Maintaining Our Black Car

[supercar10]

damn, black cars are really tough to maintain as I now come to realize. kind of regretting choosing black sometimes. 2minutes after washing its already dirty again (that's how friggin dirty the air we breath, scary huh??) black cars also tend to show scratches, swirls and other imperfections more than other colors.

what I do with our black innova is that i try to clean it once a week so the dirt on the body wouldn't be too thick when I wash it. Less friction = less scratches and swirls!

btw, does buffing after waxing cause swirls? God! I always get jealous of those super clean and shiny black cars. to those owners with super clean and shiny black cars, SHARE your secret!! ^^

[ghosthunter]

My secret ... after washing and drying the car, that's it.

I don't wax or anything else.

[tc327]

i agree with you its really hard to maintain black where you can easily see dust on it but its goog looking if shiny, for me just keep wiping ,dusting and wash dry, wax once a week sometimes and thats it.

[vinrem]

California duster and turtle wax platinum qd.

[jonjon_u]

to those owners with super clean and shiny black cars, SHARE your secret!! ^^

IMHO, for those things which are within your control, what you could do is simply to use correct products and tools, as well as, practice proper detailing techniques so you could minimize spiderwebbing, scratches, and other paint defects.

Equally important is that you just have to regularly follow a certain detailing system or regimen.

The Mother's and Meguiar's websites provide good guides.

http://www.detailguide.com/

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...ad.php?t=37320

There are, of course, other guides in the net. Google is your friend.

Hope this helps.

[madkatz]

Hi, i don't know if you would consider these shiny, got some wax residues on the trims and guards, but thats my average every 2 month detail.

http://img36.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=img5200d.jpg

We both have the same car if you say you have a black innova, mines about 1 year and a month old, and i would agree that maintaining a black paint is really hard, probably the hardest paint color to maintain in my opinion. Top that with the fact that Toyota has sort of cutted costs by putting on some really REALLY thin paint on the Innova, of all the cars i've owned and drived this one so far has the thinest paint, its like some small accident could cause very clear scratches on the paint or could easily do some minor paint defects. But all in all i would agree with jon, knowing the proper steps in taking care of your car would greatly help in reducing swirls and scratches and some errors in maintaining a car. Those guides are great by the way! As for me, i could without a doubt maintain that look for up to 2 months without even waxing every month even up to 3 months.

I've always believed that if you plan on detailing your car, you should never do any short cuts and you should do it right and complete the first time. Doing things right the first time i believe would make the next detailing and maintenance a lot easier the next time
So this is what i do every quarter, sort of my detailing regimen:

1. Wash ( using 2 bucket method and rinsing the car every so often to make sure the soap doesn't dry on the paint also using a MF wash mitt)
2. Dry ( using any of my drying towels and chamois only for spot drying, never for wiping )
3. Asphalt Removal
4. Wash again ( this time with a stronger concentration of shampoo to remove kerosene)
5. Clay
6. Dry
7. Apply step 1 then buff off
8. Apply step 2 then buff off
9. Apply Sealant then buff off ( and then cure for 8 to 12 hours depending on what sealant i use )
10. Apply Wax then buff off

Once my car is clean and shiny i usually just follow it up with a weekly washing and some monthly waxing.

If im busy, i could maintain the same look for up to 3 months without really waxing (liquid or paste) simply by doing the following:

1. Dust my car with a Cali Duster before i use it.
2. Dust my car again when i get home, if it doesn't rain i stop at dusting, if i see some bird bombs or if it rained, i QD as soon as i get home.
3. I spray some FX Spray wax or Megs UQW after every car wash every weekend
4. Every wednesday, since thats my coding day, i wipe down my car with QD and then mist some spray wax and wipe dry.

Using a very durable wax could also help it maintaing a very long lasting shine.

[jonjon_u]

I've always believed that if you plan on detailing your car, you should never do any short cuts and you should do it right and complete the first time. Doing things right the first time i believe would make the next detailing and maintenance a lot easier the next time

Very good points to keep in mind

[jonjon_u]

Incidentally, I found this post in the Meguiar's forum.

The member here used a reasonable approach in caring for daily drivers.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...70&postcount=1

While we have not been exclusively using Meguiar's products, we've nevertheless been using a similar method in between our machine polishing sessions.

Hope this helps.

[Memphis Raines]

Black is not a color. It's a part-time job.

[Gerbo]

Black is not a color. It's a part-time job.

Very well said.

[jonjon_u]

Black is not a color. It's a part-time job.

... a part-time job i would take anytime.

Looking back, it was our black Starex and CR-V that gave me lots of practice and got me really hooked into detailing, especially machine polishing.

http://www.waxforum.com/showthread.php?t=2720

http://www.waxforum.com/showthread.php?t=3279

[speed unlimited]

damn, black cars are really tough to maintain as I now come to realize. kind of regretting choosing black sometimes. 2minutes after washing its already dirty again (that's how friggin dirty the air we breath, scary huh??) black cars also tend to show scratches, swirls and other imperfections more than other colors.

what I do with our black innova is that i try to clean it once a week so the dirt on the body wouldn't be too thick when I wash it. Less friction = less scratches and swirls!

btw, does buffing after waxing cause swirls? God! I always get jealous of those super clean and shiny black cars. to those owners with super clean and shiny black cars, SHARE your secret!! ^^

If your Innova color is white its really hard to maintain during rainy season . Look at those white car if you will not clean it left a black residue on it. If your an industrious person choose white you can`t hide the dirt on it.

[supercar10]

Hi, i don't know if you would consider these shiny, got some wax residues on the trims and guards, but thats my average every 2 month detail.

http://img36.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=img5200d.jpg

SHOWOFF!! :D now i'm jealous.. the only time our innova was that shiny was the day we drove it out of the dealership. I agree witcha! our innova has really thin coat of paint, sometimes I feel the paint might come of just washing it..

[supercar10]

... a part-time job i would take anytime.

Looking back, it was our black Starex and CR-V that gave me lots of practice and got me really hooked into detailing, especially machine polishing.

http://www.waxforum.com/showthread.php?t=2720

http://www.waxforum.com/showthread.php?t=3279

no kidding! its crazyyy you guys spend that much time to detail your cars. how long does it take to detail your crv? 48hours? buh I have to admit, the end result must be rewarding eh?

[jonjon_u]

no kidding! its crazyyy you guys spend that much time to detail your cars. how long does it take to detail your crv? 48hours? buh I have to admit, the end result must be rewarding eh?

Yes, it is very rewarding. Blacks and reds are really fun to detail.

Just to clarify though:

1) Step 2 of the Meguiar's Paint Care Cycle indeed takes up lots of time. It should however be noted that the resulting shine and gloss of the paint is dependent upon the effort you put in this step. But having said that... You should not be performing Step 2 every time you detail your car.

2) Just practice proper washing and drying techniques, and properly perform your QD or spray wax sessions... You'll be on the road to maintaining your car's paint in between machine polishing sessions. Needless to state, the washing, drying, qd, and/or spray wax processes don't need to consume a major part of your day.

Hope this helps.

[madkatz]

*supercar10: Haha, no wasn't showing off! but i'll take that as a compliment, im gonna rub this on my BF's face that i can detail better than him hahaha

yeah the innova's paint is really thin, but i have tried something that have really worked well in reducing and i guess thoughening up the clear coat. After trying several products only after doing a 2x coat of Klasse SG was i able to fortify or strengthen the clear coat on my car and see a huge improvement, now my car gets a lot less light scratches and less water spots and stains.

[madkatz]

*Jon: Hey thats some really really nice shots of black paint! Now im the one thats jealous, hahaha, so you used Mom's Power Polish on both cars right? How could you describe its abrasiveness? I mean is it very abrasive or a mild abrasive? Is it for heavy paint defects? or light paint defects? or just for swirls and hairline scratches? It seems like its a type of diminishing abrasive where it could actually work and polish out different levels of defects and scratches progressively becoming finer, am i right? Oh yeah, this is something im still not sure about, what does polycharged mean? Is it when you add a chemical to a wax/sealant to reduce the curing time? And how do you do this? Nice water beeding BTW

*supercar10: haha to me its all worth the time i spend, and only completely detail your car a few times a year, i agree with jon that its proper maintenance and avoiding mistakes that would maintain that showroom finish, i know someone that has never detailed his car in 2 years, just some bi-annually claying and some monthly waxing and his car still looks great, he just see's to it that its well maintained most of the time.

[jmpet626]

Hirap maintain ng black car pero rewarding. Share ko lang ung pic ng car ko dati..

Phone Pics lang...

[madkatz]

Nice pics and reflections!

[ess]

the only time our innova was that shiny was the day we drove it out of the dealership.

Then you've got a really good dealer! When I got my car from my dealer 5 years ago, it was already covered with scratches. Of course I complained and they took it back and had it "detailed" for free. When I got it back, those scratches were "upgraded" into holograms. Sheesh.

I agree witcha! our innova has really thin coat of paint, sometimes I feel the paint might come of just washing it..

I've the same headache with Honda Paint. It's so frikkin soft. I think nail polish is more durable than Honda paint. Heck, I'd say that even white out correction fluid is more durable than Honda paint. If I so much as yell at my car's paint, I'm sure it would develop swirls.

Also, I noticed that shiny black cars tend to attract birds and insects more than any other colors. We have a two car garage. One car is silver and the other is black. The black one always gets the bird droppings from visiting birds. It's also the one that gets a carpet of small bugs (which the birds prey on).

Black cars also attract vandals. If my car is dusty, I'll surely get a "Please clean me" written on the dust. If my car is so clean, I'd get a lot of fingerprints.

If you have a black car -- you may want to invest in applying XPEL film on your trunk. Kasi the trunk will always be scratched by the Mall Security guards whenever they close your trunk after inspection.

Anyway, despite all the hypertension inducing problems I mentioned above, I don't regret choosing black. And if I ever get a new car, I will still be black.