Try setting the light to only specular.
--Jon
can you show a screenshot of your material setup?
Percy, thanks. I started to get screens together but then I really got around to thinking about it and there really was no standard material I was focusing on. I must have gone through about 20 types of materials, no exaggeration and they changed from render to render.
But now I have an entirely different setup as I was going to post a downloadable example. This one involves a different HDR (uffuzi probe.) I messed with some new shellac materials as well. Also downgraded back to Max 6 so it would be more compatible. I’m noticing closer results that I was looking for and about to finish up my render. Not sure exactly what I can put my finger on now - I think it may be moving back to Max 6 which may have done something different. I will post some current Max 6 results as well as some materials you can all download.
Try setting the light to only specular.
Did Jon, thanks - was still blowing out other materials that I didnt want it to effect. Perhaps includes/excludes needed to be applied on the light source.
I moved some of my new metal mats over to the off-topic section as they really dont seem to belong to a shiny reflective black genre. My temporary solution for now is to use a Max raytrace material as it allows you to specify diffuse independent of reflectivity.