slow arm speed, setting 6, medium pressure for the first 3-4 passes then just the weight of the machine on the last 2 passes.

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Finished with Detailer's Paint Coating.
 
Audios S6 said:
I agree with serval posts above. White never looks bad (even when dirty), but it never looks great either. Black on the other hand, looks great for 30 minutes after you detail it, then it's an uphille battle to keep it clean.

Lighter colored cars can really benefit from acrylic type sealants such as Klasse or Werkstatt. CG also offers a couple acrylic products. You will get the candy coated look as opposed to a 'glow', but I feel that getting white to glow is harder than keeping black clean.
Click to expand...

:iagree:I used Klasse SG on my wifes Pearl White Altima and it's never looked better, really nice and wet looking. For this daily driver it's what I'm sticking with. Sorry no pics.
 
Jankerson and Scott, those results look incredible! Thanks for the advice.
 
Note to everyone that doesn't know/didn't state it in their post.
Toyota white is a single stage white that uses titanium oxide as its pigment. This is the hardest SS paint you will come across; if not the hardest paint that some people may ever try to correct. It can be made to glow but takes 2-4 steps depending on how oxidized it is and how many RIDS are in the paint. I just recently did a wash and seal(Opti-Seal) on a client's wife's 2013 Camry, and it was already losing gloss. There was at least one spot I saw that looked like someone had polished it, either at the factory or dealership, and it made the rest of the car look dull.
To get really good gloss you need to cut the paint first to remove the oxidation. This means if your using a DA and light cutting pad then you have to keep your arm speed very slow. Otherwise you will just be polishing the oxidation, not actually removing it. On a new car you should be able to follow up with WGFG and a finishing pad and be left with a swirl free, glossy finish. I tried using Meg's MF system on this paint the first time I worked on it and I had a hard time removing the film. Was probably partially my fault, for at the time I hadn't mastered the MF system yet. But, I have found that Menzerna products are easier to use on this paint. A MF pad would probably cut this paint well with WGTSR and produce good gloss and depth. If you were having problems removing WG-FG it might be that you need to shake the product regularly and that the paint was soaking up the oils because the oxidized paint wasn't removed all the way. What were your prep steps?
 
To OP you need to have a variety pads, compounds and polishes. What works for one does not work for the other. Sometimes it takes 20-30 mins just to find the right combo for the job. Also helps to know what you are working with. Before I detail a car I google it to see if someone else did a write up on a detail and I also check the paint hardness spreadsheet we started on AG.

Some pics of my Durango with DG501/601 and topped with 845

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