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

pdqgp said:
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.













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What do you use on your tires?
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
"Black is not a color, it's a full time job"


1956 Ford F150 paint polished by Mike Phillips circa 2006 in Escondido, California
400_1956_Ford_150_by_Mike_Phillips_002.jpg
400_1956_Ford_150_by_Mike_Phillips_001.jpg

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.



:)
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I own a black vehicle...if washed weekly with 2BM or Rinseless, how often should I apply Pinnacle Spray Wax; Pinnacle Liquid Souveran Wax; Wolfgang DGPS; or a Quick Detailer?
 
You never own a black car. The black car owns you!
 
I owned one. A 1976 Trans Am. While it was beautiful and as anal as I am I said never again.
 
cleanfreak3 said:
How often do you polish or AIO your paint in a year?
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Once corrected as they are I haven't had to AIO them at all. Just some Jeweling polish which is a very light cleaner and oh-so light polish that doesn't remove much if anything at all. Both are daily drivers and see everything from rain to snow to everything. Thus about every 3 months or so. They are due in July then in October. Just cleans the paint and brightens up the shine. That's all that's needed. I may hit the van with HDSpeed in October if in the event it needs it. On track though to not. The key is to keep a good coat of protection on them. I use Blackfire Wet Diamond as my detail spray after washing and I like their Crystal Seal product every couple weeks as well.
 
Black cars get a bad reputation and some of it is not undeserved. However, I am a proud owner of a black car and now that I've owned one for a few years I'll always consider the color again when it comes time for another car. I'm hooked.

On a good day black is magnificent. On a bad day, it still looks good and better than most others on the road. I find black and other dark colored cars to be really rewarding to work on as the results of the work are hard to miss. White, silver, and sometimes even gray, don't seem to offer the same reward. All IMHO of course....
 
Desertnate said:
Black cars get a bad reputation and some of it is not undeserved. However, I am a proud owner of a black car and now that I've owned one for a few years I'll always consider the color again when it comes time for another car. I'm hooked.

On a good day black is magnificent. On a bad day, it still looks good and better than most others on the road. I find black and other dark colored cars to be really rewarding to work on as the results of the work are hard to miss. White, silver, and sometimes even gray, don't seem to offer the same reward. All IMHO of course....
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^^ this. It's like a tuxedo. Even if it's the end of a long day the guy wearing a tux still stands out and gets the attention of those no wearing one. I love my German Tuxedo. Cleaned and shined up like she is now is awesome but even when it rains and the water dries it still shines through pretty nicely. Takes a special owner and I think the saying is that Type A Personalities love black. Holds true for me for sure.
 
I just purchased my first Black vehicle. Time will tell if its a love or hate relationship. The salesman and the dealership detail guys thought i was nuts for telling them to leave it covered with the plastic and i would remove myself. The salesman offered repeatedly to have it detailed free of charge. I said if you wash it, detail it , remove the plastic the deal was off.
 
TRDTACO said:
I just purchased my first Black vehicle. Time will tell if its a love or hate relationship. The salesman and the dealership detail guys thought i was nuts for telling them to leave it covered with the plastic and i would remove myself. The salesman offered repeatedly to have it detailed free of charge. I said if you wash it, detail it , remove the plastic the deal was off.
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I have done this,and if they drill holes in the bumper I would cancel the deal as well .
 
pdqgp said:
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.
Click to expand...

how do u have a ten year old black car in that condition? dont you get rock chips and road rash in the front? mines only two years old and its got tons of them?
 
my thing is i like working on it and even when its "dirty" to me it still looks great to people giving it a quick look. or from a few feet away
 
TRDTACO said:
I just purchased my first Black vehicle. Time will tell if its a love or hate relationship.
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It's been 6 months.... how's the relationship doing?



TRDTACO said:
The salesman and the dealership detail guys thought i was nuts for telling them to leave it covered with the plastic and i would remove myself.
Click to expand...

Wise choice.



TRDTACO said:
The salesman offered repeatedly to have it detailed free of charge. I said


if you wash it, detail it , remove the plastic the deal was off.
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That's the way you do it!


Sounds like you've been reading this article....


DON'T WASH CAR !!!!!!!!!!!




:dblthumb2:
 
fightnews said:
how do u have a ten year old black car in that condition? dont you get rock chips and road rash in the front? mines only two years old and its got tons of them?
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Audi has full PPF on the entire nose, lights, etc. on the front.

Van, tough paint. It's had it's share, but I covered them and blended them with Dr. Color Chip. From 3ft you might notice a couple but otherwise you have to get right up on it. Once filled I sand them flush and polish.
 
I have a black car but its metallic black and has a TON of metallic in it, so I guess I'm lucky. Even though I've been here for over 5+ years and learned a lot I will NEVER EVER own a non metallic black car, you couldn't pay me! Tip of the cap to those of you who do and stay ontop of it. I feel that I have made the commitment to keep my metallic black car looking its best but for me its a true DD and right now its covered in salt and muck but its protected under all of that and cleans up nicely when I can wash it.
 
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