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

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Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.

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


1956 Ford F150 paint polished by Mike Phillips circa 2006 in Escondido, California
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The reason for this is because clear coat paints are scratch-sensitive and what this means but can sometimes be hard to wrap your mind around is that even though modern clear coat paints are harder than traditional single stage paints, (the only two major paint systems that have been used since we stopped riding horses and started driving cars), they still will scratch easily.

Since your car is black, any defect shows up easily to your eyes.

It is very difficult to maintain a 100% swirls and scratch free finish on a daily drive with black paint. The people that I know that own black cars PURPOSEFULLY and keep them looking brand new all the time also do something to the paint every other week.

By "do something to the paint", I mean besides washing them carefully, they also machine apply a wax every other week or pay someone to machine apply a wax every other week.

By re-waxing often, fine swirls and scratches are either removed or masked, doesn't matter which because the end result is the same, a nice looking black finish.

You can do the same thing by using any premium quality finishing wax and some spray-on waxes.


White paint or silver metallic tends to be good choices of colors for people that don't want to see swirls and scratches because it's more difficult to see these types of defects on these light colors. It's not that the swirls and scratches are not there, it's just more difficult to see.


While I agree that nothing looks better than a car with a highly and correctly polished black finish, maintaining a black finish on a daily driver is a full time job. You will need to educate yourself on what I call the 3 P's, that is,

  • Paint
  • Products
  • Procedures
You need to know a little bit about each category in order to either do the job yourself or to hire someone and ensure they know what they are doing.


Educate Yourself
The best way to educate yourself is to read a lot on a forum like this, AutogeekOnline.net, watch videos on our YouTube Channel and attend any detailing class you can clear your schedule and attend. If you can attend one of my Detailing Boot Camp Classes I guarantee you will not only learn a lot but you'll also have a lot of fun at the same time.



:)
 
I've decided to just understand that I don't have the time/resources to fully maintain a totally swirl free black finish on my car.
You just have to learn to be okay with with a certain level of defects and try your best to stop them from creeping in. I try to only buff/polish the car every few months, but it can be tough to hold back at times.

Beautiful cars, but this will likely be my first and last black vehicle. I wanted white, but none of my local dealerships had the Make/model/trim that I desired available.
 
What's even worse is a black work truck, . No matter what I try it gets scratched, someone doesn't throw the extension cords high enough and scratches the side of the bed as it slides over the paint, little stuff like this. But it sure looks good when cleaned up. Nice thing is regular people think it looks newer and nice. I will never get another black truck, but I plan on never getting rid of it. One day I'll repaint it, but it will still be black.


Sent from my iPhone using AG Online
 
brentech said:
I've decided to just understand that I don't have the time/resources to fully maintain a totally swirl free black finish on my car.
You just have to learn to be okay with with a certain level of defects and try your best to stop them from creeping in. I try to only buff/polish the car every few months, but it can be tough to hold back at times.

Beautiful cars, but this will likely be my first and last black vehicle. I wanted white, but none of my local dealerships had the Make/model/trim that I desired available.
Click to expand...

I'm sure we all remember the difficulties the car dealers were experiencing in this country in 2008. Well, a Dodge dealer had new '08 1500 Hemi SLT trucks for sale at half price; that would be around $17,800. I went down to the dealer and said I would like to have one in white or silver.

I was told that, at that price, I could have one in red, yellow, or black. I had a red car, once, and found out that if it's red, it might as well be black. I'm not a yellow car guy, so I chose black. After many bad experiences with "100% hand car washes" over the years, I have finally decided to do it on my own.

As you say, beautiful cars, but holy moly; try it on a full size, quad-cab pickup with a full canopy. I'm getting geared up and trying to learn as fast as I can, but Holy Moly!:buffing:
 
I couldn't agree more about black being a full time job. After each black car, I always swear no more black. Yet, they keep finding their way into my driveway.

I'm hoping that after spending 10 hrs on our 335i, that with a monthly coat of wax and a new coat of WGDGPS 3.0 every 4-5 months, the paint will keep the clean shine without the major buffing.
 
What makes black worse is living on a dirt road, oops! Any event, I'm looking forward to spring to polish out the swirl marks that exist. I've never used any abrasives on my car and only have used paint cleaners such as Pinnacle Paint Cleansing Lotion or Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish and have always kept up on the wax but it's time for a good spring cleaning. I figure no point in doing it now with the abuse of winter coming up but am going to use the Blackfire GEP to clean off the existing LSP's and then get some sealant on there for the winter and keep up on the waxing. Definitely is a bit of work, but worth it in the end!
 
I can attest to this statement as a black car owner !!!! Last one I will ever own :(

Looks amazing when it's clean and nasty when it's not.
 
I feel that even though black is hard to handle, it makes you look like a person who cares for their investment when it comes on nice ie hate people who like a black car looks nice after running it through a car wash
 
I have a black personal car but detail for a living, and will attest that I will never have another black car. WAY too much maintenance needed.
 
Totally agree!

Not only is it a full time job, it becomes an obsession.

Kinda like that super hot gal that every guys drools over, HIGH MAINTENANCE.

Bill
 
Ok, I am new here, but NOT new to detailing. I have a BLACK 2003 Dodge truck 4x4 quad cab(don't think I will ever have black again). I would like some idea's on the best product to wax with and will last the longest. I have a Flex buffer, old, heavy but still good. I have always used a chamios, but open to micro fiber. Any suggestions?:dblthumb2:
 
janet bowen said:
Ok, I am new here, but NOT new to detailing. I have a BLACK 2003 Dodge truck 4x4 quad cab(don't think I will ever have black again). I would like some idea's on the best product to wax with and will last the longest. I have a Flex buffer, old, heavy but still good. I have always used a chamois, but open to micro fiber. Any suggestions?:dblthumb2:
Click to expand...

Hi Janet,

I moved your post and created for you your very own thread because you'll get more replies with your own thread versus tagging onto this one...

Here's your thread,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...need-black-2003-dodge-truck-4x4-quad-cab.html



:)
 
We haven't had very good sun lately in Ohio, but today I drove over to my inlaws and when I got out of my car I almost died. My car is currently an abomination via swirls. So, so, bad.

Gonna have to get to work on that black paint tonight or Friday. Can't show up to a new gig looking like this.
 
Been there, done that and never again. Couldn't say it better Mike which is why I only buy white & silver now. Don't get the "OMG fall into a gigantic pool of gloss" effect after just buffing it out but I can live without seeing every single imperfection. And with the help of the forum and all the great products that's available, my white & silver cars really pop!!
 
Great thread and the saying is true. I will add that my personal experience of owning a number of black cars is that once corrected it really is just a matter of good practices and technique when cleaning and drying the vehicle to maintain happiness and perfection or near perfection depending on the persons willingness.

For the moments after they are clean, nothing beats the pride and joy of a well done and clean black vehicle. Here are some examples from my world.

One is 10+ yrs old with over 105k miles of daily abuse by my wife and the other is almost 2yrs old and cared for but daily driven still.













 
Since I have been 16 black cars is all I ever owned. So I don't even know what it's like to own or maintain a car of another color.
 
You know what they say about black cars... The two best days with them is the day you buy it and the day you sell it. ;)
 
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