Care for a Black Car

[Meltdownblitz]

I have just bought a black 2008 Infinity G37 and I know the color black is very hard to keep clean but indeed it looks good when it is cleaned and detailed properly. It is my first black car and having a black car is different to take care of and detail compared to a white or silver car. And I'm sure there might be a few threads similiar to this topic but if you guys could show me some threads to the related topic or give me some tips, directions, etc. on how to clean and care for a black car it would really be appreciated. The problems I am having with my car is the Scratches and Swirls in the paint, I did a full detail a few days after I got it. The process I did was:

- Washed it.
- Clayed using professional clay - Mild
- M66 Cleaner wax
- NXT 2.0 using G110

There are some scratches and swirls in the paint and I would like it to be scratch and swirl free. If you guys could give me some instructions or tips on how to do that it would be greatly appreciated.

Also another question:
Is using the California car duster safe to use? Does it create scratches and swirls? Some say its safe to use and I've heard other bad rumors about the california car duster.

Thanks in advance.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Care for a Black Car

Do you own a dual action polisher? Like our G110 or the PC version?

If you want to keep your black car swirl and scratch free then you're going to want to get a DA Polisher.

You take care of black paint just like any other paint in most cases you're working on a clear coat or a clear layer of paint and not the actual color, thus how you work on paint is aways the same no matter what the color.

As for threads on black cars? Best thing to do is a little searching or reading thread titles in Detailing 101

As for California Dusters, they work good for what they do, it really comes down to personal preference, you need to buy one and use it and see if you like it. No one can make that decision but you. I bought one for our black Pilot and didn't like myself so I stuck with wiping the car with microfiber polishing cloths and quick detailers.

Best of luck to you and your new black car!

[brickyardz]

Re: Care for a Black Car

Congrats on your purchase of a new car! the G37 is a great vehicle.

As for the paint, as Mike said the best way to remove the swirls is with a DA polisher. You can do it by hand but it is a lot more work and will take you a lot longer. The results will not be as good as those you can get with the DA polisher too.

In addition to the suggestions Mike already made, If your in California I would suggest signing up for one of the Saturday detailing 101 classes Meguiars puts on for FREE to all registered forum members. You will see first hand now to use the DA polisher and the results you can get with one.

As for the California Duster, it is a matter of personal perference and how you intend to use it. I have been using one on my Z since I bought it new in 2003. it has not scratched the paint at all that I have ever noticed and I inspect the car religiously every time its used. I use the duster after every use of the car before putting it back in the garage and also at car shows I enter throughout the year. It works well to remove the light dust that acumulates within a day but I would not use it on a car that has been sitting for a week without use and has a thicker layer of dust on it. It will depend on how you intend to use it. I even shake the duster out a number of times while wiping down my car with it to make sure any bigger particles are removed from the duster so they don't scratch the paint.

Good luck with the new car!

[Meltdownblitz]

Re: Care for a Black Car

So what would be some good products that people have found that work and look good on black cars? And what would be good to use to get rid of swirl marks and scratches. I have a DA Polisher (G110), I just need the products to use and technique if possible.

Thanks in advance.

[TKDDAD]

Re: Care for a Black Car

Don't the new Infinity's have self healing paint ??...I heard that at an auto show....

[Meltdownblitz]

Re: Care for a Black Car

Yeah maybe they do! The dealer told me when they bought it that it had a special coating of paint on it, what kind of paint is that --- self healing?? I didn't really ask what it meant cuz I was so excited I was getting that car.

[Hemin8r]

Re: Care for a Black Car

So what would be some good products that people have found that work and look good on black cars? And what would be good to use to get rid of swirl marks and scratches. I have a DA Polisher (G110), I just need the products to use and technique if possible.

Thanks in advance.

First off congrats on your G37. They are definitely nice cars.
I would suggest having some #80 handy to help remove the deeper swirls/scratches that #66 alone cant' remove. Once you have your car swirl free you'll need to carefully wash your car using the 2 bucket system to avoid instilling any more scratches. I just worked on a G35 in which the paint was very hard. http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22386

Have fun with your G37!

[brickyardz]

Re: Care for a Black Car

So what would be some good products that people have found that work and look good on black cars? And what would be good to use to get rid of swirl marks and scratches. I have a DA Polisher (G110), I just need the products to use and technique if possible.

Thanks in advance.

There are a number of threads on these subjects and what you use will depend on the condition of your paint. As Mike has explained in other threads, some clear coats are harder than others and require a more agressive product to remove the swirls. Each car is unique and needs its own blend of products to achieve your goals.

With that said, I can offer a starting point. Please keep in mind these are my suggestions which are partically based on my own experiences and knowledge obtained from attending some of the Meguiars classes along with countless threads read on this forum. They are not a guarantee.

