cs pilot

hey everyone just wanted to know what everyone one is using as far as wax, clear coats etc.
my dad would always use the eagle one wax as you dry. its easy and is pretty efficient. i have been using it for a while but recently i wanted to get that glassy look on my black paint, so i used a turtle wax hand wax. however, the white wax makes every tiny rock chip show up . i figure a black wax would work better, but i was curious to know what you guys use, especially the black car owners.

cole328

one word ..... Zaino

Clifton

The labor of love my friend is your only hope.

Beautiful color, but for this **** car lover, owning a black car put me over the edge. I'd say car for it like you would any other color and just enjoy it's beauty when you can.

Nugget

cole's got it. Zaino is magic. Works wonders on my black paint.

Also buy a CR Spotless thing from Moe. It'll let you air-dry your car instead of having to dry it with a chamois, which is invaluable for black or any other non-metallic finish.

robbonds

love zaino..especially their "newer" all in 1

uzj100

Welcome to the world of frustration!

You can take this



To this



But maintaining it at that level is VERY difficult if you want to drive the car sometimes

A more appropriate answer to your question is what kind of polish to use before applying your wax or sealant of choice. I prefer Menzerna polishes.

I learned early on to adopt a 5 foot rule. If it looks good from 5 feet away, it's good enough. Otherwise, you'll make yourself crazy. And chips happen

alexb76

Seriously, the best way?

Do NOT buy a Black car!

Been there, done that, it's just always a struggle... when detailed, looks fantastic, but keeping up with the detailing becomes an impossible task, specially in a rainy city that I live.

Mspeedster

I also use Zaino. I find using the indoor car cover helps.

My car isn't my DD, so it's not too bad. If it were my DD, I wouln't get black. After my first black car I swore I'd never get black again. Somehow my 911 ended up being my 4th black car. Each time I keep saying "never again", but what the heck, I'm a glutten for punishment...

w00tPORSCHE

Black...hah. Best looking car 5 minutes after a wash. Worst looking car 5 hours after the wash. Honestly, try to wash it atleast once a week (depending on usage obviously). Use CR spotless (but expensive option though given cost of resin refill) and blowdry it. Use a pressure washer to prerinse (but atleast 5 feet away) before you touch the paint with soft lambswool or microfiber mitts and use a two bucket wash technique with grit guard. Try to polish it once a year with the least abrasive polish before the swirl marks get too much (requeiring a more abrasive polish) and wax it atleast thrice a year (or use a sealant once a year). I have been caring for my wife MINI convertible that is astroblack and IMO the paint looks pristine (and I am quite **** when it comes to preserving the paint). You may also want to invest in a california duster to wipe/lift off fine dust and pollen (not anything more than that as it will definitely scratch no matter how gentle you are). Glistening perfection has an australian duster that does not use wax that is supposedly very good but I havent tried it yet.

MLindgren

Start out with a trip to a local professional detailer. It'll cost a couple hundred but be well worth it. The surface prep is what will make or break a good coat of wax. If its been a while you might need to use clay bar as well.

I keep mine maintained using Paint Guard Plus. It is wipe on walk away so I do it once a week since it only takes about 5 minutes.

cgfen

you'll get lottsa opinions
here's mine

Be annoyingly **** about your wash "mitts" and buckets. Use lambswool, not microfiber and rinse them often while washing.
Use separate wash buckets for wheels / lower body vs. paintwork, you don't want to be rubbing brake dust into your paint do you?
Wash as seldom as possible, every time you wash, no matter how **** you are, you WILL scratch the paint, goal is to minimize those scratches be being **** about your equipment.

For removing light flaws use Menzerana Super Intensive Polish on a soft - medium pad.
For removing water spots / light buffer swirls use Menzerna 106 AF or FF on a soft pad.
Spend your time polishing, not waxing. almost any good wax is fine, use what goes on / comes off easily.
Try Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection for final wax?

I'll stop now

if you don't have a life look here for more

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/

have fun

it works, this car was just done with the two Menzerna products and has NO wax yet.

Craig

stevepow

I have had so many black cars - I'm over the trauma - just seems normal now. I just did a spring clean up with some wash I bought from Griots - and it really did work great - highly recommended as well as their mild wheel cleaner. I also followed that with some "wax" removing thing they sell - very useful since I had the white dried carnauba everywhere.

I had accumulated a bunch of water spots from a rinse I did out of town but could not dry the car - yikes, what a mess. I read a great tip after Googling about and after my wash, did a wipe over with a microfiber towel soaked in vinegar - worked like a champ - water spots gone. The acidic vinegar reacts with the basic mineral deposits in the water spots and lifts them right out. Much faster and way less stress on the paint than any other solution. (lemon juice is also a possible alternative - and might smell better!)

And while P21S carnauba wax looks brilliant and deep - on the black flat surfaces - after a day or so, the white lines start to show up everywhere else . So this time I used Turtle Ice - not quite as nice as carnauba, but the car looks great.

The trick with black is - DON'T farm it out - and no car washes - DIY, or a pro detailer only. Use plenty of soapy wash water, avoid the urge to "mess" with it too much - I would only polish an area that was damaged somehow, but not regularly the entire car - there should normally be no need for that. Wash it, dry it, wax it - be gentle. These cars are so small, it goes pretty quickly.

I used Zaino on my BWM for a bit - seemed OK, but I think this Turtle Ice is easier and may look better for black - and zero residue.

Black is a lifestyle, not a color , but man, is it rewarding.

aka_Sven

There certainly seems to be a consensus - I'd be grateful for comments re which Zaino products - or combination of products - would you all recommend (mine is black also). I went to their site and was overwhelmed by the options.

Alstoy

There is nothing more beautiful than a well cared for black car. Zanio has a "spray on and walk away" application that is great. If you would like to take it a step further-put P21S on top of the Zanio.

Cheers

Kuhan

Absolutely... We have a black Volvo and it looks wonderful when straight out of the wash. About 10 minutes later it looks terrible.

The only answer is work work work...