Swirls and My Black Beauty

Brothers, Being my first Black car (Not Prosche) what is the magic to keeping her looking showroom ? I have tried everything and I can't seem to remove the swirls marks, they keep coming back like the clap! - Is there something I am overlooking ? HELP !

Check out these people: http://www.carcareonline.com/ Excellent descriptions of how to do all your car cleaning. Give the owner a call; he's a real pro and very helpful.

zaino.com

Removing swirls and keeping them away is a whole process in itself. www.autopia.org Great place to learn, though it may cause you to become obsessed about the appearance of your car.

If you want to be hardcore about it, use a wool mitt never a sponge and get two, one for the roof and hood, the other for lower part of the car. Then dry with a microfiber drying towel. Then be prepared to spend at least 3 to 4 hours with a cleansing product like zymol HD cleanse or Megurires Step 1 other companies have the same product...only use microfiber towels to wipe off....

Hey Sloth, which dental products do you use from that website?

oops! The link is fixed now.

Though it is work, use Maguire's Scratch X, followed by 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, and finish off with P21S concours Wax. I bought a used, heavily swirled black Boxster, followed this regiment and won three first place concours events. Do it all by hand. A power buffer can damage corners with this much chemicals. The Scratch X removes the swirls, the 3M Imperial hand glaze has stoddard solvent that will clean the paint squeaky clean, and the P21S gives the shine and protection. Good luck.

I've only owned one black car ever, and that's my M5, but since the first week I owned it in March 2001, I've been taking it to all hand car washes at least once a week - more like an average of 5 times a month. And with all that washing, and even I'll admit no matter how good the all hand car wash, it'll never be as good or careful as if you did it yourself, my car still looks perfect black. No real swirls, paint fade, etc. Basically, every other time I get a full package wash, and every other time I get a full wax. Once a month I get a inside/outside detail. Maybe it's the BMW paint, but while I've found black to be a pain to keep clean, it's been relatively consequence free.

ditto-zaino.com

Followed - the following routine - Maguire's Scratch X, followed by 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, and finish off with P21S concours Wax. - And DAM she looks good now - I will post some pictures.

Black cars are a challenge. I have owned three and I always say it is a love hate relationship. Nothing looks better when clean and well cared for but nothing looks like crap faster. If the car is a daily driver then learn to live with some level of imperfection. The link to Autopia above is a great suggestion. The level of perfection that some on that board try to maintain is unbelievable. That said they will admit to not being able to prevent small �spider webbing� on a daily driven black car. You can get rid of them but you will spend enormous amounts of time chasing perfection. That said there are things that can go a long way to helping. A two bucket wash (one for soap and one for rinse) two different wash mitts (as mentioned above), sheeting the water off with you rinse with no nozzle (less to dry) and then blot drying with a micro fiber waffle weave towel. The look you want, the durability and the maintenance requirements you want will dictate what product is best for you. Zaino is great product and very durable and gives a very slick and very shiny reflective finish, however, it also is very prone to �micro marring� or spider webbing, additionally it does a marginal job at best (yes even the Z5) of hiding any swirls, scratches or other imperfections in the finish. It is also very finicky about its ability to �bond� to the surface that is why right before the application of any Zaino you have to use a dish soap like Dawn to remove any oils, waxes, or other substances that my prevent Zaino from bonding. It is not compatible with glazes or polishes that have filler capabilities or leave behind any oils. Don�t get me wrong I have used Zaino for about 4 years. It is excellent on light color cars and the durability is unsurpassed. However, it is not a forgiving product on black cars. P21S makes an excellent carnauba wax that is very easy to use however its durability is not long. It is not finicky about what you put it on top of and it will help hide some swirls. It works great with something like 3M�s swirl mark remover. Other possibilities�Mequiars NXT wax, or Einszett�s Glanz wax, or a new product that is getting rave reviews so far Wolfgang wax (some the pictures I have seen on black are unbelievable). If you do a search at Autopia for black you will find more information than you want.

If you don't mind looking like a bit of an idiot, that leaf blower in your garage does a great job drying the car without spots, getting all the water out of your wheels, etc. My neighbors just roll their eyes when I break it out. A Harley guy tipped me to that, it's great for drying motorcycle engines. Vic 99 C2 cab

Have a question on polishing and waxing The entire front of my '99 was recently resprayed while the rest of the car is original paint. (colour is perfectly matched) When i wash the car I can feel clearly that the paint onthe front is smooth as glass, while the rest of the car has a slightly 'unsmooth' feel. If I polish the car, should I polish the entire car or should I exclude the front? If I exclude I am afraid I will have a colour difference after that, and if I don't exclude I am afraid I am wasting the smoothness new paint on the front. I'll wax the whole car after that.....any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

You probably need to clay the rest of the car. That autopia site has lots of tips on how to accomplish that. Vic 99 C2 cab

yup definitely need to clay it. But before you clay it get blue dawn and strip all the stuff off it and do it right. Dawn it dry it, clay it, wash it again, dry it; then do the 3m swirl mark remover, then use a polish /sealant; then use p21s or your favorite wax. I did this and doubled up on the polish step and the results were crazy. how long did it last, well that's anohter story p21s is very thin a pressure wassure at the coin op will take it off!!

My first Carrera was ocean blue--not as difficult to maintain as black, but pretty close. Looked beautiful for about 5 minutes after being detailed... My current Carrera is arctic silver--very low maintenance! My experience is you need to do 2 things to keep a dark car looking good--remove as many scratches/swirls as possible (you'll never get them all), and apply a quality wax which will hide most of the remaining surface imperfections and protect the finish. After using Zymol for 15 years, I got tired of how little durability it had, and tried One Grand Blitz wax, and am really impressed. Goes on/off very easily, and lasts a very long time. http://www.carcareonline.com/detail....oduct_id=10201

I remember in University when a guy asked what to use to clean his car of bird ****...another guy jokingly told him to use steel wool....and he did...hahaha...didn't do much for the finish... slightly off topic, but man, was that funny.

I wouldn't recommend the use of clay unless the finish feels rough after washing it with dish soap, which IMO is almost never. There is no question that clay is the ultimate surface cleaner, but it is a PITA to use and can damage the finish if used improperly.

The clay works great, better than finish restore for removing sap, jet fuel and other gunk. Finish restorers are for removing oxidation. As far as swirl marks on a black car forget it. Black cars always get visable swirl marks. You need really soft towels to leave no marks. Don't get obsevive compulsive over it. I have a black Mercedes and it alway gets some. The best you can do is use polish and a nice wax. I use Mequires Professional polish and wax.

ok thanks guys - will check out how to 'clay' it...I suppose that means the rubbing compound right? but will check it out.

NO rubbing compound. Way to abrasive unless your car is really damaged. Check out the Clay Magic or the Mother's Clay kit that you can get at about any autozone or pepboys. Cut the clay into small pieces and flatten it. "Glide" it across the clean surface using lots of the lubricate supplied. Use very little pressure (basically a finger just touching enough to move the clay). practice this on the hood as the vertical sides are more difficult. If you drop the clay through it away. Do small section of at a time. then fold the clay. Don't "knead" it like some suggest. after a couple of folds throw it away and get a new piece. Using this technique clay is very safe and easy to use. Then follow up with a good polish you like then wax.