Read about the 5 step paint care cycle. There is a link on the home page in the upper right corner in the site navigation section. Also check out the list O links. There are some on removing scratches and swirl marks with the DA polisher.

1. Wash - Gold Class wash or NXT Tech Wash

2. Once the car is washed evaluate the finish for surface contaminents and determine if you need to use a body clay on the surface to smooth it out and remove the contaminents. If it is rough and not smooth like glass most likely claying the car will improve and prepare the paint surface for other products. Use the Smooth surface clay kit. It comes with clay, a supreme shine microfiber towel and Quick detailer for a lubricant.

3. Remove your swirl marks and below surface contaminents. Start with #80. Pick a section of your car like the hood, tape it off with painters tape and do a small section to see if it removes your swirl marks. If not, then you may want to step up to #83 and try again. This is more agressive but as stated before, the clear coat of each car is different and one may have a harder clear coat than another. Once you get the results you want in your test area you will know how to proceed on the rest of the car.

4. Optional, a pure polish such as #7. This is not needed as #80 and #83 in the professional line are both cleaner/polishes. However, this extra step can create more depth and shine, especially in a black car.

5. Apply your favorite wax. I would suggest #26 or NXT Tech. I just used #26 on my Z and really liked the results on a dark color, not to mention no dust when removing it from the paint.

6. Maintain the finish after you are done with Ultimate Quick Detailer. This will help keep the car looking good between full details.


I just finished a process on my Z that included the following:

No washing. The car was clean with no dirt or dust.

No Claybaring. That was done 6 months ago and was still in good shape. This is not a daily driver and kept in the garage and never driven in the rain.

2 passes with #80 and the W8006 polishing yellow pad speed 5
1 pass with #7 and the W8006 polishing yellow pad speed 4
2 coats of wax with #26 leaving it sit on the car for several hours before hand removing with a supreme shine micro fiber and 5+ hours inbetween both coats of wax.

Hope it gives you a starting point but there is much more to know which the links will help with along with anything else others may post.

[Meltdownblitz]

Re: Care for a Black Car

So I should wash it, then use #80 then wash it again?

Another question though, Due to the self healing paint, the dealer told me not to wax my car more then once in about 4 months because the buildup of wax on the self healing paint surface could make the paint dull.

And being that I already have waxed and did a full detail a few days after I got the car, what should I do to remove all the wax thats currently on there, clay and start the process over? I also heard washing your car with detergin soap will remove all the wax and everything on the car, then start the process over, wash, clay, clean, polish, wax.

What method should be done?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Care for a Black Car

What you should do when you work on this "new to you paint job" for the first time is a....

Drum Roll Please........
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.




A TEST SPOT

That is test the product you're thinking about using over the entire car to just one small area first, then wipe off the residue and inspect the results in good lighting, even move the car if you have to so you can check the results in different kinds of light, for example back the car into the sun and look at the results in the sun.

Make your your pad, product and process of choice can make one small area look good before going over the entire car. If the TEST SPOT looks good then duplicate the process over the entire car. If the TEST SPOT doesn't look good.... aren't you glad you only worked on a small are and not the ENTIRE car?



Meguiar's ALWAYS teaches people to,

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

So pick up a bottle of #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 as this is a VERY LIGHT CLEANER/POLISH with very light cleaning ability and test this in one small section. Then wipe off the residue and inspect. If it looks good go over the entire car with this and then go to your favorite wax.

Being a brand new car shouldn't it have a Show Room New Finish?

How about a sun shot picture of the paint on the hood so we can all see what it looks like right now?

How to capture pictures of swirls in your car's paint

[brickyardz]

Re: Care for a Black Car

So I should wash it, then use #80 then wash it again?

Another question though, Due to the self healing paint, the dealer told me not to wax my car more then once in about 4 months because the buildup of wax on the self healing paint surface could make the paint dull.

And being that I already have waxed and did a full detail a few days after I got the car, what should I do to remove all the wax thats currently on there, clay and start the process over? I also heard washing your car with detergin soap will remove all the wax and everything on the car, then start the process over, wash, clay, clean, polish, wax.

What method should be done?

I am not familiar with self healing paint so I really can't comment on that.

You don't need to wash the car between each prodcut application. It also is not necessary in all cases to use multiple passes with the same product like #80 2x. While I might not have emphasized it as strongly as Mike did, I did mention picking a test spot on your car to apply your process to and make sure you get the results your looking for before doing the entire car.

