Need detailing tips on my new dark colored car

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BigBuck

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Just picked up a 2007 Hyundai Azera with 34k miles on it in great shape. It is the dark blue color. I have never had a dark color vehicle. Looking for some tips to keep her beautiful.


What do you guys recommend for the dark color? I'm worried nufinish (my usual go to) is not a good pick in case it gets in any creases and leaves ugly white residue.


Give me some tips on what you've learned over the years about dark vehicles.
 
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I had a darker colored car in the past. I used microfiber everything to wash, dry & wax the body. That did a very good job at keeping swirls out.

I'm a fan of 3M's 3-step wax system. However, I rarely use the rubbing stuff. I'll use the polish once/year, and use the step 3 wax about every three weeks. Granted this was before the baby, so now a trip through the touchless car wash will have to do.
 
Have you ever used a clay bar?? I picked up a Meguiar's clay kit a couple of years ago. I was very pleased. Pulls all the crud out of the finish. You can feel how much smoother the finish is, all those bumps are tree sap, bird dropping residue, industrial fall out, etc. I usually use GOLD CLASS wax from Meguiar's. I like the gloss level. I am not a fan of car washes - I think they scratch the paint. I always hand wash my cars. I tend to be pretty fussy about my vehicles. Just my $0.02.
 
If you plan on waxing often, get a good glaze and a quality carnauba (a good otc one is Meg's #26). Dark colors will show every imperfection. You could either do a lot of polishing to correct it or use something that will hide them.
 
As someone else mentioned stay away from car washes. They pick up crud from the cars in front of you on their brushes and strips and that's what causes the scratches and swirls. Touchless washes don't have this problem, but if the soap is too strong it can cause discoloration on rubber and vinyl trim.

If you're willing to go up in price Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid wax is very good, but costs around $20. I use Pinnacle Liquid Souveran on my Mitsubishi Outlander, but it costs $40 a bottle, and if money is really no object their paste wax is $95 a can.
 
If you use a touchless be sure not to dry it afterwards by touching the paint in any way. There will still be some amount of dirt left over from a touchless and if you take a towel to dry it and wipe that dirt you will see damage quickly
 
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Originally Posted By: hardcore302
Wax it until your arms fall off.

Seriously. It's almost impossible NOT to get the swirlies!


Cause your doin it wrong! lol
grin2.gif


Wax does nothing to swirls but very temporarily "hide" some of them.


If you want your paint to look like new, learn to use one of these things with quality polish
mmv6l5.jpg


or

Pay someone who knows what there doing to do it for you.







Because,

mmv6l5.jpg


+

SKILL

=

PERFECTION

Once you have PERFECTION, you can do your best with waxes and sealants to maintain it!
 
A good read at autopia.org can give you all sorts of info about car care. Start out with a nice DA polisher and some polishes to practice with. There's soo much to learn. I'd probably go with a special coating if the car has soft clear to keep the wash induced swirls down.
 
Originally Posted By: rg200amp
Originally Posted By: hardcore302
Wax it until your arms fall off.

Seriously. It's almost impossible NOT to get the swirlies!


Cause your doin it wrong! lol
grin2.gif


Wax does nothing to swirls but very temporarily "hide" some of them.


If you want your paint to look like new, learn to use one of these things with quality polish
mmv6l5.jpg


or

Pay someone who knows what there doing to do it for you.







Because,

mmv6l5.jpg


+

SKILL

=

PERFECTION

Once you have PERFECTION, you can do your best with waxes and sealants to maintain it!


X2 amp
thumbsup2.gif
 
I agree with the Ultimate Quik wax - I use it after car washing to maintain my wax protection and it truly is a great product. It also does wonders in keeping the swirls hidden.
 
BITOG is a great oil forum but if you want the same obsessive compulsive disorder in a detail form you need to go to autopia.org Its a great detail site and cool people like over here.

I have a couple hour wash routine for my car.

1. foam sodium metasilicate soap on car letting dwell for 2 minutes, unless 1000 degrees out then less time.

2. rinse soap and dirt off with pressure washer.

3. this step can be two ways depending on temp. foam car again and use a two bucket method. one for getting soap on your scrubbing device. I use a peanut sponge (carefully) and the other bucket to rinse the device after each wipe on car.
use grit guards in both buckets. the two ways is all of the car or sections.

4. rinse the car down after each section is complete wetting the done sections so you dont get water spots.

5. dry car but dont dry completely the first pass. you need some lube in the form of water to not scratch. (use microfibre)

6. every time i wipe down door jams and under trunk and hood.

7. I apply a silicone based maintenance wax after my washes. My wife just rinses the car off in the car wash to get the salt off. So it doesnt get waxed then.

8. After its dried and waxed i apply a silicone dressing to the tires and plastics.

9. For the interior I vaccum it out every time cause a grain of sand on the floor bugs the heck out of me. And the wife deserves it, and the car too.

10. apply my silicone based interior protector which makes it a little glossier but not slimey. My glass is usually very clean so i do it every second time.

But thats how i do it. I run a pressure wash truck and maintain and repair a fleet of them and a sweeping division so i have access to the best chems in the world so i cant tell u what to buy cause i use my own line of products. If you guys wanted to know where they come from here is our chem website. aquafleetsolutions.com Mike would be happy to sell you a pail of soap for your car. It may cost a bit initially but you would save in the not too long run. and you cant get better than those chems. He also has tire shine and he is getting some detail stuff to add to the list.

If you ever do phone tell him happy sent you.
 
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Try Meguiars M26 High Tech Yellow wax. It is on their professional side but is popping up a lot in autozones. It will give you a few months protection and it does wonders for dark colors. Gives it a great warm shine, is easy to remove once it hazes and wont stain plastic trim. It's my go to wax!
 
Originally Posted By: Bgallagher
Try Meguiars M26 High Tech Yellow wax. It is on their professional side but is popping up a lot in autozones. It will give you a few months protection and it does wonders for dark colors. Gives it a great warm shine, is easy to remove once it hazes and wont stain plastic trim. It's my go to wax!


X2, works great on white also
thumbsup2.gif



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
Gee! I thought I touched on this subject in the past but, I don't see my reply. Well, I guess I missed it!

What ever product that you(the OP) decide on for your black car(black being a very unforgiving color), always finish your wax job with a good quick detailer, such as the Meguiars Ultimate Quick Detailer, listed above. This will help to remove streaks/smears that the wax products left behind. That, along with a clean micro fiber towel. Micor fiber towels seem to absorb the streaking effects left behind by the other products and the Meguiar's Ultimate(or products of it's kind/non silicone) seems to smooth out the finish.

I am sure that there are wax products that don't streak/smear nearly as bad as some but, who knows what you've decided on other than yourself.
 
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Black and darker colors are tough to keep swirls out. Using the proper tools (megs gold class wash (i like duragloss wash soap) mf wash mitt, waffle weave or MF dryinh towels etc..)

I have a PC 7424 and it gives great results with getting swirls out, never used a rotary and have no need for one.

I like wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant 3.0 but use mostly Meguiars M20 poly sealant, love, love that stuff.

I like collinite 476s and 845 insulator wax as well.

Megs quikwax and duragloss aquawax are great products to use to boost a wax job between washes.

I just bought the megs wash and wax but have not used it yet.
 
Apply wax with an applicator, in a horizontal direction remove in a horizontal direction, don't use circular motions. That helps quite a bit if the paint is swirl free and in good shape. That is how many of the owners of classic show cars do theirs.
 
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