May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

[Mike Phillips]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Wow! What a wicked looking black Mercedes-Benz.




I'm confident you're already planning on doing a test spot first and dialing in a a recipe or a system that will successfully create a flawless finish on your new pride and joy

[RaskyR1]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Very nice car!


I you have the time you can definitely keep her looking good.

I like to go over my car with some ColorX/M66 often with the DA and finishing pad. I'm also going to try out some M20, and maybe just use that every other wash instead on NXT.

[Mikejl]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Verrrrrry Nice!

Mike

[mb911]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Well, I finally did it. I went ahead and got the black car.

I found one that had better paint than most I could find. There were minimal swirls, not bad at all, hard to find any even with direct light.

However, under certain light I can also see "drops," or something all over the paint. Strange. Maybe it's hard water or something, and I can only see it under certain light. Don't know.

Anyway, this Saturday I'll do my own first detail to it, for now I've just been using my quick detailers to keep it gorgeous. Under the hood, some paint in the engine compartment has bad hard water spots though. It's sad.

So this saturday I'm going to clay, then use DA polisher with either M205 or M83, and then put on some NXT 2.0 2 coats. At least small car = finish quicker!!!!

I'm hoping this paint won't be like the palladium silver on my C-Class, where with the DA polisher M205 & M83 removes no defects, and even M105 didn't make much impact.

Pictures for now as delivered, if I can remember how to do it...2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK 350...

[gb387]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

OK, I have had two black vehicles - that said I tend to agree with Mike P.

I use to have a Ford Lightning (daily driver) in black and I wouldn't own any other color 'fun vehicle'... you just cant beat the look of black. IMO it was well worth keeping looking its beat all the time.

Now I have a Chevy Avalanche (daily driver) but I will tell you it has a lot of paint and makes for a lot of work. I am not always happy with the way it looks unless its right after a full detail and again its a lot of paint that makes a lot of work. I do enjoy detailing it but its not always possible to spend the time. My next vehicle I think will be white! Another problem is the winter, around Iowa it stays white most of the winter. I do hope to detail it again this Christmas in a nice warm garage in Minnesota to get it back to black!

Would polishing/compounding swirls out every 1-2 months risk thinning the clear too much too soon? His car will get polished/compounded more in one year than my car will get in its 10 year life.

Using a G100/110 removes very little practically unmeasurable amounts of clear coat. There is a post somewhere (don't have the link) that the CC thickness was measured after various polishes and polishing methods. It was a very interesting post, maybe someone on MOL still has the link?

EDIT: I found the link in lost link land!!: How much paint are you removing.

[aprevo15]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

get the black car. yesterday my uncle and i detailed our cars using a g110 and #80. it came out nice. he has a black mercedes cls500 and i have a black honda accord.

it got rid of all the little swirls so we are happy.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

We bought a black Honda Pilot, our first black car or technically a S.U.V.

At first we really liked it because we're "car people" and liked having a clear, shiny black finish on our Pilot. After a couple of years of careful washing and frequent waxing however the newness has worn off and the reality is it's an S.U.V., not a "Special Interest" car of some sort and in the future we would not buy another black "Daily Driver".

We would own another black car but it would have to be the "Toy", not the Costco Grocery Getter.

Especially here in the Mojave Desert where it's windy and dusty.

So evaluate your personality type and balance this against the type of car you're buying. That should help you to gauge the color at least a little.

Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[Bert31]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Also, in terms of swirls, I don't mind having to use the DA every 1-2 months, if necessary, to keep it looking sharp.

Would polishing/compounding swirls out every 1-2 months risk thinning the clear too much too soon? His car will get polished/compounded more in one year than my car will get in its 10 year life.

[yalerd]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

If it makes you happy and you'll have the tools to fix anything GET IT!
Post pictures when you do!

[Blueline]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

However, my passion for detailing has also made me appreciate the amazing reflection you get from black cars.


Question: With my experience and knowledge of the detail world, could I keep it swirl free, or should I not try for this car?


Thanks!!!

I will never have another black car. They are like whiny ex husbands. They may look good on the other side of the road, but to look good up close, you have to spend your time and money on them. Unfortunately like exs, they are always in trouble (scratches) or have problems (swirls) and constantly need attention. You don't own black cars, they own YOU!!!
My next will be silver. Maybe a silver headed man too. LOL

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

I would go for the black. Like others have stated: properly cared for there is no other color that looks that good. You say you are willing to keep it looking great. Then go for it. Enjoy!

[Megafast13]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Yes you should definitely buy a black car. I have 2 black cars and they are amazing. It is truly the best paint color to show off a show car shine. Once you fix the paint, maintaining is the fun part. Black shows scratches and such more and faster than other paint colors. If you don't mind putting in additional time into your car to make it look good, than get it. With your line up of supplies you should be set

[HealthyCivic]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Yes, it will be a daily driver. However, I have no problem using last touch or another detailer on it everyday, or every other day. I do that now with my other car.

Also, in terms of swirls, I don't mind having to use the DA every 1-2 months, if necessary, to keep it looking sharp.

You guys are pretty encouraging. Appreciate that.

However, if anyone else wants to push me the other way, feel free to try

Just get the black car. It's a great car for you to work on. It's also easier to work on in my opinion since you can see what you are doing much better than a lighter colored car. On my cream-colored Jeep, I can't even see the wax I'm applying. That's annoying to me.

And with your experience and willing to learn, if anyone should have a black car, it is you and the others on this forum. You could argue that it's "harder to keep up," but if you didn't want to keep your car up, you wouldn't be here.

[mb911]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Yes, it will be a daily driver. However, I have no problem using last touch or another detailer on it everyday, or every other day. I do that now with my other car.

Also, in terms of swirls, I don't mind having to use the DA every 1-2 months, if necessary, to keep it looking sharp.

You guys are pretty encouraging. Appreciate that.

However, if anyone else wants to push me the other way, feel free to try

[yalerd]

Re: May buy black car, with my experience, I should be ok???

Is it going to be your daily driver?