Detailing process .. have i got it right for black paint?

[chrisk2010]

Hello all please bare with me as i love the sound of my own voice.

So i have brought a lovely little C230 and credit to the previous owner is in near immaculate condition certainly the best condition car i have brought to date and i a couple of weeks I want to set a day aside to give it a good going over

However it is the first black car i have owned and even on a dry day it's seems to get watermarks and it doesn't help that there redoing a few roads in the area so i'm getting lovely layers of dust so i think it's i need to set some time aside and spend a day protecting the car.

My dad brought me up traditionally with polish, glazes, simoniz from a very young age with cleaning cars as he was a chaffeur in those days so have a clean was important and i spent many days waxing till my arms felt like they where going to fall off only for my dad to tell me it's not buffed properly and to do it again.

Now that's the back story lets get to the point i have been building up list after some mooching and want to make sure i have the process and products right:

Snow foam - i need i see which lance fits my pressure washer so may just use demon foam for now unless i find one before the time comes.
Wash - Autoglym bodywork shampoohttps://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00117DXQY/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I278UXA0YVPN8K&colid=1QJAOD61PFVL0
Clay - I'm going with a fine grade clay mit for speed in the cold weather i'll be more thorough in the warmer months.
Machine polish - Meguires Ultimate mainly because i have a fresh bottle
Sealer - i usually use Autoglym gloss protection but i'm open to new suggestions
Wax - i have simoniz of course but i have been looking at Bilt hamber and Dodo juice black window and was wondering if anyone has combined the two ?! Dodo juice as it favours the colour then going over with bilt hamber ? or is this too excessive ?

Lastly i'm currently trying to get up to speed with Ceramic coatings ... any advice ? .... should i do it and if it's worth it what the process ?

Thanks in advance

 

[merc85]

The trouble is lots of people use lots of different products and get great results. So you will get a lot of different responses,
is the Paint that bad in the 1st place? You may just want to skip the snow foam and clay and stick with the AG Bodywork shampoo coupled with a Good polish and a Wax/sealant.

 

[clk320x]

Hello all please bare with me as i love the sound of my own voice.

So i have brought a lovely little C230 and credit to the previous owner is in near immaculate condition certainly the best condition car i have brought to date and i a couple of weeks I want to set a day aside to give it a good going over

However it is the first black car i have owned and even on a dry day it's seems to get watermarks and it doesn't help that there redoing a few roads in the area so i'm getting lovely layers of dust so i think it's i need to set some time aside and spend a day protecting the car.

My dad brought me up traditionally with polish, glazes, simoniz from a very young age with cleaning cars as he was a chaffeur in those days so have a clean was important and i spent many days waxing till my arms felt like they where going to fall off only for my dad to tell me it's not buffed properly and to do it again.

Now that's the back story lets get to the point i have been building up list after some mooching and want to make sure i have the process and products right:

Snow foam - i need i see which lance fits my pressure washer so may just use demon foam for now unless i find one before the time comes.
Wash - Autoglym bodywork shampoo
Clay - I'm going with a fine grade clay mit for speed in the cold weather i'll be more thorough in the warmer months.
Machine polish - Meguires Ultimate mainly because i have a fresh bottle
Sealer - i usually use Autoglym gloss protection but i'm open to new suggestions
Wax - i have simoniz of course but i have been looking at Bilt hamber and Dodo juice black window and was wondering if anyone has combined the two ?! Dodo juice as it favours the colour then going over with bilt hamber ? or is this too excessive ?

Lastly i'm currently trying to get up to speed with Ceramic coatings ... any advice ? .... should i do it and if it's worth it what the process ?

Thanks in advance

If your cars paint is completely mint ceramic coating is worthwhile

 

[brucemillar]

Step1.

Ensure that it is not a hot day when you set about washing the car. Warm weather and black cars do not mix. You will spend longer attempting get rid of the water staining than you will just cleaning the car.

Step 2. Listen the guys who will come along now and try to sell you a=on a variety of products that avoid water staining.

 

[chrisk2010]

The trouble is lots of people use lots of different products and get great results. So you will get a lot of different responses,
is the Paint that bad in the 1st place? You may just want to skip the snow foam and clay and stick with the AG Bodywork shampoo coupled with a Good polish and a Wax/sealant.

The Paint is very good with only very few light marks which it why I leant towards the finer side of polishing and a fine clay mit to mainly pick up anything i can't see. This car really only needs the lightest touch to bring a showroom shine, i think i'm more worried about doing things in the right order.

