Need help with black *need senior advice

J

jamesaurus

New member
Im buying a FX35 in a few days. Black of course. No metallic, or pearl just good ol black. (which as you know, shows everything) This will be my year round daily driver, that will see 25,000 miles a year in all conditions. I need to start off with the best, most durable product that will make black look awesome and reduce as many fine scratch/spider marks.



I feel like I tried every product on earth. I tend to favor Zaino and Megs NXT for different reasons. I would love Z if it would take care of the fine spider marks that pop up in black cars after multiple washes. Does this new Z PC work? Z5 doesnt 'fill' any scratches, I dont care what Mr Z says :) I have been using the NXT on my red RX8, and it does look awesome, but it doesnt seem to hold up as well as the Z. Now, it does 'fill/hide/whatever' the fine spider marks where Z never did on that same RX8.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y208/MkIIMike/rx8/phila03.jpg



What is my best bet for this black PITA that Im about to buy? I was really going to cave, and get pearl white, but the vehicle is stunning in black, and quite frankly worth the hassle. Yes, winter is here in PA. Great time to start, eh?



Sorry for the seemingly noob post, but I really do not know the right answer, after too many years of playing with about every product on earth. Also, I never had black as a daily driver, so I used Souveran on my black garage queen. I have the oppty. to start with a 0 mile vehicle, and do it right from the beginning.
 
Start with a clear bra of some sort as it seems the #1 complaint I hear from Infinity owners is paint chips. As far as products go you could always put a coat of 845 over the NXT to help it out.
 
AIO followed by a layer or two of a sealant (there are many, EX-P, UPP, FMJ, #21, etc) then topped with a durable wax like one of the collinites, #16, etc will give you a pretty decent look while giving great durability. I'd recommend that you pick up a few quality sheepskin wash mitts, a decent wash soap, and two buckets. Having a proper wash technique will greatly reduce those scratches and swirls that your afraid of getting. I'd also recommend that you tell the dealer to not prep the car, ie wash it before you buy it. Dealership "detailers" are all about time and use less than adequate products and processes. It more than likely will lead to you buying a car that comes pre-equipped with swirls and such.
 
Let me give you the best advise there is for a daily driver with many miles. Buy SILVER - never mind the spider webs. 5 minutes after washing it, it will start collecting dust. I know I will never buy a dark color for a daily driver. Guess what Scottwax says as well?



Don't make THE mistake.
 
tdekany said:
Let me give you the best advise there is for a daily driver with many miles. Buy SILVER - never mind the spider webs. 5 minutes after washing it, it will start collecting dust. I know I will never buy a dark color for a daily driver. Guess what Scottwax says as well?



Don't make THE mistake.
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:)



As the owner of a black Infiniti, I have to agree. If you've made up your mind that's cool - my only advice in that case is definitely get a clear bra. If there is any leverage on the color and silver doesn't do it for you (it doesn't for me), I'd definitely consider diamond graphite, it's much darker in person than in pictures and is much easier to maintain than black. Just a thought.
 
MEN PO85RD, RMG, UPP, then Souveran



or MEN PO85RD, RMG, WG sealany, then Souveran



Good luck and wait for those sealants to cure,
 
Pick up a rotary buffer as it takes way too long (if you can) to get the swirles out with a PC.

Winter + DD + Black = swirls. It has become my Spring Thing to rid my two black cars of swirls. I wish I had started with the clear bra as it's too late now. I have a paint job or two in my future.

Damn, I wish black didnt look so good......

I'm a Zaino guy so this Spring I'll be trying out the new pc stuff. The shine does last a MI winter.
 
:) Believe me, Ive been through this 1000x. I hate silver, and really do not car for DG on the FX. I like the white pearl, but its only available with the Willow interior..which I do not care for.



I always wanted a black/black FX, so Im picking up one tomorrow. I will not drive myself crazy keeping it nice (afterall it is my 'work truck') but I want to do as best as possible keeping it protected.



Picus, I heard Infiniti black chips easily. This vehicle is a lease btw.



Picus said:
:)s the owner of a black Infiniti, I have to agree. If you've made up your mind that's cool - my only advice in that case is definitely get a clear bra. If there is any leverage on the color and silver doesn't do it for you (it doesn't for me), I'd definitely consider diamond graphite, it's much darker in person than in pictures and is much easier to maintain than black. Just a thought.
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MkIIMike said:
:) Believe me, Ive been through this 1000x. I hate silver, and really do not car for DG on the FX. I like the white pearl, but its only available with the Willow interior..which I do not care for.



I always wanted a black/black FX, so Im picking up one tomorrow. I will not drive myself crazy keeping it nice (afterall it is my 'work truck') but I want to do as best as possible keeping it protected.



Picus, I heard Infiniti black chips easily. This vehicle is a lease btw.
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It does chip easily, when I bought my car I'd say (disregarding the fact that the front bumper was sandblasted by rocks) it has ~100 chips in the hood and fenders alone. Lease or not I'd spend the ~$600 and get a clear bra - it's worth it if only because the FX will look so much better sans chips for the 2-4 years you drive it.
 
it is very "chippy". i have a black fx35 and the front gets pretty messed up just from normal use. i'm leasing mine, so even though i just did a whole body polish on it with ip and fp via rotary, i don't put as much effort into it as i should. they're a pain to keep clean. the paint is not only soft, but it picks up and keeps marring very easily (like waterspots and bird bomb etching).
 
tdekany said:
Let me give you the best advise there is for a daily driver with many miles. Buy SILVER - never mind the spider webs. 5 minutes after washing it, it will start collecting dust. I know I will never buy a dark color for a daily driver. Guess what Scottwax says as well?



Don't make THE mistake.
Click to expand...



:LOLOL I will never own a black car again. Customers with black cars? Job security. Me with a black car? PITA! I love how it looks when it is clean but the next day, when dust begins to settle on the paint, the love affair is over.



Unless you really want to spend a few hours per week maintaining black paint, go with another color. Seriously.



Daily driver, 25,000 miles a year, plan on at least light polishing every 2-3 months.
 
Black is done. Now I need to deal with it as best as possible ;)



Scott, what do you recommend as my 1st step? The car is new, 4 miles on the odo. YOu seem like the man around these parts, so your advice is greatly appreciated :) I kinda wish I lived in your area, this way I could hand it off to you :)



Thanks,

Mike



Scottwax said:
:LOLOL I will never own a black car again. Customers with black cars? Job security. Me with a black car? PITA! I love how it looks when it is clean but the next day, when dust begins to settle on the paint, the love affair is over.



Unless you really want to spend a few hours per week maintaining black paint, go with another color. Seriously.



Daily driver, 25,000 miles a year, plan on at least light polishing every 2-3 months.
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Without actually seeing your car, there is no way to tell you where to begin. If the paint looks pretty flawless, a nice combo on black would be either Clearkote's Vanilla Moose or Poorboy's Polish with carnauba to clean up the paint at little and seal with PB's Natty's Blue or Collinite's 845 Insulator Wax.



Just did a brand new '06 black Lexus LX470 today with Vanilla Moose and Natty's Blue. Turned out real nice. :)
 
For a daily driver, I think it can be managed if you keep it garaged as much as possible. Not only at night, but most of the dust (for me anyway) comes from if it has to sit outside when I go out for business. Still, you'll have to accept some level of dirtyness or minor swirls.



Then again, I live in SoCal so I don't have to contend with rain as much.



I have daily driven my black car. Yes, it's a lot of work, but the key is to manage it reasonably. It will not look like it was just washed all the time, so pick your spots to cut down on the time spent.



Maintenance keys:

1) wash every 1-2 weeks. Take your time when doing it. Longer you let it go without washing, the harder it becomes and the more likely you are to get scratches.

2) Keep it garaged or covered as much as possible

3) only QD right after washing

4) You can use a California Car Duster, but at your own risk. I only use it for light dust.

5) try not to touch your paint as much as possible, aside from washing. Getting a leaf blower or DI water will cut down on swirl marks, no matter how careful you are otherwise. Waxing every month will make for more work.



As a collorary to #5, I would pick a sealant or wax on the durable side. I know a lot of people prefer the look of a glaze with carnauba on top, but I believe it's more work to keep doing this. For me, most carnaubas provide insufficient protection unless I want to rewax every month.



For black, I would suggest the following:

1) Medium polish where needed, such as Menzerna IP, every 12-18 months or less often

2) Clay as needed, every 6 - 12 months or spot clay. I like a very mild clay like Sonus Green if you do it more often.

3) Light polish to burnish to high gloss, such as Menzerna PO85RD, eveyr 6 - 12 months, more often if needed

4) Stick with Zaino Z2Pro for its durability, or Jeffs Werkstatt Acrylic Jett. The latter may hide defects a bit better, plus you can top it with carnauba to hide some swirls. 2-3 times a year.

5) After each wash, top with Z8 (the key to the looks really), or JW Acrylic Gloss to maintain the protection.



Sometimes when I don't need to do much polishing as in step #3, I'll use a chemical cleaner like AIO or Prime instead and do it more often to cleanse the paint.



All of my cars get some sort of durable base, but the weekend cars get a less durable topper such as carnauba or Menzerna FMJ.



- J
 
Justin - to maintain a dark/black car: wash every 4 days. Not 1 to 2 weeks. I learned that one from a top pro detailer years ago. Scott also mentioned that you'll need to polish every 3 months or so. Agreed.



You are missleading this guy man - what's up? :D
 
To the OP: I'd protect the paint with FK1's #2180 sealant as a base and top it with #1000 paste sealant. After that, I'd apply a layer of Pink Wax every 3 to 4 weeks. But that is just me to make sure that my black paint looked best in the state! :D
 
tdekany said:
Justin - to maintain a dark/black car: wash every 4 days. Not 1 to 2 weeks. I learned that one from a top pro detailer years ago. Scott also mentioned that you'll need to polish every 3 months or so. Agreed.



You are missleading this guy man - what's up?
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Don't think I'm misleading him at all. LOL.



In a perfect world, 4 days would be great, but not sure he wants to be in the garage constantly either. If weekend is the only time he has, then 1 week is fine. 2 weeks if he gets busy. My personal situation is that I have three new cars to maintain and I simply cycle them. If his car is outside all the time, I agree 2 weeks will be too long. Perhaps if I detailed for a living and didn't want customers to see a black car that isn't freshly washed... :D



My black car doesn't always need polishing every 3 months. IFF I keep a few layers of Zaino on there and maintain with Z8 regularly, it's fine. Really. Depends how well I've kept up with it in terms of washing, spot claying, etc. I also hate to overpolish, but something very mild is okay to use even monthly. For me, more frequent polishing (less than six months apart) would be for cleansing and not so much for marring removal.



Everyone's situation is a little different admittedly. My approach is more minimalistic in terms of major detailing, because I enjoy driving for pleasure over detailing. :(



- J
 
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