[swifty]

Hey,
I just got my car detailed by a guy who is well regarded on this forum here. They car came out great.

1 step process as follows...
Pre-rinse and full exterior swirl free hand wash
Wheels and wheel wells cleaned and sealed
All glass cleaned and protected
Clay bar decontamination
One-step abrasive compound applied by machine to remove light marring
Sealing

However, what I have noticed is that the silver metalic flakes on the car is less visible as compared to when I initially bought the car. It looks more white than "metallic white" and so my question is what can I do to bring out the flakes or metallic shine.

Does the sealant dull the paint as opposed to waxing?

[Alvine90]

maybe try some collinite 854

[nv_e92]

Maybe hit it with a glaze before you seal. CG EZ cream glaze worked great on my space gray e92.

[Dr. G]

Some products can mute the fluke whereas come bring them out.

Any idea what sealant was used?

As mentioned above the CG Ez-creme gives the flake some pop in my experience.

[TOGWT]

White OPT Opti-Coat™, Zaino Z2PRO™, Jeff Werkstatt, Klasse SG and/ or P21S Carnauba Paste Wax

Metallic Dodo Juice Supernatural or Duragloss 111

[swifty]

Thanks guys. I'll find out about the sealant used.

[Envious Eric]

I would actually venture a guess that too aggressive a compound was used, and the paint is actually hazy under the sealant. Ive seen it a lot of times where something like D300 was used by a detailer thinking "it finishes down really well" when in fact, you should never finish with a compound IMO.

If you can go back over a section with something like menzerna 106, 85rd and see an increase in the gloss, he skipped a step (but it may be that you didnt pay enough and he gave you what you paid for)

I've been asked numerous times to "remove the swirl marks" with a one step...not possible. You cant hit the car with a compound and not follow it up with at least one more polishing step TO DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY. In fact, a two step process should be done whenever using anything over a 3/5 or 5/10 on the abrasive scale of polishes/compounds.

[reddemon73]

Welcome to the MW club. I had mine MW for over a year now and just started on detailing my car. Click on the link below for the full story:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=692296

I used ZCP for the polishing step because my car is relatively new and has very few swirl marks. I will be hitting it with a couple of coat Z2 Pro next. It is looking spectacular right now and you can definately see the pearl effect. I will post more picture after the Z2 pro.

[coolcobramatt]

Sealants usually bring out the flake more than a wax. Pinnacle Signature paste worked well for me though if you want the carnauba warmth wax offers. I've used Dodo Juice Supernatural and it's very good, but not worth the $$. I've got some of their Rubbish Boy's Juiced Edition as well, pretty much the same results for half the price (but still expensive). Best bang for the buck for me after using every specialty wax known to mankind has been Pinnacle Liquid Souveran. Oh and invest in a Porter Cable 7424 orbital, you will be glad you did.