what do I have to do to make my CX-9 this shiny and have the "wet look"
- Thread starter avidien
- Start date
TL;DR --> Go to Meguiar's forum, read up on processes, and stick with high quality products (Mother's, 3M, Meguiar's) and stay away from what is arguably crap (Turtle Wax, ArmorAll).
Long winded opinion:
It's somewhat a trick of the picture, but the result is definitely achievable in real life. It's just if you want/have the time to complete it. Mirror/showroom detailing will get you A LOT of different methods, and A LOT of different opinions. Anything from rinsing with cold water between wax coats (depending on wax type), to needing 7 different products just for paint, to hand vs. power buffing.
Personally, I use Meguiar's products as I have had great results over the years. My standard wash can be as simple as Gold Class Car Shampoo/Conditioner, a clean microfiber towel dry/water blade, and buffing up the plastics. More detailed would be something like I did in this thread when I first got it: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...cture-Thread&p=6341799&viewfull=1#post6341799
(Comparison of my pictures vs. the showroom pictures,: the clouds were out so the sun intensity was no where near the level of the lights in the showroom. In addition, once you get a "wet look", it's really reflecting everything back to you. Such as the grass around the car, the dull fall trees, etc., which will affect intensity)
I am by no means an expert, but there are litterally a TON of products out there. One I'm interested in adding between the clay bar and ultimate wax step is Meguiar's Mirror Glaze, as I've heard good things about it giving a DEEP gloss look.
I would reccomend fooling around on Meg's forums:
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/forum.php
There are a lot of articles and a lot of people with ideas for the exact look you're going for.
Long winded opinion:
It's somewhat a trick of the picture, but the result is definitely achievable in real life. It's just if you want/have the time to complete it. Mirror/showroom detailing will get you A LOT of different methods, and A LOT of different opinions. Anything from rinsing with cold water between wax coats (depending on wax type), to needing 7 different products just for paint, to hand vs. power buffing.
Personally, I use Meguiar's products as I have had great results over the years. My standard wash can be as simple as Gold Class Car Shampoo/Conditioner, a clean microfiber towel dry/water blade, and buffing up the plastics. More detailed would be something like I did in this thread when I first got it: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/show...cture-Thread&p=6341799&viewfull=1#post6341799
(Comparison of my pictures vs. the showroom pictures,: the clouds were out so the sun intensity was no where near the level of the lights in the showroom. In addition, once you get a "wet look", it's really reflecting everything back to you. Such as the grass around the car, the dull fall trees, etc., which will affect intensity)
I am by no means an expert, but there are litterally a TON of products out there. One I'm interested in adding between the clay bar and ultimate wax step is Meguiar's Mirror Glaze, as I've heard good things about it giving a DEEP gloss look.
I would reccomend fooling around on Meg's forums:
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/forum.php
There are a lot of articles and a lot of people with ideas for the exact look you're going for.
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I stick to the 'Stoner' line of detailing products mostly. But for wax, i stick to Zymol for my nicer cars, and Mother's California gold for my daily drivers.
Their products are amazing and they have tons of tutorials to help you with the application. After using them for about 2 years anything else doesn't seem to even come close, especially their washing/drying accessories. Have heard good things about chemical brothers and the few Griot's Garage items I have used have worked well and are available locally.
Their Black Friday/Cyber Monday special just ended, it was 15 or 20% off I think. They'll have it again I bet for new year.
http://adamspolishes.com/
http://adamspolishes.com/
Wow, nice website. And I might be a sucker, but anyone who does an undercarriage detail on a Ferrari F50 is gonna get my attention 
Haha, seems like a premium consumer product based on pricing, and a lot of comparisons to meg's numbered stuff. Seems like the performance you get out of the products might even be color dependent! So the moral may be to try some stuff 
I'll be looking into their wax as well as the meguiars #7 and #26 (mirror glaze and wax).
And to add some more confusion, apparently mirror glaze's are different to different companies. Meg's #7 is essentially a polish (would be a pre-wax thing, but people top coat after wax with it too) and Adam's Brilliant glaze is a supposed to be a gloss enhancer (after wax) to keep shine up between waxing...
Long story short, I think you could spend MONTHS reading about this stuff
Haha, seems like a premium consumer product based on pricing, and a lot of comparisons to meg's numbered stuff. Seems like the performance you get out of the products might even be color dependent! So the moral may be to try some stuff I'll be looking into their wax as well as the meguiars #7 and #26 (mirror glaze and wax).And to add some more confusion, apparently mirror glaze's are different to different companies. Meg's #7 is essentially a polish (would be a pre-wax thing, but people top coat after wax with it too) and Adam's Brilliant glaze is a supposed to be a gloss enhancer (after wax) to keep shine up between waxing...
Long story short, I think you could spend MONTHS reading about this stuff
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Meguiar's user hear they have great stuff. First thing is to have your 9 polished out properly first. When I bought ours from the dealer the paint was trashed and looked gray instead of black cherry. After a good compounding and a polishing step it looks better then new now.
That 2nd shot showing the gold flake is just awesome.
