Black Paint Maintenance

[JRod01]

Any good tips for keeping swirl marks/spider webbing out of black paint? I know, I know, I must have heard it a million and one times about painting a car black: "it's the hardest color to keep" "it show's everything" "it's a $$$$$" etc... Anyways I have no regrets as you can see by my pics. The car looks incredible. So what's the best formula anyone has found for keeping swirls/scratches out of black? I know you have to watch the rags you use because they will put the scratches right back if it's the wrong material. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone

-JRod

[Tom]

When I had a black car I always dried it with either new or washed and dried microfiber towels. I also always had to use that ice polish on it to keep it from swirling. I don't even have to dry white half the time and it doesn't spot up.

[2010 SS]

Ok, any auto finish is going to swirl. The trick is to minimize how much you touch it. Now as far as rags I've always used flannel ones, that's the only kind of material that does not scratch as long as its clean. Microfiber scratches. Now for polishing and protective materials I've always used 3m products, they do what the labels say they do. Now there is absolutely no product that will get rid of swirls by hand, you need a machine for that. In that case I recomend 3m microfine machine polish using a high speed rotary polisher to remove the swirls you have. And also to maintain that finish any 3m hand glaze and wax will do a really good job.

[MBH]

No automatic car washes and you should be OK if you use some common sense when you wash it. Two buckets (one soap and one rinse) if you're really trying to keep it looking good.

Try getting a california waterblade to remove the bulk of the water, and then you'll only need to own one good drying towel (don't buy the ones from autozone, I bought one and don't like it at all)

I have this and it's my favorite drying towel I've used so far: http://specialtymotoring.com/mf-1005.html

[MBH]

Now there is absolutely no product that will get rid of swirls by hand, you need a machine for that.
Not true. Besides, I'm sure you use a random orbital for a machine polish that was designed around the heat/speed parameters of a rotary (almost all of them are...)

For hand polishes, check out autoglym super resin polish - it's the best of the test, but you should note that it's not something you use regularly otherwise you're going to wear through your clearcoat and paint in a big hurry. Pep boys actually picked up this line to import, it's a good value at $15.
http://autopia.org/forum/guide-detailing/77859-test-swirl-removal-hand.html

[Rodeheavers]

i find the biggest problem with my black truck is the water i wash it with is real hard water... it always leaves white stuff all over the truck and i always use a shammy when i am done... I think if i had some kind of water filter at the shop it would be better...

[JRod01]

Wow thank you so much for the help! I'll be sure to check out all suggestions. Another one I found today was Jo-Ann Fabrics sells a diaper cloth that's suppose to be really good for dark colors. Be sure to wash the fabric first. Also, the painter recommended a solution that is some type of dry wash. Strange I know, but it's suppose to work really well and you don't need water. I will try to find out what it's called. And since the paint is still fresh, I know it will dye back and need re-buffed. We used a 3M perfect it II glaze for dark colors with a glaze pad on a variable speed (SLOW SETTING) buffer. It really seemed to work well so 3M has my vote so far. Thanks again!

[2010 SS]

[QUOTE=MBH;16422]Not true. Besides, I'm sure you use a random orbital for a machine polish that was designed around the heat/speed parameters of a rotary (almost all of them are...)QUOTE]

Oh hand products hide swirls well. Until they wear off.

[RYEKNOW]

Just bought a meguiars orbital polisher. Used it for the first time this weekend. took out ALL swirls in the paint...I also wash my Black strat with a microfiber towel ..I first dry it with an Absorber I bought at Wall Mart for 8 bucks then go over it with a microfiber towel..I do a section at a time keeping a bucket of water that I put the absorber in re wet the car (coz it dries so Fast) and dry it as normal...An orbital polisher will not hurt the paint like a normal buffer if mis used. If your ride is used a couple times a week you will never get rid of all swirls..they come from not only washing and drying but also from leaning against it ... I cringed when I bought my black Strat but I got it under control now...if you love it you'll find a way..if not get in touch with me I 'll help you out

[MBH]

Oh hand products hide swirls well. Until they wear off.
That review is actually a combination of products that have an abrasive element to them, some good chemistry to hide swirls, or a combination of the two. Abrasive products, such as the autoglym I recommended, actually remove the swirls from the paint, and after 5 passes it even elminiated a lot of RDS. If they come back after the product wears off, the majority will be new swirls entirely.


