Carlack 68 v Silver A3 1.8T

[Tallpaul]

I'd always waxed my silver A3 but had read a lot about Acrylics and how they are better on silver metallics as they don't 'mute' the flake as much.

Well here's what she looks like after a good wax:

Not too bad, certainly had a fairly glossy look.

No real flake to the paint though so i thought i'd try the Carlack 'Twins'. These are basically a paint cleaner and sealent:

After applying both today, here are my results:

My overall opinion is that you get more flake from the paint but lose some of the depth of shine you get with wax. I wouldn't say these Acrylics are better than waxes, just differant

 

[WX51TXR]

Can see a similar difference to that posted in my guide to silver, which showed the effects of similar products on my Leon. The ipod reflection seemes very muted though, just wondering if the paint needs a more intensive initial polishing step? I would have expected much more clarity and depth than that after adding the sealant twins...

 

[Tallpaul]

TBH, the lack of depth to the shine is my main criticism of those products. Admittadly this is my first time using them so i'm sure there is room for improvement...

The paint was fairly clean to begin with as it wasn't long since i'd polished it and i'd kept the paint topped up with P21s.

Here's the depth of shine i was getting with P21s side by side with the Carlack:

I'm sure there is better to be had from the finish with either sets of products, but at the moment (with the way i apply them) i'm of the opinion that wax is giving a better look.

 

[WX51TXR]

What are you polishing with, and how often?

 

[Tallpaul]

I polish twice a year (usually), sort of now-ish and then again towards the end of summer so i can still get a few layers of wax on before it gets cold.

I last used Meguiars Deep Crystal Polish.

 

[WX51TXR]

Just wondering if you have some marring in the paint that is limiting the clarity and depth. Might be worth trying a light abrasive finishing polish next time, maybe Menzerna Final Polish II if working by hand, or 85RD is working by machine. Reason I say this is your paint should have more depth given it is well looked after, so it would appear that something is definitely impinging on clarity. My Leon is a similar colour and gets similar treatment in terms of the final sealant system, but it has lots of depth?

 

[Tallpaul]

It's probably never been machine polished and the paint is 10 years old.

 

[Tallpaul]

I do have some Megs Scratch-X in the garage, would that be abrasive enough?