TODA,
I have a silver colored Swift and it being a light colored car, is more challenging to not only make it shine, but also have optical clarity to the point where objects are reflected off the surface of the car body in a clear, definitive manner. Light colored car have no depth hence it is relatively hard to see ur reflection (as opposed to dark colored car) even after hours of polish and waxing. Therefore, to increase depth, u need to add layers and layers of sealants on top. This is contrary to dark colored cars which needs waxes to bring out the shine. Good waxes contain carnuaba (a type of tree) and the more carnauba it has (and depending on grade), the more expensive it is. Waxes glow and that`s the secret of dark colored detailing but the shine actually comes from the oils added to the wax. Once the oil wears off, u`ll have a dull paint on ur car (an undesirable side effect of layering waxes). Therefore, I go for synthetic waxes such as sealants.
The more layers of sealants u have, the more it will shine, especially under fluorescent lighting. A well detailed light colored car parked at a mamak shop will snatch ur breath away .... light would bounce off it in ways that if u were to park another similar model and colored car next to it, the detailed car seems to have a different color coat ... more brighter, shinier .... a mouth-watering WET look. Sealants normally need a few hours to set before u can apply another layer on top otherwise all ur hardwork will go to waste. During those hours, u`d better pray there's no rain. Sealants shouldn`t be disturbed during the bonding process. How many layers would be good? Depends on how much depth u want ur car to be. Once u`ve achieved the depth u desire (I`m thinking of going for a double digit coat), u can then finish off with a nice coat of wax.
Sealants are transparent .... when u apply, u shouldn`t be able to see it`s trace even though it`s there (which makes ppl not used to them infuriating. Is it there? Is it not there?). Sealants also do not bead water (which a lot of ppl use as an indication to see if any detailing is done). But at least the more (layers) sealants u have on ur car, the better ur car would look (not the other way around with natural waxes).
I subscribe to the saying, "90% preparation, 10% execution". Without proper prepping, whatever quality products in ur hands wouldn`t work well. I do the following:
1. Rinse car
2. Shampoo car
3. Rinse off shampoo
4. Clay the car using clay bar with shampoo as lubricant
5. Dry car with microfibre towel
6. Apply cleaner/polisher. Buff off panel by panel as u move along
7. Apply wax (either synthetic or natural). Buff off panel by panel as u move along
It takes me 2 hours to complete the whole process for my Swift. Here are the results:
