Maintaining Our Black Car

**supercar10** · November 13th, 2009 07:35 PM

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** · November 13th, 2009 07:37 PM

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

I don't wax or anything else.

**tc327** · November 13th, 2009 08:12 PM

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** · November 13th, 2009 08:54 PM

California duster and turtle wax platinum qd

.

**jonjon_u** · November 13th, 2009 10:39 PM

Originally Posted by supercar10

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** · November 14th, 2009 03:33 AM

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** · November 14th, 2009 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by madkatz

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** · November 14th, 2009 10:47 AM

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.