If the paint is new, I'm pretty sure you're going to want to let it breathe instead of hitting it with wax?? I have no experience with that

[2010 SS]

That review is actually a combination of products that have an abrasive element to them, some good chemistry to hide swirls, or a combination of the two. Abrasive products, such as the autoglym I recommended, actually remove the swirls from the paint, and after 5 passes it even elminiated a lot of RDS. If they come back after the product wears off, the majority will be new swirls entirely.


If the paint is new, I'm pretty sure you're going to want to let it breathe instead of hitting it with wax?? I have no experience with that

Well I have never tried autoglym, perhaps I will have to. And yes, fresh paint should be allowed to cure a month or so before waxing or sealing.

[police4.6]

lol you know what works well for hiding swirls? mud. one time in my sho (it was black) i spent like i dunno 8 hours cleaning it up before norwin hills. as i pulled out of my drive way my mom pulled infront of me and she wouldnt back up so i had to more, i backed into some mud and got stuck so i spun tire and mud... everywhere. but i couldnt see the swirls in the paint!!!

[94Cobra]

Use a polymer instead of a wax. This is the best stuff I have ever used. When I applied it to my black cobra, it removed all the swirl marks. It prevents water mark etching from acid rain better than any wax can.

http://www.finishfirstpolish.com/products/Finish-First-Polish/

[JRod01]

Oh definitely MBH. I'm sure the paint will dye back and will need re-buffed. That's about a month away yet. I suppose I'm just "prepping" myself as everyone said I was crazy to paint this car black. http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/photo.php?pid=1180578&id=1037480009

You tell me, lol.

[AdamantiumSilvr]

...aWesome that Todd took on the project of paintin your car black. Especially since the only other car he painted black was Mr. Jim Pranis's 68' Charger R/T way back in the 80's!
Oh definitely MBH. I'm sure the paint will dye back and will need re-buffed. That's about a month away yet. I suppose I'm just "prepping" myself as everyone said I was crazy to paint this car black. http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/photo.php?pid=1180578&id=1037480009

You tell me, lol.

[RUSH2112]

Black is the hardest color to maintinan indeed, but when done correctly, it is the most beautiful color.

Everyone has there own tricks and trades on how to maintain a black car.

The only suggestion I will make is the wax. Most waxes have by-products in them, so the wax that I HIGHLY recommend is Collinite wax.

This is an insulator wax and you should only need 1 or 2 times a year.

It is sold at Advance Auto Parts

http://www.autogeek.net/collinite-insulator-wax-845.html

[psu goat]

I'll start off with this is my opinion, if you don't like it, fine :)

3M or Adam's Polishes products...end thread. lol.

Ok, more serious huge response now. 2010 SS on here has been my best friend since we were kids. He knows his way around detailing a car and I've never seen anyone more of a perfectionist than him. I agree with his comment about no hand-applied product will remove swirl marks in an automotive clearcoat, and you can ask the experts at Chemical Guys, Pinnacle, Meguiar's, Mother's, Adam's...whoever, and they will all say the same thing...not just because they are trying to sell product and make money. lol. I've never heard of a hand-applied abrasive swirl remover that will actually remove swirls, so I will have to read up about the autoglym mentioned above.

