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Hi!
I'm jealous of the new cars I see sporting these paint jobs that have a liquid, just wet look.
I had my 1994 repainted 2 years ago. I have the "Oyster" color that the Georgia DMV calls Brown.
I think it is more of a light Bronze myself. So far I have not found a paint manufacturer for the Jaguar
"Oyster" color. The outfit that did the last paint job was a authorized Ferrari paint/repair shop.
They had to mix the paint there in the shop to get the right color. I haven't seen any
Ferrari's lately with a WET look. Except in the eyes of their owners when they get the bill.
I have found a few Wet Look wax treatments that can maybe deliver the same "Wet" look?
Meguiars has some products that require a LOT of prep work with machine polishers.
And I have given up using Carnuba based waxes here in Atlanta. The humidity has been soooo bad that my cars
are getting mold in the wax after a few days.
I've gone to a silicon based product with no organics.
Regards, Bob
Happy Trails and POR - Press On Regardless
Isn't the "wet Look" just clear coat, 2 stage paint?
I have an 88 BMW 635CSi that has its original single stage paint still on. Parts of the car have been spot painted and somebody used clear on those panels. You can definitely see the difference.
If you have 2 stage paint with clear coat and it's dull, then a good clay bar prep with polish and wax should shine it up.
hI’m assuming you’re seeing cars with a ceramic nano coating? There’s a big detailing subculture on YouTube (these kids can’t fix a car but they sure can clean them). Check it out... maybe you’ll get your car wrapped in rose gold chrome.
Wet sanding with just 2000 grit for deeper "light scratches" only. If not that deep use successively lower grit down to 7000 grit wet sanding then a reputable glazing compound and then a wet look detailer such as Chemical Guys Black Light Hybrid Radiant Finish.
If you have a black car then then Maguiars has wet look detailer specifically for black and it really is good.
A proper "wet look" is in my opinion a good bit better than even a really good gloss with clear coat.
Last edited by jackra_1; Nov 13, 2018 at 06:49 AM.
The wet look requires a PERFECTLY clean paint. Means going over it with a clay bar and getting put all the grime. Then a fine compound to remove swirls and co. After that a proper polishing to remove microscratches. And then you want a ceramic coating which needs regular care. Just did that lot on my Fiat 124 Spider... This is just the quality of work done...:
+1 for Chemical Guys, probably the best product you can get. Its what you'll need after some very thorough claybar cleaning and polishing. I often get peopke asking if my car is original paint due to the way it looks but its all just a few layers of product and a saturday afternoon.
I’ll have to try that. Chemical Guys makes a pretty good convincing fake leather smell you can buy at Walmart. Sure beats the typical XJS mildew smell.
New cars typically just have nice thick clear coat that shines well. I mean, you are just looking at new paint, of course it looks shiny.
Look a little closer and you will see the average new car has orange peel all over. By comparison the factory XJS paint job (at least mine) looks like a bunch of guys wet sanded to perfection between coats. I can't really say I'm the slightest bit envious of the paint on new cars.
New cars typically just have nice thick clear coat that shines well. I mean, you are just looking at new paint, of course it looks shiny.
Look a little closer and you will see the average new car has orange peel all over. By comparison the factory XJS paint job (at least mine) looks like a bunch of guys wet sanded to perfection between coats. I can't really say I'm the slightest bit envious of the paint on new cars.
My original, never repainted XJ-S has orange peel all over... That is due to it being a metallic paint and also being waterbased rather than solventbased.
The new Spider in my drive way has less peel, as in nearly 30 years, the paints have changed and the orange peel is reduced to a minimum.
It’s luck of the draw with new car paint. My 2014 F-250 has a heavy orange peel. A coworkers new Subaru BRZ has a finish so nice I asked him if he’s had it wet sanded and buffed because it was way too nice for factory paint. He said no... 1996 XJ12, no orange peel at all. Some cars were dealer rectified.
It’s luck of the draw with new car paint. My 2014 F-250 has a heavy orange peel. A coworkers new Subaru BRZ has a finish so nice I asked him if he’s had it wet sanded and buffed because it was way too nice for factory paint. He said no... 1996 XJ12, no orange peel at all. Some cars were dealer rectified.
I guess it is brand and factory dependant. My Volvos had slightly orangey peel. The ones from Sweden (back then my 960 made in Kalmar) had paint like piano paint. Flat, smooth, perfect. THe ones from Gebt in Belgium were worse. My 1997 XJ8 (X308) had really bad paint from factory. My 1995 XJ6 (X300) had a medium peel look...
For those interested, as far as factory paint is concerned, Jaguar had during about 1975 to 1987 a re-flowing paint system. This was a system in which paint was applied, dried to an extent, then re-heated to enable the paint to flow slightly and thus remove all possibility of spray rash (orange peel).
When it worked this system gave a paint finish better than almost any other mass manufacturer. Of course, when it did not (and it was very difficult to get everything right on a regular basis) it was apt to produce dreadful paint finishes!
Liquid, wet paint look?
