I know this has probably been posted a million times before, and I've done searches but yielded nothing.

I have a '00 Riversand Gold Verada Xi which is in extremely good condition. I'm after a few tips about how to make the car really shiny. Since it isn't a dark colour its not all that shiny parked along side say a black car.

So far I have (in order):

1. Used Meguiars clay block with quik' detailing spray that was included on the entire car.
2. Used Meguiars Swirl-X on the entire car.
3. Waxed whole entire car four times in Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Full Synthetic Wax (costs something crazy like $58.99 a bottle!)

Came up with good results, and I've had quite a few randoms comment on the condition of it but I'm after more shine. Wondering if somebody can point me in the right direction with which products (don't care about cost $$$) to use? I do it all buy hand because I'm paranoid I'll scratch it with an electric buff.

Cheers, appreciate the help :D

Rotary polishers can cause serious damage to your car's paint if not used correctly. However, random orbital polishers are basically fool proof. If you're serious about detailing, purchasing a random orbital + pads + polish/s is the next step to take.

I've been using SwirlX on my car lately and have been quite impressed with it. The main thing with it though is that you really need to work it in to get results - if you're just wiping on/wiping off, it's not going to do a whole lot. I've topped it with some Meguiars NXT2.0 wax (as a temporary measure, have some Poorboys polish + Poorboys LSP + Collinite wax to apply when I find the time) and have been very happy with the results.

Random orbital sander - I bought a Millers Falls on ebay around $90.

Multiple choices with regards first to the pads.
Lake country are good from personal experience.
Have a good read on the specialist forums.

First really carefull clean with water, mitt and a detailers wash additive,
Wipe off and dry.
You did the correct thing with a clay bar and lubricant.
Then with the Random orbital and a dedicated pad you will probably have to start with a polish that is slightly more aggressive than SwirlX.
Wash again and dry.
Then a finer grade
Then a decent wax.
I was fortunate to score a whole load of Menzerna products a year ago.
You will need a whole set of dedicated pads for the RO, heaps of microfibre cloths, microfibre drying cloths etc.

I did a metallic black Echo for my daughter last Xmas. Day and a halfs work and all the swirl marks had gone.
Just sat there and gleamed, and of course being black with a couple of good coats of wax on it there was a good depth to the shine.
Gerry

I know this has probably been posted a million times before, and I've done searches but yielded nothing.

I have a '00 Riversand Gold Verada Xi which is in extremely good condition. I'm after a few tips about how to make the car really shiny. Since it isn't a dark colour its not all that shiny parked along side say a black car.

So far I have (in order):

1. Used Meguiars clay block with quik' detailing spray that was included on the entire car.
2. Used Meguiars Swirl-X on the entire car.
3. Waxed whole entire car four times in Meguiars Ultimate Liquid Full Synthetic Wax (costs something crazy like $58.99 a bottle!)

Came up with good results, and I've had quite a few randoms comment on the condition of it but I'm after more shine. Wondering if somebody can point me in the right direction with which products (don't care about cost $$$) to use? I do it all buy hand because I'm paranoid I'll scratch it with an electric buff.

Cheers, appreciate the help :D

If youre serious about detailing, stay away from the junk sold in super cheap etc. the polishes and waxes are full of silicon and 'mask' scratches rather than remove them. 2 washes later you are back to square one.

www.carcareproducts.com.au and do your research.

Just a suggestion...if you are not fully confident with doing the polishing yourself...have a professional do it...shop around...after that you can take care of the paint job yourself and it will be easier to maintain and keep in a "show room" condition with minor effort.

If you want to tackle the job yourself, its best to practice, practice and practice on an old car or panel before doing your own pride and joy....if you can master the rotary polisher, after much experience it does a fantastic job...as has been mentioned in the wrong hands it can do more damage than good, but that is a skill some people are willing to learn.

Just a suggestion...if you are not fully confident with doing the polishing yourself...have a professional do it...shop around...after that you can take care of the paint job yourself and it will be easier to maintain and keep in a "show room" condition with minor effort.

