Evil Black Paint

[drum1026]

Ahhhhhh! LOL Let me start out by saying that this is not the first black car I've ever owned but by far the hardest to care for. The car is a 2013 Mercedes C250 and a few days after purchasing, I performed a full paint correction. I was ecstatic with the end result and couldn't have been more pleased. My products included Meguiars Clay Bar, UC but then changed to M105 due to not getting the level of correction needed, UP, and ULW. Unfortunately, the good outcome was short lived.

So the following weekend, I washed the car using the two bucket method with grit guards on both buckets. I used GC soap, Meguiars Mitt, dried with Megs waffle, and followed behind with Megs Supreme Shine MF for any small spots of water left behind. All products were brand new and yes I turned the towels frequently and used several. When I pulled the car back in the sun, that's when the nightmare showed through. Swirls, marring, and everything you could imagine clearly evident. I decided to wax the car again with M26 and of course the paint looked beautiful again. Unfortunately, I can't exactly wax by DA or hand after every single wash but I know I can use UQW. Do you guys think that using UQW while drying will help the issue? When I washed the car a second time (the following weekend), I did everything the same but while drying, sprayed NXT Detailer while drying. The outcome was a lot better but still heartbreaking! LOL

A huge question I have is this...Will using a coating like C Quartz Finest, help with preventing so many swirls or any other imperfections in the paint from simply washing my car?

Do you guys have any other suggestions? With all due respect (I don't know how else to say this but I don't mean to sound like a jerk) I am not looking for the responses that say, "that's why I would never buy a black car." I am open to all constructive recommendations.

[benbjam]

Re: Evil Black Paint

Just a first thought....
I wonder if there were still swirls (or many of them) even after you did the correction. What I mean is that if there wasn't an IPA wipedown during the original process, maybe the original swirls and such were really there but just 'masked' and not as noticeable... (hope I make sense). After using 105, maybe do IPA wipe to see how much correction was really being done.

[Coach]

Re: Evil Black Paint

Sounds like your process is solid and using quality materials. So, are your waffle towels and MF towels cleaned after every use?
Do you have a leaf blower? If so, after using your 2B washing, try blowing off all the water with your leaf blower working from the top down instead of using the towels. Then the only remaining step is to pick up the little bit of water that remains while you gently wipe down using the MF towels with UQW.
My car is black and I use this drying method every weekend when I wash it with no swirls resulting.
Try it, then hopefully you'll say "ahhhh, beautiful black paint!"

[wifpd4]

Re: Evil Black Paint

Gotta agree with Ben. You either need to roll the car out into the sun during your process and look for defects you may have left or use Brinkmann light to look for defects left untouched by your process. Use an IPA, "Eraser" or similar between each step to identify problems. (Battery dying on laptop, be back in a bit......)

[wifpd4]

Re: Evil Black Paint

Your avatar is an example of what possibly is "hard" paint. Some Corvettes have paint difficult to correct, as may be your case with the black car. You can spend hours buffing and still be disappointed by the results when viewed in the sun, the best Brinkmann around. So doing an IPA wipe down between corrective steps helps discover defects you may have missed. So if you're using M105, buff a set of passes over a 2 X 2 test area and then do a "normal" wipe off with a microfiber and then spray the surface with your IPA or Eraser (a CarPro product ideal for wipe-offs) and wipe again. Exam in the sun and look for any areas needing improvement. Then roll back inside and start again. Determine what it takes to get your test area done to your satisfaction, then proceed with the remainder of the car using your successful technique. View often in the sun to make sure your are maintaining the level of correction you desire.

Another consideration would be if your black car's paint is the opposite of hard, delicate. Not likely, but due your consideration is the possibility you can't correct the defects with your possibly over aggressive techniques. Read this discussion and then head back to your black car and make a determination of your final work flow and correction process.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?44344-The-Challenge-of-Delicate-Paint&highlight=delicate

It's good you are following the M105 with Ultimate Polish. You may wish to even evaluate the end result of the Ultimate Polish. Should you be using a softer pad with the UP to make sure it isn't leaving some hazing? Again not likely. You're IPA wipe down of your test area will show you.

[Eldorado2k]

I feel your pain.. When drying with the Water Magnet, do you slide the towel across the paint? You might have to switch to blotting instead since it sounds like you've got super soft paint.

Judging from your steps it's plain to see you know exactly how to properly maintain a quality finish on a vehicle. You deserved better luck than this soft paint. Good luck.

[The Guz]

Re: Evil Black Paint

Are you flooding the surface to remove as much water as you can? You could try using UQD or UQW as a drying aid to lubricate the surface as you dry.

Mercedes can sometimes have hard paint so it is possible that UC or M105 did not remove all the defects.

[wifpd4]

Re: Evil Black Paint

You may also find that if you are NOT dealing with a soft paint, using the Mequiar's microfiber dual-action pad and product system does an excellent job. Again if you switch to this system, a small test area is best to both sharpen your skills and hone the process you discover best meets your desires and eliminated the defects with the LEAST aggressive methods and least aggressive products.

Clean properly prepared microfibers used when wiping down the surface will help with a delicate paint. As other have mentioned, gentle washing and drying are key to leaving the surface defect free after all your hard work. A blow dry helps assure you don't create any additional marring of the surface.

In my limited personal experience, I've found Mercedes paint to be a bit hard requiring a concerted effort to correct with frequent IPA* or Eraser wipe downs to locate defects, especially if the previous owner was a bit neglectfully (more often - majorly neglectful). Initally, the problems are easy to seen and correct. Getting to that point of your own satisfaction in your work can be a bit difficult, but very satisfying on a black car.

Good luck.

*Be sure to read up on suggested IPA mixtures before dumping straight alcohol filled bottles onto your car.