Calling All Black Cars
12-18-2007, 03:15 PM
#11
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Small walk way by big walk way
Posts: 4,717
RE: Calling All Black Cars
I said this a few times here but I haven't had anyone agree with me but here it goes again Liquid Glass. It goes on straight not circular and it comes off like a dream. It is expensive about 21.00 a can. This stuff by far is superior stuff to anything I have tried.
This is at Auto Zone. It is truly amazing. I love it . I have the deepest darkest looking paint around.
This is at Auto Zone. It is truly amazing. I love it . I have the deepest darkest looking paint around.
12-18-2007, 03:22 PM
#13
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location:
Posts: 700
RE: Calling All Black Cars
The easiest solution is to purchase Meguiar's Scratch X. You can find it at just about any auto parts store.
It will safely remove find swirl marks without a buffer. It's 100% safe and actually removes the swirl marks, not just covers them up like wax. I absolutely love it on my daily driver and it's black, although my Mustang is white (much easier to keep clean!).
The wax proucts posted are all good. I use Meguiars NXT, myself over a coat of Black Magic (surprisingly good stuff!) and I've heard liquid glass is great. However, a wax only addresses the symptoms, the swirl marks will reappear when the wax wears off.
It will safely remove find swirl marks without a buffer. It's 100% safe and actually removes the swirl marks, not just covers them up like wax. I absolutely love it on my daily driver and it's black, although my Mustang is white (much easier to keep clean!).
The wax proucts posted are all good. I use Meguiars NXT, myself over a coat of Black Magic (surprisingly good stuff!) and I've heard liquid glass is great. However, a wax only addresses the symptoms, the swirl marks will reappear when the wax wears off.
12-18-2007, 03:33 PM
#14
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location:
Posts: 2,227
RE: Calling All Black Cars
Stang Skeleton amd Black Mamba are exactly right. Forget about trying to remove the swirls yourself. That is the first wise thing to do. Talk to 2 or 3 detail shops and be sure you ask about whether they will buff with a rotary buffer. Orbital (Porter Cable) is pointless, you will use up clearcoat of which there is a limited supply on your car and not get the results of a professional using a rotary buffer. This is not a job for anyone w/o plenty of experience; If the shop is doing high end cars for dealerships or auto body shops then that is a good sign. A deep scratch (not a swirl) can usually be taken care of with a bit of light area wet sanding with #3000 or #2500. A good deatil shop does this routinely.
Now, you need to follow some "best practices" to avoid creating these swirls again. Lots of info on this forum and elsewhere but here's a few more important ones:
- two wash buckets; one with the soap, one to rinse microfiber cloth, mit, etc. canhave ascreen inthe buckets but not really necessary with two buckets just stay away from the bottom of them.
- nothing you do should be in a circular motion (wash, dry, wax). Straight line everything.
- sheet rinse, dry inside garage with door closed if you have a garage.
- this is one of the biggest causes of swirls: letting your wax dry to a haze; in the old days we would wax the whole car and go back to the beginning and remove the wax. BAD, BAD. The wax haze should still have some lubicating quality to it for safe removal. Do a section like half the hood, got to the other side of the hood and wax that half. Return to the first have and remove haze. 10-15mins (depending on temp is all you need before removal). Repeat this process until done.
- Don't over wax with waxes that require drying to a hazefor removal. Use spray detail waxes frequently and waxes that require drying to a haze less frequently.
- of course, microfiber for was, wax, wax removal. I use the Black Magic Pro-Dry Absorbing cloth. You basically just pull it across the surface w/o applying pressure. There are other good choices as well.
The thing is, you need to keep from creating the swirls. It is possible. Nothing against folks with other colors but what looks like great results on other colors will show marring and swirls on a black car. Especially listen to guys with black cars.
One example: a friend of mine with an 03 Roush in black, waxed it all the time, rarely drove it. We were parked next to each other one day and he had justwaxed his "again". He said to me: "My paint is a mess, I need to park in the shade". He went to a shop and it came out w/o swirls, it was one "black diamond". Now he knows how to not ruin it again.
