Washing a black car

[Standard Dave]

I have just purchased a black car.

Washed it for the first time today went back about 2 hours later and found it covered in water marks.

Have read this sticky http://www.advanced-driving.co.uk/bb/vi ... .php?t=898

But am none the wiser as to how to avoid water marks is it just something people who own black cars live with or do you have to spend ages waxing and buffing them after every wash?

[James]

Black is the worst to keep clean. How new is the car and has it been supaguarded? It just means you have to wash, dry, and polish to get the best out of the paintwork.

I recommend Maguires Next Generation Wax (NXT), Halfords sell it for about £12.99 but it works a dream and would suit an "ordinary" washer.

Visit detailingworld.com if you want more in depth advice...

[Luke]

I have found that with black cars you have to 'dry' them yourself.

Get a synthetic high quality chamois and dry it after every wash, should only take 5 mins.

A polish won't go amiss every time though....

Alternatively, my car had the Diamondbrite treatment, cost a fortune but worth it IMHO.


What car is it mate, and is it any good?

[jont]

SWMBO has a black car, and I've vowed never to buy a black car again. It's a nightmare to keep clean and shows the slightest mark/scratch. I can't be bothered to keep polishing/waxing it, so it ends up looking smeary a lot of the time and gets washed less than half as often as mine

[Standard Dave]

It's about 4 years old and it's a Skoda Fabia.

Really nice car to drive, all good so far except the washing water marks hassle.

[PeteG]

I can recommend Meguiar's Gold Class polish. I'm a lazy swine, I love having a car shinier than my head, but hate the work it takes to get there. Halfraud's car shampoo is terrific (and cheap), then a good rinse, chamois... and while the last waxes I had took hours to apply, this comes with it's own sponge, and rubs on and buffs off very easily. And it leaves the car shining, and feeling, like glass.

Next up, the interior shampoo... 118000 miles, never had more than a hoover and a dust inside :p

[ROG]

Alternatively, my car had the Diamondbrite treatment, cost a fortune but worth it IMHO.

Great aint it - just need to wash mine with washing up liquid.

[Angus]

Funnily enough I washed & polished the wife's black Polo today. You do need to dry it properly - I use a flexible scraper & chamois leather.

Her car is (supposed to be) Supaguarded & I used their polish. Next time I'll use Autoglym - far superior in my experience.

[billgates e30]

while your washing and rinsing keep all the panels wet and don't let them dry out. then dry them off with something like this

http://www.seriousperformance.co.uk/Pro ... ew_42.html

or alternativley, wash and dry each panel at a time, i.e. do the roof windscreen and rear screen, then rinse and dry, then do the bonnet boot and side windows, rinse, then dry, then all down one side of the car, then rinse and dry, etc

[jont]

Well, just to prove you can get a black car shiny, here's a couple of pics of SWMBOs car:
(pics not directly included out of sympathy for dialup users)

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g137/ ... a_side.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g137/ ... _astra.jpg

The second one is the reflection using the bonnet - the flecks are because it's a metallic/pearlescent paint.

Took probably 3 hours of effort though....
Autoglym shampoo, microfibre towel and chamois to dry, Autoglym super resin polish, then Meguiar's gold class wax.

The interesting thing will be to see how long it stays that clean and how easily it comes up next time I wash it. I noticed with mine that after waxing it, the next wash was noticeably quicker and easier.

[JamesH]

This time of year is a nightmare too.... No sooner have you washed and dried, let alone polished/waxed, your whole car is covered in a fine dust of pollen...

Makes them look mucky really quickly

[Roadcraft]

I've tried every kind of Chamois leather....synthetic / non-synthetic...all brands practically..

The best i've found..for smear free wiping, super absorbancy, lack of smell etc etc...
is the AutoGlym chamois. Comes in a see through box.

[ROG]

Comes in a see through box.

Sounds like something you would find in a sperm bank

[dreamer]

Apparently the technique seems to be, use 2 buckets; one full of soapy water, and one of clean water. Rinse your cleaning cloth in the clean water before refilling it with soapy water.

I also use microfibre waffle weave's for drying - I find them a lot better than chamois. Apparently you should just lie them on the car and let them soak up, not wipe the car - helps stop the swirls.

But the pollen is annoying me too - washed and waxed her on Saturday but by Sunday she was yellow again !

[Renny]

Have a look at:

http://www.guidetodetailing.com/

http://site.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=47

and

http://www.rsharma.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=15&Itemid=38