Mark-UK Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Hi all, I know there are other black car owners here, hows best to clean it to avoid swirl marks? I have been told a pressure washer will remove the protective layers etc, so thought maybe a simple hose and to hose the suds off after cleaning but how can I avoid damaging the paintwork in the first place, any tips? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1 HNK Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 to be honest you will never avoid swirl marks on black paint, i suppose good quality lambswool mits and a few buckets so you are not washing grit into your paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-UK Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Seen this method. 1) Rinse car off 2) Wash using 2 bucket technique and lambswool wash mitt - using plenty of suds with warm water and cold water in your rinse bucket. 3) Rinse car 4) Clay bar your car - a kit can be picked up for about £10 from Halfords called Meguiars Quick Detailing Kit and it will remove all contaminants on your car (tar / tree sap etc etc). You can do this whilst your car is wet from rinsing as it aids the clay moving along each panel. Make sure you always move the clay in straight lines toward the front and rear of the car to avoid swirl marks. 5) Rinse car again - wash if your proper anal. 6) Use open end of the hose to sheet the water off the car and reduce the amount of drying required. 7) Dry car using a good waffle weave towel - I use a flexiblade to help remove alot of the water and use the towel to finish off. 8) Now polish using applicator pad and microfibre / terry towel to remove. Again move in straight lines, never circular. 9) If you are going to use a polymer based sealant, now is the time to apply it. Apply one or two coats according to the manufacturers instructions. 9) Then if you want a little more shine now wax using applicator pad and microfibre / terry towel to remove Any recommendations for good quality car wax to shine it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry3167 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Bilt HAMBER very good polish and swirl remover, semi-sealant too. Also Do-do juice waxes are popular, I have RACEGLAZE 55% Carnuba wax by volume. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincolnbaggie Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Seen this method. 1) Rinse car off 2) Wash using 2 bucket technique and lambswool wash mitt - using plenty of suds with warm water and cold water in your rinse bucket. 3) Rinse car 4) Clay bar your car - a kit can be picked up for about £10 from Halfords called Meguiars Quick Detailing Kit and it will remove all contaminants on your car (tar / tree sap etc etc). You can do this whilst your car is wet from rinsing as it aids the clay moving along each panel. Make sure you always move the clay in straight lines toward the front and rear of the car to avoid swirl marks. 5) Rinse car again - wash if your proper anal. 6) Use open end of the hose to sheet the water off the car and reduce the amount of drying required. 7) Dry car using a good waffle weave towel - I use a flexiblade to help remove alot of the water and use the towel to finish off. 8) Now polish using applicator pad and microfibre / terry towel to remove. Again move in straight lines, never circular. 9) If you are going to use a polymer based sealant, now is the time to apply it. Apply one or two coats according to the manufacturers instructions. 9) Then if you want a little more shine now wax using applicator pad and microfibre / terry towel to remove Any recommendations for good quality car wax to shine it. Be very careful with a flexiblade - one small piece of grit stuck to the blade and you've got a very bad scratch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-UK Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 I wouldnt do that stage tbh, thought the same as you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 How I would do it: 1. Snow foam the car to loosen dirt 2. Rinse 3. Wash car with 2BM method. Have one bucket as just water with a grit guard. Have 2 washmitts, one for top part of car, one for bottom part. Rub wash mit against grit guard in one bucket, then rinse in the next. 4. Rinse again 5. Dry with a big drying towel. Place it on the paint and dab it. Remove (dont drag!) and place on the next bit of body, dab and remove. Repeat all over the car. Dont use a flexiblade or wipe the car dry Job done with minimal swirls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Dodo Blue Velvet is very good on black cars bud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stedaly Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 hi mate, black cars are the worst in the world if though its probably the best colour. My advise would be to wash as normal and then hand dry. Leave for about an hour then go over it again with a dry clean cloth to get rid of the swirls. Doing this last part every other day should help too but it is a pain in the arse mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I get mine done by a pro each year, getting it right to start with makes it a lot easier to keep looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-UK Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Been recommended this? http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/wax/r222- ... d_357.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Yes, thats pretty popular, do you want some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-UK Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 lol bloody hell, what about alloy cleaner, any recommendations? So fare I have the list below of cleaning products to get. 2 x lambswool mitts 6 x micro fiber cloths 2 x buckets 1 x carnaube 222 wax (unless there is better version?) 1 x hose for gentle rinsing no power washer. Anything else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Feel free to pop over and try some stuff out mate. You will also need; Clay bar. Quick detailer. Tyre shine. Leather care of some sort. Ings LX+1 bodykit Blackfire polish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-UK Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Blackfire polish? That for interior or exterior? Of exterior isnt that what the carnauba wax 222 does? Whats quick detailer? I would also be worried a clay bar would scratch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Blackfire polish? That for interior or exterior? Of exterior isnt that what the carnauba wax 222 does? Whats quick detailer? I would also be worried a clay bar would scratch it. Blackfire is exterior polish, different to the wax. Quick detailer is handy for a sort of quick fix for meets. Spray it on when you towel the car off. Clay barring bores the hell out of me but you just need to keep the surface well lubed when you do it. There is a comprehensive guide on here, I will find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilTheForce Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 It really depends how much time and how anal you want to be about it all. You don't have to clay it everytime, in fact you don't have to do most of it everytime but a full, thorough wash/clay/wax/seal every now and then will make the quick ones in between much easier and much more effective. I personally seem to have received that little Autoglym pack (with 6 small bottles of different stuff) for every birthday since I owned a car! Hence I use the Super Resin Polish, Extra gloss sealant etc and it's pretty good stuff if you want to try the different products for under a tenner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 there you go. viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2878 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-UK Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 So do I wax the car with 222 wax then polish it with blackfire yes? Theres no blackfire polish on ebay strangely enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 So do I wax the car with 222 wax then polish it with blackfire yes? Theres no blackfire polish on ebay strangely enough. For a first attempt, wash, dry, polish and wax it. Polish removes the tiny scratches in the paints surface and then the wax protects the paint from futher infliction of scratches (to a certain extent). When you are happy with your wash technique, you can then look at doing things like claying it. Wash every week Wax every month Clay and polish twice a year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 The traders sell lots of this stuff. Andy will sort you out. Poorboys Black Hole is also very good. Polish, seal then wax mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark-UK Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 lol argh im lost now, sorry, im doing a hundred things today work and 350z related, so wash, then polish then wax yes? or wash, then wax, then polish? So far all I have is the 222 carnaube wax, what do i seal with? Im also trying to find blackfure polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Polish then wax bud. Also, you will need something for the roof. Autoglym do a two pack treatment for soft tops which is very good indeed. I did a two for one from Tesco and they delivered twice so I have plenty to spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adammitch69 Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Polish then wax bud. Also, you will need something for the roof. Autoglym do a two pack treatment for soft tops which is very good indeed. I did a two for one from Tesco and they delivered twice so I have plenty to spare. ...the autoglym roof treatment is fantastic - did mine 2 weeks back and hood looks better then new! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anubis Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 My Method: 1) Wash by hand in 30*C water to get initial mud and and grit off (be careful not to scratch - always use a very soft cloth with plenty of water). 2) Wash again by hand with different clean cloth using Turtle Wax Ice Car wash 3) Get out the hose and set it to "flat shower" so its not super powerful and wash all the bubbles off 4) Leave to dry and clean interior whilst the sun gets to work. 5) Use autoglym super resin polish (one panel at a time) by hand 6) Clean off the polish with another piece of cloth 7) Use the buffer machine thingy if I want extra shine afterwards (don't press too hard though) 8) Use Sheepskin wool glove over and repeat for all other panels. This took me about 4 hours on Sunday, but well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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