washing/drying black cars, impossible not to swirl it?

"Black is not a color, it's a full time job."



I don't know who said that or where I heard it but it's the truth. As evidence in Fergnations post on page 1.



I never wanted a "Black" car, but my wife fell in love with a Jerez Black M3 and I think I have gone slightly insane. However, after seeing the lengths I go through and the amount of $$ I spent on product to keep the damage of maintance down when caring for the paint, I have assured myself to never having to own another Black colored car again. She see's how I am with the Black paint and says, "do you have to go through all that trouble to wash it? The silver car we had you didn't do all that to wash it". I say to her," you wanted it, not me".....

Oh and I had it clean and dusted and it rained yesterday and now it looks like it hasn't been touched in a month. Oh well.... :waxing:
 
I own a black car also,well a SUV wich is worse cause it's more to maintain lol.All the time i spend washing it and half an hour later from sitting outside,i can see all the dust on it again,it's frustrating owning a black car but they sure look awesome when they are freshly washed. Mine has plenty of swirls but i just purchased a PC with Pads and other products,i can't wait 'till i get my hands on it.
 
I feel my car has to be the worst color. The 40th Anniversary Grand Prix

is burgundy in daylight, and much darker at dusk/night. I have tried everything

possible short of a new paint job. And thats not happening. I have gotten the car under control better than I ever have. I know it won't last. Point being

I am done with darker color cars. Red is the darkest I am buying now.
 
citizen arcane said:
Black shows swirls and there's no way around not inducing them...nature of the beast!



You can however, lessen the severity of those incurred at wash time. I PW when grit is present (even odds that this is a better solution) and use 3-5 wool mitts or grout sponges using Accumulator's jiggle method and rinsing the mitts outside of the rinse bucket first. The best thing I added to my routine is the use of a Gilmour hose end sprayer and car wash concentrate. I don't care about foam, I lay an amount of soap on the panel before I wash it, helping lubricate that panel before applying the wash medium to it.



I blow dry to about 30% leaving the windows wet to "prime" my ww towel then proceed to the rest of the vehicle.



Having three black DDs I'm anal in my routine but know the consequences of owning them. Towards the end of my annual light polishing sessions I use PB Blackhole or Prima Amigo and retop to keep my sanity.
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I glad I'm not alone in this process and thoughts. As I love my black car and have come to the conclusion that it is totally impossible to be 100% perfect all the time with out using som sort of glazes or mild filling waxes. I use the same Glazes as you Plus the Prima Banana Gloss and Hydro to maintain its appearance as mine is outside 24/7
 
EL Primo Z said:
<- is wishing he bought a silver car. :(
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Eh...silver cars are a PIA in their own way; inspection is a huge PIA and if you botch it up you'll discover marring (on your "perfect" car) under weird lighting conditions. Colors like silver and white are only easier if you're willing to live with more marring (and sure, they look better at ~75-80% than black does, but who wants that :grinno: ).



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia! Maybe you can get your wash regimen sorted out to where you won't be second-guessing your color choice. [Insert usual foamgun lecture here...]
 
Accumulator said:
Eh...silver cars are a PIA in their own way; inspection is a huge PIA and if you botch it up you'll discover marring (on your "perfect" car) under weird lighting conditions. Colors like silver and white are only easier if you're willing to live with more marring (and sure, they look better at ~75-80% than black does, but who wants that :grinno: ).



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia! Maybe you can get your wash regimen sorted out to where you won't be second-guessing your color choice. [Insert usual foamgun lecture here...]
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If we could just get everyone to understand how important the wash process *really* is, and how just about worthless the typically preached "two bucket system" is....
 
SuperBee364- Being, uhm...oh-so-political ;) I'm not gonna start casting stones (consider the bag of rocks *I* would need!) at the various wash methods that apparently work fine for some people.



But I *do* think that if somebody's not happy with how frequently/badly their paint gets marred, well...there oughta be ways to make things better if the person's willing to work at it.



Re "work at it"...heh heh...it wasn't that long ago that people were telling me not to "overthink" the wash process but I'd rather work on that than on polishing any day.
 
When it comes to black I believe the more water used the better. Now I am not talking about gallons and gallons of water. I mainly use ONR but this is an example of what I am talking about.



When the black car gets dusty or very slightly dirty don't just grab you bottle of detailer and start wiping. Even the finest dust can cause swirling. Your friend is going to be lube. Washing away the dust or dirt is far better than wiping away the dust (even with a QD)



Jsut take the time to wash the car with ONR and make sure you blow dry the car. A blower (electric or gas, preferably electric) is going to be your best friend. BLow out as much liquid as possible so the towels only have to do very lite duty.



Black just takes a heck of lot more work and learn to accept 90%. But there is no other color as striking as black when taken care of properly.
 
fergnation said:
When it comes to black I believe the more water used the better. Now I am not talking about gallons and gallons of water. I mainly use ONR but this is an example of what I am talking about.



When the black car gets dusty or very slightly dirty don't just grab you bottle of detailer and start wiping. Even the finest dust can cause swirling. Your friend is going to be lube. Washing away the dust or dirt is far better than wiping away the dust (even with a QD)



Jsut take the time to wash the car with ONR and make sure you blow dry the car. A blower (electric or gas, preferably electric) is going to be your best friend. BLow out as much liquid as possible so the towels only have to do very lite duty.



Black just takes a heck of lot more work and learn to accept 90%. But there is no other color as striking as black when taken care of properly.
Click to expand...



I agree I stopped qding long ago as I found that to be a big contributer to the swirl problem. IThe key the less you touch the better off it will be .If it gets to dusty I wash it .Weather it be an ONR or conventional wash. Lubrication and patience equal a less marred car.
 
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