Taking care of a black car?
 

What has any one herd is the best over all way to polish a black car while not over doing it in one area and keeping the whole car evened out over all.

I have been told to do the fallowing. Correct any thing that is not recommended.
1. Wash the car.
2. Clay the car.
3. Wash car again.
4. Apply polish to one area at a time using a wet/ damp electric polisher.

5. wipe of car with a micro fiber cloth and use a car duster.



Also about how often should you polish the car if you wash the car at least three times per week?



Is polishing the car more than 2 times per month, to much?

How much time does it take normaly to polish a car to look good?

I don't know about polishing, but I've read, and others will agree, that 100% cotton towels are the way to go when drying/wiping your car.

first off, if you are daily driving this car, you might start out washing it 3 times a week, but that will get old reaaall fast. plan on washing it once a week.
you probably wont have to dust it off after you wipe it off with a microfiber cloth

i love having black car, but it does become a PITA keeping it clean bro...

your wash order is correct - i would only clay it on 'special occasions' tho when u do a FULL detail on the car

and don't forget waxing @ the end of it all.

check out www.detailersdomain.com tip section

Corvette Forum has endless volumes on this.

OK, here you go.. First off, all microfiber towels, sponges, rags, etc.. 1)Wash the car with Dawn and rinse it well 2) clay bar the whole car to get rid of all contaminants 3) polish the paint. This is what makes the difference. When you have a black car, you use a good polish like Menzerna intensive polish with an orange pad followed by Menzerna's final polish with a yellow pad to REMOVE, not fill in any swirls, etchings, or other imperfections in the clear coat. In order to properly use these polishes, you have to invest in a porter cable. This is available at Home depot, Lowes, or any detailers site. Trying to remove swirls in the paint by hand is virtually impossible and you will end up putting more scratches in then you take out. Once you've completed this step, your car will look like wet black paint and smoothe as silk. Now you're ready for step 4) apply a sealant. This will protect your car in the long term like 6 months or so depending on if your car is in the garage or exsposed to the elements. The sealant will help protect the clear coat you just polished. You can stop after the sealant, but I usually follow up with a nice carnuba wax. The carnuba gives that final wet look. I would add a coat of carnuba every month or so. There is the recipe for a show quality black car. Maintenance will be washing once a week and plan on doing this whole process 2 to 3 times a year or less depending on if its a daily driver. For more detailed info, I would go over to autopia.org. Those guys over there know their stuff and that is where I learned. When people see my black Trans Am, they just stare in amazement because there is no swirls or spider webbing in the paint. So basically, black is a PITA. Its a love hate kind of relationship. I ordered a black 2ss/rs and there are days that I'm thinking about changing to cyber gray. Hope this helps..

NEGATIVE!!!!!!!!


Sorry but cotton SUCKS to dry a black car. It will ALWAYS leave fuzz and it "holds" onto dirt FAR more then a microfiber towel. Therefor by it holding onto more dirt itll scratch the car even more. Small scratches on a black car are the death of it.

Microfiber ONLY on my car. However Ill never own another black car. Its a huge love/hate relationship with it. :mad0259::mad0259:

I have a black Avalanche and have been using Zaino products for the last 5-6 years or so. http://www.zainostore.com/ I found out about their products on the Vette forums like someone above had said.

It sounds like alot of work if you read their application instructions but the stuff goes on and wipes off extremely easy. They polymer based and hold up extremely well to the elements. Much longer than a traditional carnuba based products.

The Z-6 and Z-8 smell good enuff to pour a glass and swig them down :P

I have no relationship whatsoever to zaino, their products rock, check them out.

So what is is needed with this Zaino??? like what do I need to buy first..because I don't have anything...

are you sure it was 100% cotton? the zaino website, above ^^^, recommends this to apply their products with. (i am being pulled both ways tho, as i've heard numerous pros/cons of microfibers vs cotton)

im still trying to figure out what will be best...

http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
basically step by step instructions, including prices

I found these following posts, on a different thread, to be informative:

nothing prettier than a clean black car and nothing uglier than a dirty one. Have one now, had one before. Total PITA; but, who's bitching on a clear fall day motoring down the highway.

Actually it is 100% personal preference on which one to use. Those that use only cotton claim almost this exact same thing about microfiber. There is no proof what so ever about which one is better and all claims are completely based on bias perceptions.