If your cars paint is completely mint ceramic coating is worthwhile

I spent a breif amount of time watching a couple of youtube vids on cars that had it but nothing on the process last night whilst trying to hold my sons bottle in place with my chin i did like the result. Would the Coating replace the "glossing" ? and then i'd have to wax or would it go: Wash and prep, gloss, ceramic and then wax as i know the surface has to be free of oils ect for the coating.

Ensure that it is not a hot day when you set about washing the car. Warm weather and black cars do not mix.

Haha that much i do know quick flashback to when i was six with my dad saying "do the inside in the afternoon and outside after dinner" i must say though cleaning spoke alloys with my finger wasn't pleseant.

I'm quite lucky as we have a very large canopy at work joining two buildings for lorries to load and unload so i'm always shaded.

 

[chrisk2010]

I did have a we brainwave though and think this might help replace a Chamois (Chammy) though but niggly thought that it doesn't have an air filter so what ever it sucks up it blow at the car.

BOSCH GBL 18 V-120 BODY

I may just used the compressor at work as it's serviced and inspected reguarly with no rust in the tank more to get in those annoying nooks around the window trim and wing mirrors.

 

[Alex225]

OP, I'd gauge whether you need to go full on with the machine polish straight away. In that black is a tricky colour and you may not remove swirl marks but you may inflict some marring.

The snow foam and wash sounds idea, certainly want a good pre-wash and rinse to minimise any damage caused by the dust on the car. The mild clay will work well and remove any surface contaminants.

I'd then try giving the car a once over with Autoglym Super Resin Polish. The reason being is that it contains fillers so will leave you with a really nice finish. That would be as an alternative to machine polishing.

In terms of protection, a sealant and wax combination will work nicely. Extra Gloss Protection is decent enough and even the Simoniz you mentioned is actually very long lasting. I have a tub of the gold wax they do and last time I tested it, it was beading well at 6 months. The only downside is that it's a real pig to remove, very very oily. Dodo Juice waxes are the complete opposite as they will last but are so easy to use. They never cake on and don't stain trim. If you look at the 'pro' versions of their waxes they are part sealant so last very well.

 

[howard keeling]

If it were me I'd get a professional to do it. You can easilly make a right mess of your paintwork if you've not used a DA before.

I had a guy do the paint work on my lotus when I bought it, the paint work was good but he spent a day or so on the entire car, it looked showroom fresh when he'd finished.

 

[chrisk2010]

i did look into a full detail but they wanted the car from a day to a fews days and i can't be without it depending on the level i chose.
Not only that prices go from 200-300 quid and to be fair i'd rather invest in a few shiny new gadgets to do it myself.
A DA however i'm very well acustomed to it used to be a job of mine to prepare forklifts for the spray booth and i have spent more hours than i can count rubbing down trucks ... my hands still hurt for a couple of hours in the morning.

 

[howard keeling]

i did look into a full detail but they wanted the car from a day to a fews days and i can't be without it depending on the level i chose.
Not only that prices go from 200-300 quid and to be fair i'd rather invest in a few shiny new gadgets to do it myself.
A DA however i'm very well acustomed to it used to be a job of mine to prepare forklifts for the spray booth and i have spent more hours than i can count rubbing down trucks ... my hands still hurt for a couple of hours in the morning.

Good luck then. Post up soem before and after pictures when you are done.

 

[chrisk2010]

OP, I'd gauge whether you need to go full on with the machine polish straight away. In that black is a tricky colour and you may not remove swirl marks but you may inflict some marring. I am toying with the idea as i wanted go for the full treatment and bring it up and seal from there, however ! time is becoming tighter and tighter as my calender is fast filling up so a hand polish looks like it will do for now. That being said a new DA is in my shopping basket as i killed my early in the year

I'd then try giving the car a once over with Autoglym Super Resin Polish. The reason being is that it contains fillers so will leave you with a really nice finish. That would be as an alternative to machine polishing. I have quite a hoard of various polishesand was going to see which worked out best i''l start with the autoglym Small areas of course

In terms of protection, a sealant and wax combination will work nicely. Extra Gloss Protection is decent enough and even the Simoniz you mentioned is actually very long lasting. I have a tub of the gold wax they do and last time I tested it, it was beading well at 6 months. The only downside is that it's a real pig to remove, very very oily. Dodo Juice waxes are the complete opposite as they will last but are so easy to use. They never cake on and don't stain trim. If you look at the 'pro' versions of their waxes they are part sealant so last very well.

I liked the idea of combining sealents / waxes and simoniz is reliable and tried and tested like that old screw driver in your tool box that isn't shiny and new but it the first one you reach for. This said i felt a new colour demanded new experiments on my part and a dark wax for a dark car made sense i'll look at the pro versions thanks for the tip.

