Advice on Jet Black Paint Correction, Polish and Wax

[mercury26]

I recently acquired a 2005 Jet Black sedan. *I swore that I would never own another black car, but the car was too good to pass up. *With that being said, I need to do some paint correction, polishing and waxing and would like to get some advice. *For years, I used local car care products from Prima Care while they have some really good stuff it feels like I should try some new products. *After some research, here is what I am looking at for paint correction and protection. *

Wash (soap either BMW, Sonax* Gloss or Prima Mystique) with Two Bucket Method

Waffle Weave Dry

Menzerna FG400*or PF2500 w/ Yellow Pad

Menzerna SF4000 w/ Green Pad

Menzerna Jescar Power Lock w/ Black Pad (or maybe Sonax Polymer Net Shield)


Is it good to foam soap the car?* How much soap do I load in the foamer?

I have a Porter Cable 7336 polisher, but considering upgrading to something newer. *The*Flex Tool XC 3401 VRG Orbital Polisher*looks interesting, but maybe I am good with what I have already.

What speed should I set my Porter-Cable 7336 for each step?

I appreciate some advice.

Thanks

Chuck

[NoVAphotog]

So I recently revitalized my black 4Runner. Kept it simple with some products I've acquired over the years with the zhp and other cars I've taken care of.

Started with foaming the truck. Chemical Guys Mr. Pink in a gilmour foam gun.

2 bucket wash using the same shampoo in the bucket.

Waffle weave dry

Meguiars Clay kit using chemical guys clay lubricant mixed 60/40 with water.

Then I used my Porter Cable 7424xp fitted with Chemical guys hexlogic Orange pads (Medium Heavy Cut) and Meguiars M205 Ultra finishing polish

https://vimeo.com/173861234

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160708/1660c4a034875825fe052a71f2ca0810.jpg

Following this I used Menzerna Power Lock sealant. Which left her with a nice crisp refreshing shine.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160708/fa82e2f23d465aca805629a18cb9458d.jpg

Before and after a below:

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160708/3fe4c7f85cb182deb172f5ebd88af09a.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160708/b35d53a2baf959a7bd2231c95b4293f3.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160708/74bafb8e2256863d3d47951cea4bf88a.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160708/a6defd26122f445e2cb510a3fe8f5038.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160708/5114e08e1f75e0d0642f298d09f144d0.jpg

[mercury26]

My problem is that I have a lot of swirls and holograms on the paint, I want to remove them with some correction. Though the car seems to have been clay bar'd somewhat recently.

[NoVAphotog]

My problem is that I have a lot of swirls and holograms on the paint, I want to remove them with some correction. Though the car seems to have been clay bar'd somewhat recently.

I hadn't finished that post. Updated with completed method.

You need to clay bar anytime you wax or polish the paint regardless of if it was done recently. It's part of the process to pull the contaminants out of the paint to facilitate the polishing and wax application.

I wouldn't get an orbital polisher but I don't know your xp level. With a dual action polisher I can do the best I can and it looks great and I don't have to worry about burning my paint. I literally can't.

Polish or compound will get the swirls out providing your fingernail doesn't catch on them. Try a test spot with the polish first to see if that does it. If it does use that, if no, move up to the compound.

[holyc0w]

Definitely do a test spot. I believe for the compound and polish you can use the maximum speed. Applying sealant or wax can be done at a lower speed since it's just applying the product, and not doing any correction.

[johnrando]

Whatever you do, after it's ready, wash it as little as possible. Get a California duster or the like.

[NoVAphotog]

Definitely do a test spot. I believe for the compound and polish you can use the maximum speed. Applying sealant or wax can be done at a lower speed since it's just applying the product, and not doing any correction.

I usually use 5 for polish and 2 for sealant. With the corresponding pads.

[fredo]

Whatever you do, after it's ready, wash it at little a possible. Get a California duster or the like.

Rando, what about touchless car wash ? I do that often, for $5 is not bad.

[fw_fw]

Rando, what about touchless car wash ? I do that often, for $5 is not bad.

NEVER!!! The chemicals the touchless car washes use will remove any sealant or wax on the paint and is damaging on the rubber as well....

[danewilson77]

Whatever you do, after it's ready, wash it at little a possible. Get a California duster or the like.
Speaks truth.

S7 Edge, out

[BADCLOWN]

I need to do my car in the next week or two in order to get ready for a show.

I watched a chemical guys video a few weeks ago about an all in one compound that removes water spots and swirl marks.

What do you guys recommend I do after a clay to freshen up my paint? Not looking for a terribly evasive process.

[John in VA]

What do you guys recommend I do after a clay to freshen up my paint? Not looking for a terribly evasive process.
Best time spent is a machine polish, followed by a sealer or wax, or sealer with a wax coat over it. You can apply the sealer or wax with the machine & soft pad, or by hand.

