Taking care of black paint

[myoung84]

OK, we have a black GT/CS with only about 1600 miles on it now. I have washed it a few times at the car wash using only the high pressure sprayer and then dried it with a soft towel. In the sunlight the car has a lot of swirl marks in it that make it look bad. What can I use to get rid of the swirls and what does everyone suggest on taking care of black paint. I wash my gray truck the same way and it does not look like this.

 

[stangzilla100]

black is just going to show the swirl marks more readily. other color cars have the same marks, but just dont show like it does w/ black.

always use car wash and not dish soap
use a soft towel/microfiber to dry
wax inside your garage so minimal dust collects while you're doing it
you can try using swirl remover, i use poor boys products and like them, they have a product called black hole show glaze for dark color cars that helps hide minor swirl marks, but if you got scratches that you can feel w/ your finger nail then you need to polish it out.

also try not to wipe dust off the car, wash it off w/ water, even small particles will leave swirl marks. i believe there is no way to avoid swirl marks, only minimize them.

and if you cover your car get a soft inner layer so it wont scratch.

 

[dro]

Keep a good coat of wax on the car. I use Meguires on mine. Then pressure wash all the dirt off as needed and on the weekends just give it a good bath with some of the above poster said. Then twice a year maybe 3 times just claybar the crap out of it, scratchX, and a new coat of wax. Thats what im going to do with mine... Had my cs for a while now and that seems to be working.

 

[NastyStang113]

Check out the link in my signature ...

 

[stanmckinney]

I had a black Mustang once. It was beautiful when clean. It was a chore to keep it that way.
All of the suggestions are good ones. But a black car is labor intensive. That's all there is to it.
That's also why I will never own another one.

 

[IresGift]

Good, I don't feel like I have OCD problem for detailing the thing every weekend for 3-4 hours! I'll clean it, detail it, then realize it has a very thin, fine coat of dust on it already. My sanity only resumes once the sun begins to set and I can't see the dust, swirls, scratches, etc.

 

[o0Dan0o]

I use microfiber wash mitt and drying towel. I think the wash mitt is the key because it's so easy to clean a microfiber mitt while washing your car, just hit it with your sprayer and all the crap comes out. Using a sponge doesn't work well because all the crap stays on the surface, and other mitts don't clean as easily.
Dan

 

[mustangdave]

I NEVER dry my car; you're just asking for swirl marks. Use a Mr. Clean filter system after normal washing to rinse,with the filtered atomized spray setting. Your car will dry with no water spots. I do not recommend their soap; I wash the old fashioned way with McGuiars Gold Class or similar product. Don't wash really dirty spots, like the lower portion of car, and then wash the upper: you will scratch the paint with the dirt trapped in your wash mitt. I also run my mitt through the washing machine every time I use it. You can dry it also if you want, but DO NOT use dryer sheets ( fabric softener).
At this point, you probably need to clay bar, polish, wax,etc... using a couple dozen different microfiber towels. Wal-Mart has a really good price on these towels compared to Auto parts stores.

 

[erzats]

try using a leaf blower to dry the car quick with no contact what so ever. I use clay and or a good polish to get swirls out any of the top prodcts are comparable. Meguiars, grotts, zymol its all good . You also might want to look into a "zaino" coating alot of guys swear by that stuff.

 

[NastyStang113]

Seriously, go check out my detailing guide ...

 

[mustangdave]

A leaf blower sucking in dirt and blowing it in on the car

Atomized, filtered water and NO drying.

 

[NastyStang113]

A leaf blower sucking in dirt and blowing it in on the car

Atomized, filtered water and NO drying.