If you want to tackle the job yourself, its best to practice, practice and practice on an old car or panel before doing your own pride and joy....if you can master the rotary polisher, after much experience it does a fantastic job...as has been mentioned in the wrong hands it can do more damage than good, but that is a skill some people are willing to learn.

Lets not forget that a DA will produce the same results as a rotary, it just takes longer to do :)

Maybe just keep doing as you're doing. Is this for a daily drive? If so IMHO there's no need to go spending so much - weekly washing and a clay/polish/wax every once in a while might do the trick. At least it did for me on a civic I had a few years back.

What I did was this:

- Wash car once a week (used armorall car wash and a mitt) in the shade, washing in sections starting from the roof working down, hosing off mitt and panels between sections. Chamois dry.

- once a month I'd use the meguiars clay/quick detailer over the whole car, followed by a hand polish using applicator pads and terry towelling cloths - one for wipe on, one for wipe off (think I may have used the meguiars deep crystal polish - I only used the swirl-x stuff if I had swirls I wanted gone, but using a mitt prevents this largely).

-I'd then get out the wax and do the same wax-on, wax-off. Again, think I used the deep crystal wax.

I think the whole process took me about 2-3hrs in total. After 8 years of owning the car, parking in the sun most days at work, it still came up looking like glass when I sold it.

The OP is talking about a 12 year old car.
A bit of serious detailing will make an enormous difference as the paint surface is likely to oxidised a bit, there will be multiple swirl and scratch marks etc.

Using a RO, the correct pad/mop and a suitable swirl remover as a first step after all the normal washing and clay bar work will be a good step towards a nice glassy surface.
Big wash and dry after.

Then follow up with a finer, less aggressive, polish.

Big wash and dry again.

Then a machine wax application.

After this regular sensible washing, drying and waxing will keep it looking in AOK condition.

Previous posts have referred to several good detailing sites.

There are also several previous threads here that go into good detail on how to get the "showroom shine" again.
Personally I find it nice and relaxing over a couple of days to hide away on the front lawn and then the garage doing proper car cleaning.
I have an added problem is that I work in a foundry and park in the street outside.
So mega clay bar work is required first before I can do anything else.

Gerry

The paint on my car isn't faded or cloudy. Its been kept in doors all its life and washed once a week, waxed monthly. I'm really after more depth to the shine (excuse me for my lack of better words in original post). Somehow, I think this isn't going to work too well with a Gold colour car. It just doesn't have the depth of a black or maroon car.

Maybe just keep doing as you're doing. Is this for a daily drive? If so IMHO there's no need to go spending so much - weekly washing and a clay/polish/wax every once in a while might do the trick. At least it did for me on a civic I had a few years back.

What I did was this:

- Wash car once a week (used armorall car wash and a mitt) in the shade, washing in sections starting from the roof working down, hosing off mitt and panels between sections. Chamois dry.

- once a month I'd use the meguiars clay/quick detailer over the whole car, followed by a hand polish using applicator pads and terry towelling cloths - one for wipe on, one for wipe off (think I may have used the meguiars deep crystal polish - I only used the swirl-x stuff if I had swirls I wanted gone, but using a mitt prevents this largely).

-I'd then get out the wax and do the same wax-on, wax-off. Again, think I used the deep crystal wax.

I think the whole process took me about 2-3hrs in total. After 8 years of owning the car, parking in the sun most days at work, it still came up looking like glass when I sold it.

chamois' are the devil. a waffle weave cloth is much better

The paint on my car isn't faded or cloudy. Its been kept in doors all its life and washed once a week, waxed monthly. I'm really after more depth to the shine (excuse me for my lack of better words in original post). Somehow, I think this isn't going to work too well with a Gold colour car. It just doesn't have the depth of a black or maroon car.

This is a white magna that I detailed a few months back. Those that saw it after I was done (at least a 15 hour job) saw how much depth was in the paint, it really popped out at you in the sun.

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/cybermonkey24/fe3a6af3.jpg

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/cybermonkey24/55eec1d4.jpg

http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z455/MYKHVERADA/IMG_0760.jpg

Well here is how my car is currently. Definitely going to try what you guys have recommended. Might practice on an old boot lid or something before I start on my pride and joy lol