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Old Dec 10, 2015 | 01:00 PM
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Mike-in-Orange
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Default Re: highest possible gloss wax

Originally Posted by onehundred80
Looking back on earlier threads by an expert from Meguiars (Mike) I would not be using Terry cloth or micro fiber bonnets.
The best material to use is the various grades of foam heads. Terry cloth applies too much heat to the paint and you could really mess up the car.
It's your car so do whatever you want, but be careful out there.

I would start the process using a clay bar though.
Look for posts by MikeInOrange, he has not been around lately so people might be sliding to other brands now, he had a loyal following at one time.
Yeah, I thought I heard my name mentioned!!!

My fave wax, by a long shot, in our line up is our Ultimate Wax in paste form. But wax alone isn't the way to get super high gloss. Gloss comes from smoothness and flatness, so you want to remove above surface bonded contaminants with clay first, then remove below surface defects (swirls, fine scratches, etchings, etc) with a compound to level the paint, then use a finishing polish to refine the surface and enhance/maximize gloss, and then wax. I've worked on several Crossfires besides my own (I have two at home - 04 Coupe and 05 Roadster) and have found the paint generally pretty easy to work on as it tends to respond really well to machine polishing.

Speaking of machine polishing, while my primary recommendation for a really good, solid DA polisher is the Meguiar's MT300 I understand that not everyone is willing to invest $220 in such a tool. Harbor Freight actually makes a fairly decent DA polisher for around $60 - it's not quite as powerful as the MT300 nor as smooth in operation, but it's pretty darn good bang for the buck. My personal recommendation to really maximize gloss on these cars, regardless of paint color, is to do the initial cut with our microfiber cutting disc using our M100 Pro Speed Compound from our Pro Line, then swap to our yellow thin foam polishing disc with M205 Ultra Finishing Polish, and then top it all off with Ultimate Wax paste. There are some very specific technique points you need to follow here but it's very straight forward and incredibly safe even for a first time user. And the results are potentially stunning!

We used this same process, with a few twists depending on the car, last week at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles just prior to their grand re-opening. We were filming for a new TV show coming out in the spring called Competition Ready (airing on Velocity starting April 22) and we detailed a 1925 Rolls Royce (Google "Round door Rolls" to see the car - it's amazing!), a 1935 Bugatti Type 57, a 1967 Ford GT40 (one owner car, never raced) and the one that really got me going - Steve McQueen's Jaguar XKSS. All four cars were a mess when we started and they all looked amazing when we finished. And they're all worth several million dollars apiece. So, yeah, I'd use a good DA polisher and the right pads and liquids on literally any car, regardless of value.
 
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