how to make a white car look great?

[xios29]

Just purchased a pearl white crosstour. I want to protect it while keeping it nice and shiny.
I know i have to wash and clay bar the car.

i'm thinking about buying either Liquid Souveran or collinite 845, i live in Philly.

any suggestions?

What other steps do i need to take?

[opie_7afe]

pearl white is not white in my book, white is the solid color with no flake/pearl in the paint, but luckily for you pearl white does shine better then pure white. so what you will want is something that highlights the pearl in the paint, i would do a good sealand then a wax over top of the sealant. now is it used or brand new? if used or heck even new you might need to polish it depending on how bad the surface is, look under shade at different angles to see if paint is defect free or not, 95% of great looking paint come from polishing. the wax just highlights the paint so to say. post up a picture of how it looks and reply back of how the surface condition is. however, since its getting near winter get some colinite 845 has great durability and is compared to the high dollar wax in terms of look!.good luck to you.

[Scarelane]

I use Collinite 845 on my pearl White ES300 Lexy and it works really well!

:props:

[5.4 Shelby]

Like with any color, paint condition or prep is more important than the topping. Keep it swirl free with gentle wash products and tools. Maintain it with polishing as needed. Top it with a good wax.

I use WG DGPS 3.0 on mine topped with Pinnacle SSII.

[dougaross]

I use DG 501/601 topped with 845

[PPLd]

I assume your car is a new car.
If I were you I would:
1. Wash with any good car wash soap found on Autogeek, 2 bucket method. Wash tool is Meguiar's MF mitt, All White ShMitt, or Cobra Bone. I use 1 side of a mitt per panel only so I use 4 mitts for a convertible, more for a sedan. It is very important that your wash tool is white so that you can easily see dirt on your tool. Pick it out by hand before you rub ur mitt against your paint!

2. mild clay with Optimum ONR or Ultima Waterless Wash Plus as lube. Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay box kit (Autogeek offers the old version of the product though), Sonus white clay or Pinnacle green clay are one of the finest (mild) clays that wont marr your paint.

3. polish with Meguiar's SwirlX / M205 on polishing pad to remove swirls and oxidation.

(4). jewel with Menzerna PO85RD on finishing pad. Takes some time to break it down.

5. seal with a good quality sealant.
Optimum Opti coat is a permanent, super hard coating if you like "once and for all".
Menzerna Power Lock / Collinite 845 are durable, glossy sealant / blended that are inexpensive (less than $20 for 16oz). I found 2+1 thin coats work the best.

(6). top with a good pure paste wax that highlight the pearl flakes.
Poorboy's Natty's Red, DP Max Wax, Pinnacle Sig Series II, or P21s/Sonax 100% Carnauba.

I dont have a white pearl car but you may take a look with how Sonax will look on white pearl here:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/26900-sonax-premium-class-carnauba-wax.html

The steps in () are optional.

[weavers]

I also have a pearl white car. right now I have collnite 845 on it. It looks great. if you want a high gloss/shiny white then go with a sealant like 3m performance finish. its easy on/off, last for 4-6months and gives a nice shinny look.

you may also want to look at opti coat 2.0. that really seems to get a deeper shine than anything else. I just have it on my wheels, and I have to say wow.

[Jimmie]

I've used three. Huge thumbs up on each.
On-a-budget=DG105 and Aquawax
Klasse AIO and WG DGPS
Glaze and Liquid Souveran or Sig Series II

[Ryan R]

You live in Philly so do you and your new car a favor and top it with the Collinite 845.
Either just the 845 or over the sealant of your choice. Can't go wrong :)

[mg6045]

my garaged car is flat white. some of the better finishing products I have kept around.

- most all Optimum products
- Prima products
- Wolfgang Fuzion
- Wolfgang Deep gloss spritz sealant
- Pinnacle SSII
- DJ Supernatural Hybrid
- most all Blackfire products
- DP Final Gloss
- Sonus Paint Sealant

That is in no particular order.

Since my car is flat white, I stay away from pure carnuba products like Pinnacle Souveran. And you will also want to stay away from sealants or wax's that darken the paint with heavy polishing oils. Both of those types of products will make the paint look dull (ie: not stand out). You will want more synthetic products.

[jfelbab]

White and all light colored paints seem to show better when they are at their glossiest or most reflective state. Carnaubas and sealants that darken or offer that warm glow don't seem to look as good to my eyes. I go for that wrapped in plastic look that sealants like Zaino, NXT, M21, Klasse seem to excel at. These lighter colors also respond well to gloss enhancer sprays or spray waxes. The thing that catches your eye is the mirror-like reflections on these colors, IMHO, so polishing/jeweling is a vital step.

[Mike Phillips]

Just purchased a pearl white crosstour. I want to protect it while keeping it nice and shiny.




To maximize your car's finish you want to do two things,

Make the paint as smooth as possible - gloss comes from smoothness
Make the surface as defect free as possible


If you look at this car the paint looked pretty good when it arrived and it's a show car.

1970 1/2 Camaro - Show Car Finish by Pinnacle - Modeled by Amy (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/pictures-autogeek-s-car-week/42076-1970-1-2-camaro-show-car-finish-pinnacle-modeled-amy.html)

Here's how the paint on the Camaro looked when it first arrived, from the picture it looks really good but there's room for improvement. http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro001.jpg


To maximize the gloss we simply machine polished the paint and then machine waxed it. It when from looking good to looking great.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro069.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro061.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro062.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro063.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro064.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro065.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro066.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro067.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1279/1970Camaro068.jpg



If you do the same thing to any car's clear coat finish or glossing single stage finish you will get the same results.

Gloss comes from smoothness and removing as many surface defects as possible restores clarity to a clear coat finish while bringing out the full richness of color for a single stage paint.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

White and all light colored paints seem to show better when they are at their glossiest or most reflective state.

IMHO, so polishing/jeweling is a vital step.




I agree...


:iagree:

[Mike Phillips]

I don't tend to buff out a lot of white cars but here's one I helped a guy do a one-step to... look at how dull the paint looked before and how bright and glossy it looked afterwards...

We made the paint smooth and removed as many defects as possible with a one-step process and the results were glossy, bright shiny paint.

KISS Detail - Extreme Makeover - Toyota Highlander (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/30979-kiss-detail-extreme-makeover-toyota-highlander.html)


Before
Look how dull and lifeless the paint on the hood is...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/990/1eoWhite001.jpg



After
Except for the rock chips, the finish on the Toyota is crisp, shiny, slick and very glossy...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/990/1eoWhite029.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/990/1eoWhite030.jpg





:)

[Alex Boyce]

Agree with the rest of this thread, polishing the paint is the most vital part of having a finish that is head turning. After taking care of my families white cars, my experience is polishing then using a simple spray on wax or spray on sealant, results with a fantastic finish.