Caring for black paint

[inkjunkie]

Looks like my car will be heading for body work/paint soon. Having a nightmare of a time picking out a color. One of my choices is a Tuxedo Black, seen it on a Ford Flex the other day. I have also seen more than 1 car with black paint that is full of swirls. Any particular advice on how to avoid the swirls?

 

[stansblue72]

I use to have a black pick up. You can buy polish with swirl remover in it, not sure how it works but it seems to do a good job.

 

[yellowdartdave]

Swirls from buffing result from not using fine enough polish and the wrong pad. Basically like using 80 grit sandpaper before you paint a car.
Scratch and swirl remover polish are very fine will help remove the swirls.

Black is beautiful- you wash it, wax it, polish it and it looks so good and then you breath on it and it is dirty.

 

[6pk2goDemon]

Doug, My car is black and I wouldn't recommend it unless you really, really like to clean and dust it all the time. Didn't you say you lived on a dirt road or something?

A lighter color is much more forgiving when it comes to keeping it clean...JMO

 

[HotLines]

My 64 Signet is black. I use Mequires #7 glaze and been using it for 25 or so years. I love black paint and outside of a couple scratches you couldn't tell how old its paint is.

Its up to the body shop or whoever does their finishing to use the correct procedure after paint has cured as there are so many manufacturers cashing in on finishing

 

[mikebarg]

I've seen a lot of cars with bad swirl marks. Many of which were caused by detailers not knowing what they are doing with the high speed polishers. Do not let a detailer touch your car unless they have a no swirl guarantee. Also,the wax can hide the swirls and they won't show up until later.

 

[jeffduster]

My 64 Signet is black. I use Mequires #7 glaze and been using it for 25 or so years. I love black paint and outside of a couple scratches you couldn't tell how old its paint is.

Its up to the body shop or whoever does their finishing to use the correct procedure after paint has cured as there are so many manufacturers cashing in on finishing

# 7 is a glaze and has filling properties, swirls are created from running it through those drive through car washes. or improper washing techniques. if you want black i would go take a look over at autopia.org a lot of good information

 

[inkjunkie]

Just got off the phone with the body guy, what he told me about painting the car black and having 1.5 miles of dirt between me and the pavement is not repeatable......so scratch the black paint....

 

[4flats]

Inkjunkie - don't let anybody scare you out of black paint. If you like black, get black! If it's gonna be a show car, you won't drive it enough to get it dirty, if you drive it a lot, who cares if it is dirty once in a while? If you nail the color you want, it will be a lot more enjoyable to get out and wash it by hand anyway. Most of the swirls I've seen come from detailers. If the paint shop (or you) go the extra mile and color sand before polishing, they won't swirl-up all that hard work. Beware the "detail shop", if you wax by hand instead of using a power buffer and keep your cleaning and polishing towels clean youwill not get swirls. By the way, I dig black paint.

 

[AdamR]

Black is tough to keep looking good. Its very easy to scratch and also requires the body shop to make sure they dont miss any digs, They will show up.

I detail cars for a living, My driver is black. I hate it. When its clean it looks good but the upkeep is twice that of bright colors. My favorite is red. You can make them shine enough that it will hurt your eyes before you notice the imperfections.

 

[Wylde1]

If you wax by hand don't go in circular motions. Back and forth only. The same with washing - back and forth.

My Demon has seen been washed twice in the 10 years I've had it. I use DriWash on it. That's it. If you get mud and heavy grime on it, sure you need to wash it first. Otherwise it's DriWash only. http://www.dwgint.net/esuite/home/vmcvay/

Does my Demon look ok? After all, it's only got a 15 year old, cheap single stage enamel paint job on it.


Wylde1.

 

[95teetee]

My favorite is red. You can make them shine enough that it will hurt your eyes before you notice the imperfections.

that's the way the pearl white on my Stealth is- the first time I waxed it (I use Meguiar's Gold Class) the shine was so bright it literally blinded you if the sun's reflection hit it right. And looks clean even when it's dirty.

But well-cared for black paint always looks good (as long as the body underneath it is straight)

 

[sscuda]

I used to own black cars up until about 10 years ago. I'm getting lazy in my old age so I switched to an easier colour to keep up.

I'll try to keep this simple;

Washing:

In order to avoid the "scratches" or "swirl marks" when washing your vehicle rinse the area you are washing throughly before applying a soapy sponge. Change your sponges once a month and don't drop them on the ground. If you drop them on the ground throw them away, they're cheap to replace. Use a good quality car soap with a liquid wax and not a dish soap. The liquid wax acts a a sheeting agent and helps with the drying process. Dish soaps are a no-no as they contain a lot of nasty chemicals (you don't want to know). Then rinse the soap off thoroughly again with clean clear water. If you have high mineral content in your water supply it may pose a problem by creating a film on the finish. Some minerals such calcium turn white when they dry.

Very important: Always wash, dry, polish, or wax the vehicle in a shady area, especially black or dark coloured cars.

Drying: I use a detailers chamois. Real chamois are greasy and leave streaks. A terry towel works but it's a little rough on black paint.