So what's your detailing experience? Have you ever got paid for your work? It started out as a hobby for me but a good friend of mine saw how good all of my cars looked and insisted that I do some work for me. The cars that he owns are pretty nice I would say. Veryon, countless Ferraris, Lambos including an LP640, Porsches, etc etc. I've nearly paid for the thousands of dollars of supplies with just his cars. I've detailed nearly all of them and used a leaf blower on all of them, too !! I don't know where you live but I don't live in an Iraqi sandstorm. So, I don't run into this problem. If the air that is being sucked into the leaf blower is so contaminated with sand, how do you avoid it when you wash the car? Surely the dirt lands on your paint, in your bucket(s), and glides against your paint as you wash. It's amusing that you're recommending a water filter but the one you recommend is a Mr Clean Auto-Dry and microfiber towels from Walmart !!

Here are cars that were detailed by me. It's a shame that they couldn't load high resolution photos onto their website though.

http://www.ducati.net/

View attachment 276199

 

[shelby69]

I am a huge fan of Griots products. Check them out at Car Care, Detail Supplies, Garage Organization, Car Accessories - Griot's Garage 800-345-5789

 

[dbrufus1234]

the only way to get all those swirls out is with a dual action polisher like the Porter Cable 7424, Flex ect. and also a good polish, nothing OTC, like Menzerna, Pinnicale, Poorboys, ect.

 

[NastyStang113]

the only way to get all those swirls out is with a dual action polisher like the Porter Cable 7424, Flex ect. and also a good polish, nothing OTC, like Menzerna, Pinnicale, Poorboys, ect.

It's a shame that Meguiars pulled the plug on the G100, only to increase G110 sales, since it came with an unconditional lifetime warranty.

 

[dbrufus1234]

It's a shame that Meguiars pulled the plug on the G100, only to increase G110 sales, since it came with an unconditional lifetime warranty.

i never used the mcguire machine, i use a PC 7424, but those machines look pretty nice

 

[NastyStang113]

The G100 is the exact same machine as a PC 7424, one is Porter Cable and the other is Meguiars.

 

[mustangdave]

So what's your detailing experience? Have you ever got paid for your work? It started out as a hobby for me but a good friend of mine saw how good all of my cars looked and insisted that I do some work for me. The cars that he owns are pretty nice I would say. Veryon, countless Ferraris, Lambos including an LP640, Porsches, etc etc. I've nearly paid for the thousands of dollars of supplies with just his cars. I've detailed nearly all of them and used a leaf blower on all of them, too !! I don't know where you live but I don't live in an Iraqi sandstorm. So, I don't run into this problem. If the air that is being sucked into the leaf blower is so contaminated with sand, how do you avoid it when you wash the car? Surely the dirt lands on your paint, in your bucket(s), and glides against your paint as you wash. It's amusing that you're recommending a water filter but the one you recommend is a Mr Clean Auto-Dry and microfiber towels from Walmart !!

Here are cars that were detailed by me. It's a shame that they couldn't load high resolution photos onto their website though.

www.ducati.net - Ducati Online

Detailing is all I'm doing for a living right now. I recommended the "cheap" products because it's not often you find a bargain that actually works. Good job on your bucket advice; it really helps out too.

 

[Steel Horse]

So what's your detailing experience? Have you ever got paid for your work? It started out as a hobby for me but a good friend of mine saw how good all of my cars looked and insisted that I do some work for me. The cars that he owns are pretty nice I would say. Veryon, countless Ferraris, Lambos including an LP640, Porsches, etc etc. I've nearly paid for the thousands of dollars of supplies with just his cars. I've detailed nearly all of them and used a leaf blower on all of them, too !! I don't know where you live but I don't live in an Iraqi sandstorm. So, I don't run into this problem. If the air that is being sucked into the leaf blower is so contaminated with sand, how do you avoid it when you wash the car? Surely the dirt lands on your paint, in your bucket(s), and glides against your paint as you wash. It's amusing that you're recommending a water filter but the one you recommend is a Mr Clean Auto-Dry and microfiber towels from Walmart !!

Here are cars that were detailed by me. It's a shame that they couldn't load high resolution photos onto their website though.

www.ducati.net - Ducati Online

Great info Nasty.
Is that an Ariel Atom I spy on the left there?

 

[NastyStang113]

From left to right.

Ariel Atom, Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, Bugatti Veyron, Spyker, and a Bentley Convertible