i used to have a black car and it was quite a bitch to keep clean, but when it was, :love:

if you love your car you'd wash it regularly anyway, reguardless of the color.

 

You're going to get swirling if you aren't careful. This means no sponges when cleaning (lambswool washmits++). Rinsing out the wash mit after every panel, drying with a 100% cotton towel (cotton isn't strong, so after some time it will fall apart), or microfiber (the waffel weaves are bigger, and can retain more water, whichever--all very soft and won't hurt your paint. Also using a product like Eagle One Wax As You Dry between waxing will keep it looking good.

Eventually you're going to get swirl marks. The best way is to fill them in by hand. Meguiars #9 swirl mark remover, along with 3m swirl mark remover are both good products. Then top it with a non cleaning wax as to not remove the fillers. You'll have to work the SMR with a terry towel (offers more bite then a foam application) until the product is almost clear--wipe immediately with a microfiber and move on to the next section. Work in back and forth motions, no circles.

This is very important as you want every step to be progessive. "Small circles" may:
1) create swirl marks
2) create a circular scratch if something is on the application (it happens). A scratch that is circular is
a) seen from more angles then a linear scratch, and
b) more difficult to correct then a linear scratch
3) make it more difficult to see if you are, infact, making an improvement or causing a problem yourself.

What's a good retail wax? Mothers has one, Meguiars #16 is very durable, beads well, and is hard to beat for the money, Meguiars NXT is the new hottness in the stores. Eagle 1 has a "nano wax" that people seem to like. If I was buying a wax from a store I'd go with #16--or apply NXT and the following week or two after I wash, apply #16. It could make a good combo.

If I was ordering, what would I buy? Wolfgang, definitely. Very easy to work with product. autogeek.net sells it along with the pre-cleaner. Of course, this switches the plan of action on those swirls to something more agressive with less filling (the pre-cleaner is great for Wolfgang, so using it isn't a must but I love what it does on black). Meguiars DACP #83 is agressive, but if you work it well (and you HAVE to work it well to diminish the abrassives and break it down) then you will get good results. Typically you'd want to do this with a polisher like a Porter Cable 7424 random orbital (easy to use, but about $120 plus foam pads, pricey machine). It can be done by hand. I should really find a car to do by hand and write something up on here. Anyway, the DACP contains zero filling and you'll be polishing out the swirls. Follow up with the Wolfgang pre-cleaner, and then the wolfgang sealant and it'll be very good looking.

How often do you have to wax? I'd go every 4 washes if you are using a booster product like wax as you dry. I don't like the NXT spray booster--you have to spray it on, wipe it, let it haze, and buff it off. You might as well just wax it conventionally after that much work.

And when you're done, well?




places to buy product:
http://store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/clink...Auc+index.html
http://autogeek.net
http://pakshak.com
http://properautocare.com

 

Great, thanks for all the info.

Let me get this straight. "Swirls" can be fixed? I guess as the car gets older, I would still be able to repair the swirls?

 

ill say this... for the average person who washes their car maybe once a month.. and doesnt care about when they get their door dinged etc... black paint wont bother them.

but for those who wash their cars at least once a week.. and spend hours doing it.. black is a harder paint to take care of.. simply because it shows EVERYTHING. rock chips etc.. will all show up great on black cars. You will hate the swirls, and it will be a nightmare.. especially if its a used car that hasnt been taken care of... in the shade though.. it will look good.

I would never own a black car.. becase every little swirl, scratch, chip, etc.. would kill me.

 

Not 100% on a daily driver. The fact is that even though you are using very low abrassives, you are taking off *some* of the paint. Once or twice a year, this isn't going to be detrimental to paint life. If you were to level off all swirls every few months you could risk going through the clear coat and ending up with dull paint. By hand this isn't going to happen.

 

redgoober4life , did you have experience with KAMIKAZE from EagleWax? http://www.eaglewax.com/products/index.html
I wonder if this is a good product for detailing a black car?

 

Bah!

The only wax I would use now is Blitz or NXT

 

Most of the posts have summed it up. I personally will never own a black car again. 1 day after washing, and it looks dirty again. My gf has a black 2000 EX. She's had the car since it was new, and I've always been the one to keep it clean. It's washed once a week, and waxed every couple months. All with Mother's products. I think black paint is subjected to higher temps in the sun, and that helps it deteriorate faster. Her hood has hundreds of tiny cracks forming. I'm sure engine temps helped that. You can't see them from 10 feet away, but up close it looks like shit. It's definitely not a maintenance issue, cause I've been the one to maintain it. The paint on my 95 civic looks better than hers.

 

yeah if not the same day. And the heat is a huge thing. I want something that reflects the sun a little better. No more black after this for me.

 

I don't have the problem with overheating under the sun since I am in British Columbia , it's not too hot over here most of the time.
But the scratches and swirls worry me too
How about the scratch removers? Do they really work?