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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,206,701 times
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Use a really good multi-stage polish on it like Mother's California Gold. This is why I never go to the drive-through car wash. Most cars have scratches, but with the primer and bare metal being a light color, they show up most on black.
With the exception of two maybe three vehicles I have always preferred light colored car, usually white. This past February
I purchased my first black car and it is quite a challenge keeping it looking it's best. I have gone through an automatic car wash maybe three times in the past five years and that was with a car (white) that I was leasing at the time. My black Crossfire will never be put through an automatic car wash. I use the do it yourself 25 cent bays with no brushes. Soap it up real good, hand wash it with the softest rag or micro fiber towel /you can find and rinse it off. Dry it off with the plushest and softest towel you have. I try and wax and polish my vehicles three times a year November, March and July. In between I use a California Duster to remove dust and other airborne dirt. After that I wipe down the vehicle with a spray detailers. There are even spray detailers and waxes made just for black cars.
Stay away fro car washes, and if you would like your black vehicle to look as good as my 11 year old pickup, you need to think not only about waxing, but claying as well.
Bob.
I worked at a body shop at one time in my life. When we were done fixing the body on a black car we would not park it outside until the owner was on his way to pick it up. If it sat too long we had to bring it back in and detail it again as it would start to develop marks from dust getting on it. I am not talking about leaving it outside a long time, but just a little while.
My 23 T was gloss black and luckily it had few flat horizontal surfaces so I was able to keep it pretty nice. But if it got dust on it I first blew it off with an airhose then used spray detailer and a microfiber towel to clean it. Black looks great but is a bear to keep nice.
One of my vehicles is a black Honda Accord, I swear that thing is painted with nail polish. The paint chips and scratches just looking at it. Very poor paint job out of the factory.
You need to use glaze before waxing, that's what fills in all of those spider web scratches that you see in the sun.
Claying will not help scratches one bit.
I have proof that you are wrong about claying and scratches.
My last German Shepherd use to ride shotgun every time she was in my pickup, and her right paw would hang out the side of the door.
Eventually her nails put tiny scratches on that door, just below the window.
Rubbing compound did nothing to remove them.
When I clayed that door a couple of days ago, the claying removed those scratches completely.
Bob.
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