How to care for a new black daily driver

[novat_99]

I recently purchased a new black painted daily driver. My last black vehicle was a 1991 Chevrolet Blazer that I bought new and drove myself crazy trying to keep the paint looking good. The truck looked like this:

http://www.bigfloridacountry.com/blazer3inchlift.jpg

As you can see, there was ALOT of surface area on that thing...it was a real PIA to keep clean. After owning that for 3 years (before a drunk driver decided to wreck it on me), I "swore" that I would never own another black car. Well, as the saying goes, never say never.

What's the best way to keep my new black daily driver looking good while keeping my sanity?

Currently, my washing routine consists of:

1. Wash with Z-7 car wash using the 2 bucket method
2. My wash rag consists of an old 100% cotton tshirt (I'm desperately in need of some advice on a quality wash mitt...saw some nice microfiber ones in Pep Boys also...anyone using microfiber for that?)
3. Rinse off with no hose nozzle to increase sheeting of water off the paint.
4. Drying using combination of quality microfiber & 100% cotton towels. I think my next step is to get a good leaf blower to help with a touch free drying to reduce the chance of scratches.

For polishing / detailing , I plan to use the same items that I use on the Z06 (also a dark blue color, but not as bad as black). Today, I had the car out in the sun & noticed that the dealer already added some holograms in the paint on the rear quarter...they came free of charge :mad: compliments of the dealer's prep guys.

Zaino AIO, Z-2, Z-5 & CS
Z-6 & Z-8 for quick detail spray (the Z-8 really seems to add depth to dark colors)
Zaino Z-16 for tires
Z-9 /Z-10 for interior leather

Anything I'm missing?

[carboman]

Tom,

What's missing are details and pictures of the new daily driver. As for wash mitts, anything would be better than a t-shirt. With that all you're doing is grinding the dirt into the paint. I use micro fiber wash mitts that have a lot of surface area to remove and trap dirt and I rinse the mitt a lot. Also, make sure your have a grit guard in the bottom of the bucket to keep from picking up the dirt at the bottom. I make my own with gutter guard and some door edge guard.

[Norm Clemmer]

I bought a black CTS last February and as much as I like the car it is my first and last black car. Black is impossible to keep clean. I have resigned myself to just driving it thru Bergeys no touch car wash in Franconia and doing the good old five minute 85 mph blow dry.

[Bill Burkholder]

I have a solution to the dark color problems....
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Norm Hope this helps


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/billburkholder/Rylee461.jpg




Tom .....



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/billburkholder/ABShow059.jpg:D

[hcvone]

With any dark color car the wash mitts and towels are a VERY important choice, and DO NOT USE OLD TEE SHIRTS unless you want a lot of scratches and swirls. You need to be using the softest towels and wash mitts you can get. I would use real sheepskin wash mitts and either good cotton or good microfiber towels, an electric leaf blower is another good choice for drying because it will allow less towel contact on the paint surface. Z-5 will be your best friend, and Z-CS will allow you again less contact because you will not have the extra step of buffing off. Been looking at a Z06 in Canada that Caravaggio made into a convertible with a killer interior on the CF, just can't buy it because it's black. :( Good luck with your new purchase, nothing looks as good as black clean. :)

[Rick and Arleen Ball]

Black is a bitch!
Thats a Hot Z-06 convt., but @ $75,000 you'd think he would provide some more detailed int. and maybe some under hood pics.
What kind of problems are there bringing a Vette in from Canada?

[novat_99]

I have a solution to the dark color problems....
.:D

Bill,

Now you tell me! :D Actually, I seemed to have worked myself backwards from your solution....

This was my former daily driver right before I sold it back in May

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p139/novat_99/2002%20Maxima/IMG_4382.jpg

[novat_99]

Tom,

What's missing are details and pictures of the new daily driver. As for wash mitts, anything would be better than a t-shirt. With that all you're doing is grinding the dirt into the paint. I use micro fiber wash mitts that have a lot of surface area to remove and trap dirt and I rinse the mitt a lot. Also, make sure your have a grit guard in the bottom of the bucket to keep from picking up the dirt at the bottom. I make my own with gutter guard and some door edge guard.

Mark,

Thanks for the grit guard idea...I've seen them before. And definitely time to lose the t-shirts.