You're essentially filling swirl marks in with hand-applied products. To properly remove them, you need the proper cutting pad and somewhat abrasive swirl remover with a rotary buffer or a random orbital buffer like a Porter Cable 7424 (same one that Meguiar's sells). A rotary buffer like 2010 SS uses will correct problems more quickly than the Porter Cable that I use. I prefer the porter cable, mainly because the GTO has a very thin clearcoat from the factory, and the pc is specifically designed not to damage or burn through clearcoat, so even a dummy like me can use it :)

Again, these are just my opinions. If you want an absolute perfect finish, the 3M products 2010 SS uses on his vehicles, well, I've seen nothing better on a gloss black vehicle. If you want complete ease of use, with simple products that wipe off very easy, and a fantastic shine and depth of paint that rivals 3m, go with Adam's polishes. If you want insane reflectivity, complete mirror finish, but not much depth to the paint, go with all the hassle of throwing down 10 or 20 layers of Zaino products on your car. Different people like different finishes on their car. I prefer that deep, wet look, with lots of depth to the finish...even if there is tons of orange peel in the finish from the factory :(

I strictly use Adam's products now. They're a small company, and I've met Adam on two occasions now and he truly does want his customers to be 110% satisfied with his products. I have yet to find a product of theirs I haven't loved. I thought I was crazy when I bought a tin of the Americana paste wax for $70, but what that stuff does to metallic paint simply has to be seen in person. And it goes on so thin and easy, that one tin of wax will last me several years.

[psu goat]

Continued...

I happened to just attend a Detail Clinic at Grabiak Chevrolet last weekend, and I learned a bunch that I will now continue to follow. 'Junkman', an awesome car detailer guy on youtube, was at the event and went over all kinds of great topics, including car washing methods. Improperly washing the car is going to cause the swirls to return. Like was said, the two bucket method is best. One bucket with soap, one with just water, grit guards at the bottom of both buckets. The idea is that you do one pass on a panel with your wash mit with soap, into the water bucket, scrub it on the grit guard so that all the dirt deposits go to the bottom of the bucket and get trapped there. Then back to the soap bucket, and repeat. When you're done washing the car, the soap bucket should be as clean as when you started.

If you want to get real crazy, you can claybar the car to get dirt particles/smashed bug guts/tar spots out of the paint that simply washing with soap will not get out. Adam showed a neat trick to figure out when you may need to claybar your finish. If you take a plastic sandwich bag, not a ziploc bag, and put it in your hand and then lightly go over a body panel, if it moves across the panel rough like sandpaper, then it's probably a good idea to claybar the car. The front and rear bumpers are always a good spot to do, because all of the exhaust residue and road particles kick back up onto the rear bumper and the front bumper is pretty obvious. He also showed a test, where he ran his hand across a panel, the trunk in this case, palm flat against the panel. One my buddy's car that is a daily driver with a pretty bad finish right now, as he was moving his hand across the paint, you could hear a smearing sound, and he said "your paint should not have audio". I laughed at this, but it made sense.

For drying the car, some people prefer chamois and the absorber, but I'm shying away from them now too. Don't get me wrong, the absorber and water blades work excellent, but if you have one small particle on the car that you didn't get off when you cleaned it, you're going to drag it right across that clearcoat that you're trying not to put swirls in! Now, if you know you cleaned the car absolutely flawless, this shouldn't be an issue. I've been using the great white waffle weave microfiber drying towel. It's expensive, but I love it. The waffle weave, in theory, will pick up any stray particles and keep them off of the clearcoat while you wipe.

They even showed a great tip for drying the car. I'm sure this will work with other detail sprays too, but since this was an Adam's detail clinic, they used theirs. Anyway, with the car still wet, they sprayed down a light mist of Adam's Quick Detailer on all of the body panels and windows. The detail spray is a lubricant (and gloss enhancer), so it helps pull the water together better when you wipe it off with the waffle weave drying towel. Plus it smells like bubble gum, lol. I just tried this trick tonight washing my mom's car for her, and it worked amazing. It's a big oldsmobile, and I only needed one drying towel to dry off the whole car. I didn't even need to wring it out...I was usually wringing out the towel like crazy when I washed the goat.

Ok, I think I'm done for now. I know I typed a ton, so hopefully you find some of that information useful :) I know it seems like I was pushing adam's stuff a lot, so I will state that I have absolutely no affiliation with them whatsoever, I just really like the ease of use of their products and it's what I'm familiar with.

Edit: Adam even had a very comical demonstration of the proper way to remove bird poop off of the car without harming the finish more. I'm going to bed, but I can post up about that tomorrow if you're interested.