Black Honda Accord

[Philt922]

Hello all,

I've been a fan of Meguiar's for years now and have used several of their products. I've owned a silver Toyota Camry for about 7 years now and for those of you with silver vehicles know you can spend about 3-4 hours detailing and polishing and waxing and your silver still looks the same. Recently my wife found a 2015 Honda Accord that she fell in love with. The only problem is its black. I've never owned a black car and even our salesman said good luck keeping it clean. After reading all over the forums here as well as on other detailer websites I'm totally lost and just need some advice as to the direction I should go with getting this car to look its best.

As for some additional information I plan to use the two bucket method with a MF wash mitt. I've heard I should use multiple towels to dry it especially on the lower half and around wheels due to picking up rocks and road grim that weren't washed away during the washing portion.

After washing I intend to clay it but this is where I'm stuck. I plan to either use UC, or swirl X (not quite sure if I want to jump right to UC or baby steps with swirl X). I'll follow the clay and compound with a polish and finally a wax (most likely UW). I will be applying almost everything with my GG6.

This car is a daily driver and I'll probably use some type of quick detailer or quick wax in between washes to keep that deep glow that black cars are capable of giving off.

Any advice offered will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[Blueline]

Re: Black Honda Accord

I use to have a silver car and a black car. I know what you mean about silver cars. Then I was dumb enough to trade the silver one for another black car. Now I have two black cars. Be advised, you do not own a black car, it owns you.
Well to your questions, it all depends on what what the paint is like. You don't say if it was new or previously owned. Whatever the case, you probably need to clay. If there are swirls, UC would be a good idea, and if the UC leaves any marring, you will need to polish with UP. UW is a great wax followup, easy to apply...not too thick...and easy to come off. Do this process, and if you see some defects, you can always go back over a few days and fix them up. Perfection will not be attained the first time. Black cars look the best in my opinion, and when you look at the shine after a full wax, and how gorgeous your car is, remember that a drive down the road and a little dust will make you want to scream and wish your car was silver, or brown. Have fun, and remember, for the most part, only you will see any imperfections, and everyone else will see a gloss that will be blinding.

[Priyaka]

Re: Black Honda Accord

Congrats on the new black car--now the fun begins! I have a black SUV, so I know exactly what you will be going through to keep it polished and shiny.

The UC/UP/UW combo is great. However, it is better to start off with the least aggressive products/pads to correct the paint. Perhaps do a test spot using swirl x to see if that will work? Then, if needed, you can switch to a more aggressive product. Without knowing the condition of the paint, it is hard to recommend a product to use. Maybe you can post a picture?

Best of luck with the new car!

[Philt922]

Re: Black Honda Accord

@Blueline, my wife got the car in October 15 with about 14K miles. She thinks I'm the most analytical person in the world but I saw paint imperfections when she got the car but she fell in love with it and wasn't too concerned about all the things I saw.

@Priyaka, I couldn't imagine owning a black SUV. I have a neighbor who has an early 2000 Tahoe and it has fell victim to the harsh sun and salty air in my area, serious fading all the way down through the clear coat. I will try to post some pics but I'm in the DC area and we are expecting snow so it might take me a couple of days or so. But you bring up another topic that I have questions about, who has the highest quality pads for a 6.5 DA buffer. I want to keep things affordable but I'm guilty of buying things and they cost what they cost.

[Maple]

Re: Black Honda Accord

I can suggest using warm (hot) water when washing your car. The salty air. I know from doing doble testing on porcelain insulators at the beach. Nothing else. I mean nothing. Including harsh industrial solvents, are not able to get all the salt off. The hot (quickly becomes warm and works) water dissolves the salt. That's why it works.
You can get it clean. Feels clean. Think it's clean. But the doble test says no. Until the warm water.

[Priyaka]

Re: Black Honda Accord

But you bring up another topic that I have questions about, who has the highest quality pads for a 6.5 DA buffer.

Meguiars makes excellent quality cutting discs and microfiber pads; however, they do not fit the 6.5" backing plate for DAs. You would have to look for other vendors like Lake Country, Buff and Shine, etc. If you choose to go with Meguiars, then you would need to purchase the backing plate as well. For beginners, the 5" is recommended.

[Maple]

Re: Black Honda Accord

I really like the idea of using spray on wax, in between.
I'm much like the OP. Just bought a black Corolla. 2 years old. Doing much the same.
I'm using a toucheless car wash. For frequent easy washing and the undercarriage wash. Undercarriage is important to me when it snows.
I figure I can apply the spray on wax after the car wash faster than the time it took to wait to get into the wash.
For large amounts of the spray on wax that works beautifully with UW. Look for Meguiars X-wax. Sold only in gallon jugs. More inexpensive that way. Much more. Works great on anything other than paint also. Plastic, rubber, glass, even the interior.

EDIT: This spray on wax is essentially the same as UW. Probably less concentrated. I really like the combining a sealer/polish with wax. It works really good. I am presuming that Meguiars has been doing this a long time. 38 years ago, their cleaner wax worked great for me on everything.