Maintaining Our Black Car

**jonjon_u** · November 15th, 2009 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by Memphis Raines

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** · November 15th, 2009 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by 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!! ^^

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** · November 15th, 2009 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by 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

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** · November 15th, 2009 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by jonjon_u

... 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** · November 15th, 2009 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by supercar10

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** · November 15th, 2009 07:03 PM

*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** · November 15th, 2009 07:16 PM

*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** · November 15th, 2009 07:26 PM

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

Phone Pics lang...

**madkatz** · November 17th, 2009 12:54 AM

Nice pics and reflections!

**ess** · November 18th, 2009 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by supercar10

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.

Originally Posted by supercar10

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.