As for the missing details of the new daily driver, I originally wanted to buy a new Camaro SS or Challenger SRT. However, that idea soon got put on the back burner...as hard as I tried, it was just about impossible for my 9 yr old boy to get in the back seats (his knees were up against the front seats). So, with 2 young growing boys, I had to settle for a more practical vehicle.

Although, it might be sacrilegious to post it here on our Corvette site. :D
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Here's a hint:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p139/novat_99/Cayenne/IMG_4962.jpg

[novat_99]

And finally, my new baby....hopefully, I don't live to regret this "black" thing again!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p139/novat_99/Cayenne/IMG_4965.jpg

Thought this photo came out cool...with the reflection from outside the garage on the door. Hopefully, I can keep it looking decent.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p139/novat_99/Cayenne/IMG_4974.jpg

[novat_99]

I bought a black CTS last February and as much as I like the car it is my first and last black car. Black is impossible to keep clean. I have resigned myself to just driving it thru Bergeys no touch car wash in Franconia and doing the good old five minute 85 mph blow dry.

Norm,

It took my 18 years to get back into another black vehicle. I never thought I would do it again after owning that K5 Blazer. They just look so nice when clean (even if it only lasts for 1/2 day). :D

Tom

[novat_99]

With any dark color car the wash mitts and towels are a VERY important choice, and DO NOT USE OLD TEE SHIRTS unless you want a lot of scratches and swirls. You need to be using the softest towels and wash mitts you can get. I would use real sheepskin wash mitts and either good cotton or good microfiber towels, an electric leaf blower is another good choice for drying because it will allow less towel contact on the paint surface. Z-5 will be your best friend, and Z-CS will allow you again less contact because you will not have the extra step of buffing off. Been looking at a Z06 in Canada that Caravaggio made into a convertible with a killer interior on the CF, just can't buy it because it's black. :( Good luck with your new purchase, nothing looks as good as black clean. :)

Thanks Karl...I checked out your site. It is time to throw out the tee shirts I suppose. I'll have to get some of those sheepskin mitts from you.

Best of luck in your search, that Caravaggio does look good.

Tom

[carboman]

Tom,

Best of luck with the new ride. You've got your work cut out for you with all the BLACK surface area. Sure is pretty though.

[hcvone]

Tom, congrats on your new Porsche, best of luck with it. :)

[Glennm27]

I didn't read all the replies and I will guess someone already mentiuoned this BUT in case they did not. The cotton shirt in the wash bucket is a HUGE mistake... ;nnn

[hcvone]

I didn't read all the replies and I will guess someone already mentiuoned this BUT in case they did not. The cotton shirt in the wash bucket is a HUGE mistake... ;nnn

Glenn, I think Tom got that message from several of the replys. ;)

[Bill Burkholder]

Tom and others.... I'll have some wash mitts this week. I'll bring them to the meeting. Bill

[Bill Burkholder]

Update.... I have 6 and they are very nice. I'll post pictures later, I have to charge up the battery in the camera. 3 black and 3 tan.

[novat_99]

Now, what am I going to do with all these old t-shirts I have laying around?...perhaps, I'll begin to use them to wipe down the lawn tractor after each cut. :D

I stopped by Bill's house yesterday afternoon and he gave me a quick demonstration of his Porter Cable polisher. I've been applying my Zaino by hand for many years and was always nervous about using something like a Porter Cable (thinking for sure that I would screw up the paint with it). But from the looks of it, it would be almost impossible to damage the paint with the Porter Cable. Bill leaned on the Porter Cable fairly heavy while giving me a demo (I think the hood on his wife's car was actually flexing) and no damage.

Looks like the Porter Cable would definitely cut the time down on doing my daily drivers (wife has a Honda Odyssey with alot of paint surface too :eek:). I might have to try this out.

Tom

[novat_99]

Tom,

Best of luck with the new ride. You've got your work cut out for you with all the BLACK surface area. Sure is pretty though.

Tom, congrats on your new Porsche, best of luck with it. :)

Thanks Mark & Karl. Although, I didn't get the new pony car that I originally wanted :rolleyes:, the Porsche is pretty fun too...and it can haul the boys to soccer games.

Tom

[Norm Clemmer]

Looks like the Porter Cable would definitely cut the time down on doing my daily drivers (wife has a Honda Odyssey with alot of paint surface too :eek:). I might have to try this out.