[Sreten]

Just don't use chemical guys compound/polish. It's crap. I had great experience with Meguiars, easy to work with and great results.

[BADCLOWN]

So, is the process the following:

Wash
Clay
Some type of polish to remove water/swirl marks
Wax


?


The extent of my detailing experience has always been clay bar and waxing, by hand, thats it

[John in VA]

So, is the process the following:
Wash
Clay
Some type of polish to remove water/swirl marks
Wax
?
The extent of my detailing experience has always been clay bar and waxing, by hand, thats it
It's as simple as that! Some have switched to sealants vs. wax for its durability, and you can add a coat of wax over it for bit more shine.
Clay can result in some marring of the paint, so it's best to polish after that to remove surface imperfections before adding the protective final coat.

[BADCLOWN]

I haven't heard bad things about chemical guys or Adams polishes. Obviously meguairs is established as well. Anyone have better experiences with one or the other on black paint?

[John in VA]

Detail products are almost like oil these days - most are very good, and everyone has their preference. Meguiar's and 3M can be found in the auto body supply shops, but the boutique brands will have to be purchased on-line = no big deal if you have time & $$ for shipping. Places like:
Amazon
Autogeek
Autopia-carcare.com
Carcareonline.com
Detailedimage.com
etc.

Ask-A-Pro: Best Polish or Wax for Black Paint?
ww.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/ask-a-pro-best-polish-or-wax-for-black-paint/

How to get the best shine out of a black car
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?31352-How-to-get-the-best-shine-out-of-a-black-car#Ipmo4t76TGVb4Ccz.97

[Sreten]

When I was polishing my Jet Black e38, I wanted something that will get the job done and that's easy to use.

I decide to try chemical guys products (V34, V36, V38) and regretted it. They didn't give the best results and one of them made so much dust that it was unbearable.

I am not professional detailer but I've polished few cars that turned out awesome.
I first clay bar the whole car, then polish using medium polishing pad with Meguiars Ultimate Compound (great for removing swirls and scratches), after that light polishing pad with M205 Mirror Glaze Ultra Finishing Polish to give it that nice shine. As a finial step I like to use M21 Mirror Glaze Synthetic Sealant 2.0 to seal the paint, much more durable than wax.

This is a Jet Black paint after one pass with Ultimate Compound.

https://s3.postimg.org/4um4lgpb3/20160918_104533.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/4um4lgpb3/)


This is how it turned out. Paint was a mess before.

https://s23.postimg.org/yatjlvwpz/20160922_150646_HDR.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/yatjlvwpz/) https://s23.postimg.org/jg4y7pn53/20160922_151145_HDR.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/jg4y7pn53/) https://s23.postimg.org/k6xodhpif/20160922_151707_HDR.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/k6xodhpif/) https://s23.postimg.org/98r091qav/20160922_151800_HDR.jpg (https://postimg.org/image/98r091qav/)

This is a Jet Black ZHP that received the same treatment.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?19316-FS-2004-330i-ZHP-AT-91k-miles-Jet-Black-(CA)-10-500

Good luck. It's actually pretty easy once you get into it, just time consuming.

[John in VA]

I was just reading the cosmetics section on the F30 forum and a guy in FL was wowed by the CarPro Essence product for his Black Sapphire Metallic paint:
http://www.autogeek.net/carpro-essence-xtreme-500.html

"Try CarPro Essence. I love keeping my car clean but polishing is by far my least favorite part. With a microfiber cutting pad, you can remove light swirls and protect for up to 6 months all in one swoop. It sounds like it's too good to be true but I'll vouch for it. I had some light swirls from the factory and this easily got rid of it. Beading was great as it does have some Cquartz in it. As long as you don't have years of neglect, it should do the trick and get you 95% of where you want to be."

[BADCLOWN]

I think I'm going to give the Sonax line a try. My buddy uses them on his new body style S4 (also black) with amazing results.

[Sreten]

Sonax has great products, I love their wheel cleaner.

There are tons of products and you can always experiment and see what works for you the best.

[BADCLOWN]

Sonax has great products, I love their wheel cleaner.

There are tons of products and you can always experiment and see what works for you the best.



i can agree with that based off of what ive read on this website and others.


i used to detail as a little side gig back when i was into VWs and occasionally travel between dayton OH and NKY to detail our VW group (SWOV.org) members cars who didnt want to do it themselves. i, for the most part, used meguiars products and did EVERYTHING by hand. now, as im older and dont have as much patience, i need to get a proper random orbital and get into that. plus, not to say that the products i was and currently still use are crap, but there are better ones out there. plus the entire car care business/products have developed a lot in the last 10 years. so much so, that im what some guys would consider "uneducated" as far as what to use and when to use it in the process of detailing a car.