Gloss vs Glow, are all paints created equal

[chilly]

If all things are equal; e.g., sufficient clear coat thickness, availability of appropriate quality products (pads, abrasives, etc), skill level of the technician, etc, are all paints essentially capable of being brought to that state of "dripping wet gloss" that most folks hunger after, or are there paint/car brands or years or whatever where it's simply not possible to get more than a glow from the paint?

I am not talking about after applying a glaze or other "masking agent"

I am simply saying the last, finest, polishing/jeweling stage is done and the paint is simply bottomless

This is probably a simplistic question with a zillion variables but I am curious

I have read a lot on the subject of gloss including the very long writeup by Waxmode/Loach and it can get overwhelming but my takeaway from all this is the gloss you get following the last polishing step is the BEST you are going to get without resorting to artificial means

I don't mean to step on anyone's toes and to each his/her own but I know others on here feel that glazes and such are a crutch for substandard polishing

Thanks in advance

Michael

[glen e]

There are clearcoats that are harder than others, the harder the clearcoat, the more gloss you get.

this is a two part clearcoat that has amazing gloss. It only has one downside, and that is because it is harder, any scratches in it don’t come out as easily with polish as a standard clearcoat

SprayMax 2K Urethane Clearcoat | AutomotiveTouchup

[FUNX650]

•IMO:
-ClearCoat paints, while having a lot of
similarities, also have their differences.

TO WIT:
-Each OEM has their own in-house “paint
engineers” that work with their counterparts
at each OEMs’ designated paint vendor(s), to
formulate the paints that will be used on their
specific brand of vehicle(s) for each model year.

Once the paint vendors have met the OEMs’
expressed paint standards, it’s like a shroud
of secrecy immediately envelopes those paint
formulations.
(The only paint ‘code-breaker’ is found on the
information sticker/placard—and that info is
not going to tell much other than the right
hue of the paint color for repair purposes.


But back to the heart of your inquiry:

•Except for whatever small percentage that a
given LSP’s attributes contribute to the overall
gloss, shine, glow, deep-ness, wet-ness, et al…

-Polishing, jeweling, and the like, will definitely
bring out the qualities that are inherent to each
paint manufacturers’ CC-paints’ formulations.




Bob

[Rsurfer]

If all things are equal; e.g., sufficient clear coat thickness, availability of appropriate quality products (pads, abrasives, etc), skill level of the technician, etc, are all paints essentially capable of being brought to that state of "dripping wet gloss" that most folks hunger after, or are there paint/car brands or years or whatever where it's simply not possible to get more than a glow from the paint?

I am not talking about after applying a glaze or other "masking agent"

I am simply saying the last, finest, polishing/jeweling stage is done and the paint is simply bottomless

This is probably a simplistic question with a zillion variables but I am curious

I have read a lot on the subject of gloss including the very long writeup by Waxmode/Loach and it can get overwhelming but my takeaway from all this is the gloss you get following the last polishing step is the BEST you are going to get without resorting to artificial means

I don't mean to step on anyone's toes and to each his/her own but I know others on here feel that glazes and such are a crutch for substandard polishing

Thanks in advance

Michael

In some cases, glazes are used to mask fine scratches without removing clear coat. I would not call it substandard because saving clear coat might be the ultimate goal. Say a 10 year old car that's polished twice a year.

As far as the term gloss goes, gloss and shine would be in the same category. Gloss/shine would mean a hard candy look. Like what sealants and coating will give you. Glow is what you get from using waxes. You get that deep wet look. Will show up more on darker colors. Light colors, I don't think you would see much of a difference between a sealant and a wax.

[PaulMys]

In some cases, glazes are used to mask fine scratches without removing clear coat. I would not call it substandard because saving clear coat might be the ultimate goal. Say a 10 year old car that's polished twice a year.

As far as the term gloss goes, gloss and shine would be in the same category. Gloss/shine would mean a hard candy look. Like what sealants and coating will give you. Glow is what you get from using waxes. You get that deep wet look. Will show up more on darker colors. Light colors, I don't think you would see much of a difference between a sealant and a wax.

Also, a metallic paint will not produce those "mirror-like" reflections that a pure (darker) color can.

But what they can do, is mask many more imperfections.

[chilly]

Thanks everyone for the input

I am always trying to learn and further my skills

I only work on my own vehicles so there is a lot that's only theory to me because I only see or read about it on the interwebs

I get the hard vs soft and the pure vs metallic parts of the equation

My wife bought an Amulet Red 2002 Audi TT back in 2004 and that's what got me on the road to detailing vs car washing and vacuuming in the first place

With my limited arsenal of pads and polishes and my trusty PC7424XP I got that car to SHINE

Other than that car I have only owned Toyota products for the last few decades and although I can get Toyota paint feeling as smooth as silk I have never been able to come close to the sheer gloss I got off that Audi

Thanks again and hopefully there are no stupid questions on this forum

Michael

[DUBL0WS6]

I think it depends on the paint formulation. Lexus has a metallic red paint that is almost iridescent. Chrysler has a blue metallic that almost glows.

[chilly]

I have high hopes for my Lexus blue despite the fact it’s metal flake

It seems to have the potential to be stunning

Just gotta take baby steps with it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rsurfer]

I have high hopes for my Lexus blue despite the fact it’s metal flake

It seems to have the potential to be stunning

Just gotta take baby steps with it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's all in the polishing my friend.

[chilly]

Roger that!!

Mahalo and Aloha