You see classic cars and trucks at shows and WOW some of them really shine! How do they get their vehicles to look so picture perfect? We have a few techniques we use that can help you get the best shine possible without taking it to a professional.
Getting the perfect shine takes a little skill and a lot of work. Once you have your vehicle looking its best it is imperative that you maintain that shine to keep it looking as good as possible for as long as possible. If your paint is relatively new then getting it show room ready is much easier than it is with older paint. Once your paint is more than 5 years old chances are you are going to be putting in some extra work to bring it back to its original shine.
For many enthusiasts, finding the perfect car polishing technique comes from years of trial and error before they get it right. Our technique is just the same. It was more of a discovery through experimentation than anything. Every car might need to tweak our polishing recipe a bit to get the “perfect” shine, but our 6 step process will at least get you pretty close. This process works especially well on darker colored vehicles.
There are of course a few requirements to ensure the ultimate shine. Your vehicle’s paint needs to be in good condition first and foremost. It will need to be free of surface contamination as well. The other processes involved will be polishing, glazing, protecting and waxing. So first we are going to look at each of these before giving instructions.
Paint in Good Condition
You can pretty much rest assured that your paint is in good condition if it is less than 2 years old. It should be relatively free of any oxidation. If you have a good washing and waxing routine then there should also be minimum oxidation on older paint as well. If there is any surface rust on your vehicle, then that obviously needs to be addressed first. We have a great article on how to remove surface rust and keep it from coming back. If your paint is dull or faded, then getting it to really shine might be a challenge.
Zero Contamination
It is pretty hard to avoid debris like oil, tar, bugs and other grime from getting on your ride. Even if you never drive your car (what a shame) you still have dust to contend with. The longer this contamination is allowed to sit, the harder it will set and will be that much tougher to remove. This is another reason to have a regular washing routine. It should be obvious that all of these contaminants need to be removed before you can continue with polishing and waxing your car.
Polishing Your Classic
Polishing your car or truck helps to get rid of small blemishes in the paints surface. Minor surface scratches, scuffs, swirl marks and gently pitted areas can be fixed with a good polishing. A perfect polish will leave the paint feeling perfectly smooth with no signs of those small blemishes. Your polishing towel should simply glide over the paint with ease. You might think you are ready to apply wax at this point, but you are really only half way there.
Glazing Your Classic
Glaze is a paint treatment that has fillers in the product and it enhances the shine on any color. Glaze helps fill in any of the swirls or surfaces scratches that just couldn’t be removed from polishing. EZ-Creme Glaze is a popular product that works wonders at filling in blemishes. It has an ingredient called Acrylic Shine that smooths out the entire surface to help produce a bright finish. On many colors the glaze coating can leave a car looking wet.
Protecting Your Classic
As an alternate to natural carnauba waxes, paint sealants were created to replicate the shine that carnauba offers, but also to help protect your paint longer than carnauba can. Paint sealant can last up to 6 months (depending on your climate) whereas carnauba will last about 2 months. We prefer using an acrylic sealant over polymer sealants, but the choice is yours. Klasse All-In-One sealant works well and is a relatively cheap investment considering the 6 months of protection it provides.
Waxing your Classic
The last step in creating the perfect shine is waxing. This is where the pure carnauba wax will be used. Mothers Pure Brazilian Carnauba Wax is an good choice. There are no cleaning agents or anything synthetic in the pure stuff. A high quality wax will give your paint the richness and depth that you are looking for.
Now it is time to get down to business. Follow these easy to read instructions to make your prized possession shine just as well as any of the cars or trucks you see at the shows.
Step 1: Washing & Drying
The best way to get your car clean is simply washing and drying it thoroughly. You may want to wash it twice if you are going to continue this process just so you know you got off as much contamination as possible with this step. You can use a gloss shampoo if your car is really dirty. Dawn dish washing liquid works pretty good too. Just make sure you rinse your vehicle really well.
Step 2: Use Detailing Clay
Once your vehicle is thoroughly dry, use your hand to examine the paint. Chances are there will still be some contaminants in your paint. Use a clay bar and lubricant system to remove any remaining contaminants. Chemical Guys are some of the best in the detailing industry. They have a great video showing the best way to clay bar detail a car. Watch this video to learn how to detail with a clay bar system.
Our biggest piece of advice is to inspect your clay often to look for any hard pieces stuck in the clay. Also remember to reform your clay to expose fresh clay every once in a while when the bar starts to get dirty.
Step 3: Paint Repair
Once you are confident that all the contaminants are removed from your paint it is time to examine it again. Minor scuffs and scratches can be fixed using a fine rubbing compound or scratch remover. Sonus SFX-1 Restore Polish is great to use if you need to repair minor flaws, orange peel or water spots. Sonus SFX-2 Enhance Polish is great to use at removing paint swirls. Polishing by hand will work, but we find that polishing with a machine is not only faster, but also produces better results.
Here are some good tips to remember when polishing with a machine buffer.
- Work small areas at a time. One foot by one foot squares if you need to. Focus on one area and the move on to another.
- Work with a slow pace. Many beginners move the buffer too fast and don’t give the polisher enough time on one spot to work properly. Use a slow overlapping motion by going up and down and then side to side.
- Watch that your pad stay level. Don’t focus on the paint results as much as you do the buffer’s position.
- Never, ever use a dry buffer. As soon as the polish goes clear you should move on to fresh wet polish.
- Watch the buffer’s electrical cord. Keep it over your shoulder to help avoid any unnecessary contact with the paint.
- Be sure you are using the correct pad with the correct polish and use the correct speeds as well.
- If you are trying to work out a defect, you can use a little pressure, but not too much that it bogs down the machine.
- Do not remove the polisher from the paint when it is spinning. Turn off the polisher before removing it from the paint.
Step 4: Apply the Glaze
Once again go over your paint to look for any remaining defects like paint swirls that buffing or the paint repair did not fix. Glaze is meant to only fix the micro scratches and not major paint repairs. If your paint looks good to your then skip this step.
Step 5: Seal and Protect
After you are satisfied with your polishing and paint repair results, the paint is ready to be sealed. Again we recommend using the Klasse All-in-one acrylic sealant or its equivalent. The sealant will clean any left over residue and lightly polish the paint as well. We suggest applying it with a microfiber applicator to avoid getting any micro scratches. This sealant once applied will last at least 4 months and possibly as long as 6 months.
Step 6: Make it Shine!
The final step is what is going to bring out the depth and richness in your shine. You might be thinking that your paint is looking mighty fine already, but trust us and finish it all off with a coat of carnauba wax. Only a high-quality pure carnauba wax can bring out the richness of color, depth and clarity on a polished surface.
If you are on a budget then Mothers Carnauba wax will do the trick. If you really want that “show car shine” then you might want to consider splurging and getting the P21S Carnauba Wax. It really is the best carnauba wax on the market for less than $70. You will really notice the difference if your car is black or another dark color.
When waxing your car, be sure you do NOT take the advice of Mr. Miyagi from the karate kid. You do not want to “wax on, wax off” in circular motions. If there are any impurities on your car at this point, even small particles of dust, it can introduce more paint swirls. Instead use a cross-hatch pattern. When washing, polishing or waxing your car it is best to use straight line motions. Forward and back and then side to side motions will work best and make assure you cover the entire car. When it is time for the final buffing, we suggest using a Sonus Der Wunder Buffing Towel. It will leave your car shining like a pool of water.