I did exactly what Mike wrote and took a test area on my hood to see what would remove the swirl marks and scratches in my paint. After going over the test area with one pass of #80 there were still some scratches and swirl marks in the test area. It had definately reduced them but did not eliminate all of them. I choose to try another pass of #80 in that area and start another test area next to it and do one pass of #83 to see which one would work best. After completing both test spots the car was pulled back into the sun for inspection. What I found was the 2 passes of #80 looked better to me than one pass of #83. So, after going through this exercise I made the choice to use 2 passes of #80, which was going to take longer, but the results would be better than doing one pass with #83. Now that I knew what was going to give me the results I wanted I could continue and complete the entire car. I already made the decision to use #7 and 2 coats of #26 but I really should have tested both of those before doing the entire car to see the final result before applying them to the whole car. This was my personal car and while I might have spent time applying #7 with no additional benefit because I didn't test it first it was what I wanted to do which is why I didn't bother testing that even though it should have been.

Claying the car should remove the current wax from it but don't EVER use detergent soap or dish liquid on your car. There are much better things to use. A good car wash soap is all I ever use on my other cars and I always use the 2 bucket method to reduce scratching the paint, even in my daily driver vehicles.

I know it seems overwhelming at first and you want to do everything right and with some time and patience you will find the answer to all your questions here. Check out some of the other threads for more information.

If you have never used a DA polisher before I might suggest trying it out on some of the other cars you may have. I did that with my 2 daily drivers just to get better aquainted with the amount of pressure to apply, trying different products to see their result and going through the process so when I was ready to do it on a car a cared a little more about I had increased my confidence level.

I just finished my Z and it came out great! There are no swirl marks in it when inspected in full sun. I need to get some pics so I can post in a seperate thread here but its looking very nice. I also went to a club event this past weekend and several people commented and noticed how shiny my car looked when I pulled up. That's always a great feeling when others comment on your hard work!

[mattaleca]

Re: Care for a Black Car

First off congrats on your G37. They are definitely nice cars.
I would suggest having some #80 handy to help remove the deeper swirls/scratches that #66 alone cant' remove. Once you have your car swirl free you'll need to carefully wash your car using the 2 bucket system to avoid instilling any more scratches. I just worked on a G35 in which the paint was very hard. http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22386

Have fun with your G37!

And get some 83 for the stuborn spots.

[mlc]

Re: Care for a Black Car

Okay first of all LISTEN to Mike. He knows what he is talking about. Here is what I did.

Gold class wash

Feel your paint!! Trust me you will get used to this. I now do it all the time. It should feel like glass (go and feel a mirror in your house that is what it should feel like). If it doesn't get a clay kit, you can get them at most auto parts stores. I got mine at Autozone. It is very easy just follow the instructions. You will almost "hear the contaminants coming off. It will sound like sand paper at the start and a couple of passes and "sweet silence".

#80 I only had to do one pass(you will get a better idea after the test spot)

#9 Just to give it some love. It is a pure polish with alot of oils for your paint. A little goes a long way.

NXT 2.0 Let it sit for maybe an hour.

UQD to maintain

Here are some pic's.

http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii311/goridemtb/

Good luck. I wouldn't have any other color. It is hard to keep up but when it looks good there is no better color.

mlc

[SVT Lightning]

Re: Care for a Black Car

Another question though, Due to the self healing paint, the dealer told me not to wax my car more then once in about 4 months because the buildup of wax on the self healing paint surface could make the paint dull.

I think they are pulling your leg about the self-healing paint. If such a thing existed......Megs would be out of business. And wax doesn't build up unless you wax everyday. A little is removed everytime you wash or polish your car. If you follow the advice that the other posters have given you, your G37 will look better than a new one! Have fun!

[brickyardz]

Re: Care for a Black Car

Okay first of all LISTEN to Mike. He knows what he is talking about. Here is what I did.

Gold class wash

Feel your paint!! Trust me you will get used to this. I now do it all the time. It should feel like glass (go and feel a mirror in your house that is what it should feel like). If it doesn't get a clay kit, you can get them at most auto parts stores. I got mine at Autozone. It is very easy just follow the instructions. You will almost "hear the contaminants coming off. It will sound like sand paper at the start and a couple of passes and "sweet silence".

#80 I only had to do one pass(you will get a better idea after the test spot)

#9 Just to give it some love. It is a pure polish with alot of oils for your paint. A little goes a long way.

NXT 2.0 Let it sit for maybe an hour.

UQD to maintain

Here are some pic's.

http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii311/goridemtb/

Good luck. I wouldn't have any other color. It is hard to keep up but when it looks good there is no better color.

mlc

For clarification, #9 is not a pure polish, it is a cleaner/polish. The pure polishes are #3, #5, #7 and #81 in the professional line and Deep Crystal Polish in the consumer line.