Buffing or Polishing:

If for some reason you have to buff or machine polish the car use a good quality buffing pad and a good quality polishing compound. Buffing pads should never be used with more than one product. Alway ensure the buffing pad is damp when you begin the polishing or buffing process. It reduces the chances of swirl marks. Gradually go to a finer polishing product, followed by a good glazing product, and finally a good quality wax. I personally use 3M products but that's just my personal preference. I stress the use of "quality products" because there a lot of what I call snake oils out there that are pure garbage.

Waxes: You have endless choices out there. I've been using Nu Finish (orange bottle) since the early eighties with excellent results. Easy on and easy off. And its good for all paint finishes.

Waxing or polishing cloths:

They can be bought just about anywhere. Get the lint free ones if you can. And make sure they feel very soft to the touch (your face). Coarse cotton or polyester can scratch black paint like 600 wet paper . Do not use an old towel, no matter how old it is.

Clay Bars: I think this is overkill unless you own a concourse show car.

I hope this helps answer your questions

Any questions PM me. I'll be glad to help.

Good luck with your Black car, you are a brave man. (LOL)

sscuda

 

[1BadDodge71]

Black paint is beautiful,but a pain to keep clean looking good.My GLH is black and its at the point where I dont even bother trying to keep it perfect anymore.I have had 4 black cars inmy life and I wanted to paint my Duster black,but like the previous poster said,I cant keep up with how high maintenence that color is.When I use to detail,black cars were my worse nightmare since they had to be perfect and when I have to paint someone elses car black,polishing it can take me a couple of days.If its going to be a daily driver,its going to be hard to keep looking perfect.If its a show car that will rarely see the road,it will be nice for along time.The best towels I like using on black are Micro-Fibers,they are less harsher than terry or diaper cloth.The best thing about black is it is very easy to touch up and paint to match.Dont let us scare you out of painting black,im just letting you know my experience with it 8)

 

[DusterKrazy]

Matte or flat black is a heck of a lot less upkeep. Also the body does not have to be perfect like it does with a deep glossy black.

 

[inkjunkie]

:banghead:I got a headache. While watching the dust swirl behind my wifes Exploder earlier today I realized that no matter what color the car is painted it will require cleaning everytime I drive the car. I got gas at Costco while in town today and washed the back window. By the time we got down the road onto our property it looked like I had not even washed it. That being said whats the difference going to be between white, torch or Viper red, Kona blue or black?:banghead:

 

[pettybludart]

I owned a black car once,I was constantly cleaning it,I can,t drive a dirty car period.So will never own a black car again.Other colors like white don,t show dirt like other colors.Just food for thought.:-D

 

[ESP47]

I used to own black cars up until about 10 years ago. I'm getting lazy in my old age so I switched to an easier colour to keep up.

I'll try to keep this simple;

Washing:

In order to avoid the "scratches" or "swirl marks" when washing your vehicle rinse the area you are washing throughly before applying a soapy sponge. Change your sponges once a month and don't drop them on the ground. If you drop them on the ground throw them away, they're cheap to replace. Use a good quality car soap with a liquid wax and not a dish soap. The liquid wax acts a a sheeting agent and helps with the drying process. Dish soaps are a no-no as they contain a lot of nasty chemicals (you don't want to know). Then rinse the soap off thoroughly again with clean clear water. If you have high mineral content in your water supply it may pose a problem by creating a film on the finish. Some minerals such calcium turn white when they dry.

Very important: Always wash, dry, polish, or wax the vehicle in a shady area, especially black or dark coloured cars.

Drying: I use a detailers chamois. Real chamois are greasy and leave streaks. A terry towel works but it's a little rough on black paint.

Buffing or Polishing:

If for some reason you have to buff or machine polish the car use a good quality buffing pad and a good quality polishing compound. Buffing pads should never be used with more than one product. Alway ensure the buffing pad is damp when you begin the polishing or buffing process. It reduces the chances of swirl marks. Gradually go to a finer polishing product, followed by a good glazing product, and finally a good quality wax. I personally use 3M products but that's just my personal preference. I stress the use of "quality products" because there a lot of what I call snake oils out there that are pure garbage.

Waxes: You have endless choices out there. I've been using Nu Finish (orange bottle) since the early eighties with excellent results. Easy on and easy off. And its good for all paint finishes.

Waxing or polishing cloths:

They can be bought just about anywhere. Get the lint free ones if you can. And make sure they feel very soft to the touch (your face). Coarse cotton or polyester can scratch black paint like 600 wet paper . Do not use an old towel, no matter how old it is.

Clay Bars: I think this is overkill unless you own a concourse show car.

I hope this helps answer your questions

Any questions PM me. I'll be glad to help.

Good luck with your Black car, you are a brave man. (LOL)

sscuda

Very good advice. Just to reaffirm what you said for people researching this thread.

A terry cloth towel will scratch your black finish every time. I used to detail cars and wouldn't allow a terry cloth to touch a dark finish unless I knew I was buffing the panel afterward.

Clay bars are fine on white cars since they gather specks of rail dust that won't come off any other way. A clay bar will usually scratch a black car as well even when the surface is lubricated.

Using both of these will guarantee a buff and polish after using.

Black looks sweet but it takes so much work it's like having an extra kid around the house.