 

[chrisk2010]

Literally just posted the above and my boss called in who has fallen down the stairs and is going to be laid up for the next 4-6 weeks. so that has scuppered my plans a bit.
I'm going to snow foam, wash, air dry, clay mit, gloss protect, dodo juice and experiment by thinly applying Simoniz which may seem unnecessary but i usualy apply two coats of wax anyway so isn't a hardship.
Machine polishing is going to have to wait for now as i have to buy a new DA and i was only going to do this if i was going to Cquartz. Now with the Cquartz i watch many videos over the past couple of days and it looks straight forward enough for a trained hand but this seems to be alot of debate in the IPA (isoproanol Alcohol) solution used to cleanse the paint work of oils, some stating that anything over a 10-15% concentration will cause swelling due to imperfections in the clear coat.
I'm fortunate enough that Ispropanol is used in blends where i currently work so my plan here is to give a MSDS (safety data sheet) from a couple of leading brands to the lab here for reference and see if they can whip me up a couple of mild concentrations below 10% and go from there.
The Cquartz is going to be a next year thing though whent he days are longer.

Really appreciate the help and tips guys, i will post pictures when i have done it.

 

[Alex225]

I liked the idea of combining sealents / waxes and simoniz is reliable and tried and tested like that old screw driver in your tool box that isn't shiny and new but it the first one you reach for. This said i felt a new colour demanded new experiments on my part and a dark wax for a dark car made sense i'll look at the pro versions thanks for the tip.

You certainly do got plenty of longevity out of a sealant and wax combo. I used Britemax Extreme Elements followed by two coats of Collinite wax which lasted very well. The 'pro' range of Dodo Juice waxes are very good though, I like their Supernatural wax as well, very easy to use but not cheap at all.

Also, another product that Ed at Divine Detail showed me is Gyeon Wetcoat. Wash car and rinse, leave wet and spray over with Wetcoat and rinse again. The water activates the product and leaves 4-6 weeks protection on the car. Good for topping up any protection you've applied. This is it beading where water sat pretty flat previously.

The paintwork actually feels freshly waxed after a quick once over with this stuff. Very clever.

 

[merc85]

Zymol Carbon is a stunning wax on Black

 

[Toobad]

The turmoil of the coating vs. wax decision is made a lot easier by virtue of the fact you have a black car. A nanocoating will produce a a retina-searing gloss and this is generally accepted to be the desired finish on lighter coloured cars. It can look somewhat sterile when applied to a darker coloured car. A good wax, on the other hand, will produce a warmer oily finish with reflections a mile deep on a black car. If it is a metallic black the use of a hybrid wax containing an element of synthetic sealant will really make the flakes in the paint pop when the sun comes out. You've already discovered Dodo Juice Black Widow, it is a mix of a naturally black montan wax for warmth and a sealant for impressive beading/sheeting and longevity.

Since your paint is already in excellent condition, I'd just give it a going over with a clay mitt to remove contaminants and previous protectants followed by the application of a glaze like .50 CAL which will fill any slight swirls and light scratches the clearcoat may have collected. You now have an excellent surface to apply your wax to.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M7V75PU/?tag=amazon0e9db-21

Cover-Up Filler Glaze

Personally, I've haven't yet dipped a toe in the world of nano-ceramic coatings. I guess I actually enjoy waxing my car and tend to do it monthly. For those who are time-poor, I suppose the ability to restore a showroom shine with little more than a rinse with a pressure washer, a coating is the way to go. The only downside is the problem it will cause if you need to correct subsequent paint damage. It can be a total 'mare to remove if you need to polish out a scratch. This video presents a good argument although the guy does have a vested interest:

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[chrisk2010]

Another change of plan !!

Bilt hamber speed wax went to £13 last night so i picked one of them up and some Poor boys black hole show room glaze i really wanted the dodo juice but got the other two for £30 where the Dodo juice was £30 alone.

Once past christmas and i have shelled out for the kids christmas lists (5 of them !!) i'll treat my self to some Dodo juice

 

[ph47mf]

i have a black car too and it's a nightmare to keep clean during this few months. I got wax on mine too but it only takes a drive down the lanes to get it all dirty again. if i can find a decent indoor place i will try put a ceramic coat on it.

 

[chrisk2010]

I think it's the way to go ...... i looked around a few detailers and like everyone i'm sure i'd love to have a full detail done with a ceramic coating if anything to give a good starting point to maintain.
I have pretty much accepted that owning a black car we're on a hiding for nothing when it comes to keeping clean lol
For now my dreams of detailing my car for two days have been scuppered by work, family, christmas so a good old wash, clean, glaze and seal is going to have to do.
Realistically it looks like it is going to be put of until the days have a couple of extra hours in them.