[IMG]local://upfiles/24316/B62898DD6B8143DFBAECFA43D64457E0.jpg[/IMG]
Now, you need to follow some "best practices" to avoid creating these swirls again. Lots of info on this forum and elsewhere but here's a few more important ones:
- two wash buckets; one with the soap, one to rinse microfiber cloth, mit, etc. canhave ascreen inthe buckets but not really necessary with two buckets just stay away from the bottom of them.
- nothing you do should be in a circular motion (wash, dry, wax). Straight line everything.
- sheet rinse, dry inside garage with door closed if you have a garage.
- this is one of the biggest causes of swirls: letting your wax dry to a haze; in the old days we would wax the whole car and go back to the beginning and remove the wax. BAD, BAD. The wax haze should still have some lubicating quality to it for safe removal. Do a section like half the hood, got to the other side of the hood and wax that half. Return to the first have and remove haze. 10-15mins (depending on temp is all you need before removal). Repeat this process until done.
- Don't over wax with waxes that require drying to a hazefor removal. Use spray detail waxes frequently and waxes that require drying to a haze less frequently.
- of course, microfiber for was, wax, wax removal. I use the Black Magic Pro-Dry Absorbing cloth. You basically just pull it across the surface w/o applying pressure. There are other good choices as well.
The thing is, you need to keep from creating the swirls. It is possible. Nothing against folks with other colors but what looks like great results on other colors will show marring and swirls on a black car. Especially listen to guys with black cars.
One example: a friend of mine with an 03 Roush in black, waxed it all the time, rarely drove it. We were parked next to each other one day and he had justwaxed his "again". He said to me: "My paint is a mess, I need to park in the shade". He went to a shop and it came out w/o swirls, it was one "black diamond". Now he knows how to not ruin it again.
[IMG]local://upfiles/24316/B62898DD6B8143DFBAECFA43D64457E0.jpg[/IMG]
12-18-2007, 04:10 PM
#16
6th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location:
Posts: 6,414
RE: Calling All Black Cars
ORIGINAL: Margarita Girl
Post this question in the Detailing section and Justin (Obsessive Detail) will respond within the hour.
Post this question in the Detailing section and Justin (Obsessive Detail) will respond within the hour.
Will let you know how Ilike it.
12-18-2007, 05:52 PM
#19
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location:
Posts: 378
RE: Calling All Black Cars
How bad are the swirls? I had the kind you get for free from the dealer, and a lot of straight line scratches as well. The car was there for about 5 months, so god only knows what they did to it.
I couldn't drive the last two weeks anyway with all the snow and ice storms, so I bought the PC kit with the Optimum polish and compound from Obsessive Detail and decided to get rid of them. I didn't even use the compound. I just used the polish with the orange pad, then the polish with the white pad, then OD's wet glaze and Optiseal. It's perfect now. I mean, I have a light tower that we use for night construction, and even with it shining right on the paint it looks like flawless black glass.
Check this out. This is some seriously screwed up paint that he fixes with only the polish and different pads.
I couldn't drive the last two weeks anyway with all the snow and ice storms, so I bought the PC kit with the Optimum polish and compound from Obsessive Detail and decided to get rid of them. I didn't even use the compound. I just used the polish with the orange pad, then the polish with the white pad, then OD's wet glaze and Optiseal. It's perfect now. I mean, I have a light tower that we use for night construction, and even with it shining right on the paint it looks like flawless black glass.
Check this out. This is some seriously screwed up paint that he fixes with only the polish and different pads.
12-18-2007, 05:56 PM
#20
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location:
Posts: 1,062
RE: Calling All Black Cars
Mine is a daily driver, and I read lots of the "tips" suggested by experts and the like, and I still have tons of tiny scratch marks. They are not going away, and I'm okay with that.........because it means a kick *** paint-job sooner!