Tom

I too would recommend the Porter Cable. It is a great tool to remove those pesky swirl marks.
Norm

[Mike02z]

I have the Griots Machine Polisher which is pretty similar to the Porter Cable but I use it strictly for polishing. I still hand apply Zaino. I can get a very thin coat on in 15-20 minutes and so for me the machine won't really cut my application or removal time. Plus, the polisher is hard to get into tight spots and gets pretty heavy after a while especially when applying multiple coats in one day.

[Bill Burkholder]

I use my PC for Zaino AIO, then hand apply and buff 1 coat of Z-5. I can do my Caddy in less than an hour.

[Norm Clemmer]

I use my PC for Zaino AIO, then hand apply and buff 1 coat of Z-5. I can do my Caddy in less than an hour.

That ain't happening with a black one....

[hcvone]

That ain't happening with a black one....

I just did a customers black 2010 C6 and all it took was Z-AIO with the Flex machine and a single coat of Z-5. :)

[Mike02z]

I just bought a new daily driver but the only color the dealer had was black. I have been pulling my hair out trying to get all the swirls in the paint out. So far the best method I have tried is to use my Machine Polisher with Griots Machine Polish #1 then #3 then use Griots "Best of Show Wax". Carboman and I did some tests last night and the Griots filled the remaining swirls more than the Z5. It also gave a better look to the paint. I have been using Zaino for years but on my black car it does not seem to be the best at filling scratches.

[C5pilot]

You may be moving the polisher too quickly or using too much pressure. Use small overlapping motions and use swirl remover which dissolves as it heats up. Do not move on to another area until those swirls disappear, otherwise all you're doing is grinding the larger particles over new surface leaving new marks. This is EXACTLY what car dealerships do because they "don't have time" to do it correctly. Think of swirl remover as if you were using finer and finer grit sandpaper to smooth a surface. Let the weight of the polisher do the work, don't try to rush it. Good luck.

[hcvone]

I just bought a new daily driver but the only color the dealer had was black. I have been pulling my hair out trying to get all the swirls in the paint out. So far the best method I have tried is to use my Machine Polisher with Griots Machine Polish #1 then #3 then use Griots "Best of Show Wax". Carboman and I did some tests last night and the Griots filled the remaining swirls more than the Z5. It also gave a better look to the paint. I have been using Zaino for years but on my black car it does not seem to be the best at filling scratches.

Mike, wax will always fill or hide swirls better than a synthetic, the problem is carnauba wax is gone after a rain or a wash, and on a daily driver that just does not cut it, on a garage queen you could maybe live with that, but unless you feel like reapplying carnauba every time it rains or you wash you car/truck you are better off fixing your paint and applying something that will give you durability, because every time you are applying and removing you are causing some swirls. If Z-5 is not filling your swirls they are simply too deep, you need to look at your "polishes and your buffing pads, black finishes are a whole different game to make them perfect, I have detailers that just do black cars/trucks, they require a different skill to get the perfect finish. :)

[Mike02z]

Mike, wax will always fill or hide swirls better than a synthetic, the problem is carnauba wax is gone after a rain or a wash, and on a daily driver that just does not cut it, on a garage queen you could maybe live with that, but unless you feel like reapplying carnauba every time it rains or you wash you car/truck you are better off fixing your paint and applying something that will give you durability, because every time you are applying and removing you are causing some swirls. If Z-5 is not filling your swirls they are simply too deep, you need to look at your "polishes and your buffing pads, black finishes are a whole different game to make them perfect, I have detailers that just do black cars/trucks, they require a different skill to get the perfect finish. :)

Thanks for the advice Carl. I just sent you a PM...

[Mike02z]

Just an update on my black car detailing....After spending most of today with the buffer I was able to get all the swirls out of the car. 99% of the car is perfect but there are still some small scartches that will not come out. I will hit each one with Z-PC and apply the sealant. Thanks for all the advice.

[hcvone]

Just an update on my black car detailing....After spending most of today with the buffer I was able to get all the swirls out of the car. 99% of the car is perfect but there are still some small scartches that will not come out. I will hit each one with Z-PC and apply the sealant. Thanks for all the advice.

Mike, what type and color of pads are you using?

[Mike02z]

Orange pads from Griots garage.