Question for owners of Black Cars...
 

a friend of mine is considering the purchase of a Black car, but I've advised him against it because of the delicate nature of Black paint - and its tendancy to show swirl marks.

Keep in mind that my friend knows how to take care of his car, but my understanding of black paint is that there's really no way around it getting loaded up with swirl marks. However, I have never owned a black car.

Is it true how delicate Black paint is, or is this a misnomer due to the fact that 9 out of 10 people have their cars washed at carwashes, and black paint just happens to show swirl marks more readily than other paint colors? Are the swirl marks preventable with dedicated handwashing of the vehicle with a soft mit?

I love black cars... they're always dirty though :disgust I don't know about the paint swirl thing... it's all in the quality, I would assume.

PS. Why do you capitalize the word black? Just wondering :upsidedow

well, see .. the word on the street is that it doesn't matter what the quality is ... it has more to do with the nature of non-metallic paint and the softness of it.

I guess I capitalized it for emphasis :thumbsup

RACIST!!!! :upsidedow

Actually i always thought the problem with black cars was because the dust and dirt showed up more easily against a dark background. Nothing about the nature of the paint.

Black is the only the way to go for car color in my book, the only reason I settled for dark blue on my Tahoe, is they fucked up their ad and listed it for $10k less than they were suppost to and forced them to give it to me at that wayyy undervalued price. All other cars I own or will own are black... :pimp

I own a black car and the only draw back is that if i don't keep it clean it shows up every mark..Well at least with the weather in the UK it does..!!!

The product that i use to get rid of the swirls and give it a real deep glossy even shine is Swissol polish..It has about 40% Carnuba wax..It is expensive but well worth the cost..

There are two main ways to avoid swirling in black paint. Have a metallic or pearl in it, or have additional coats of clearcoat. A black Mercedes is less likely to gather scratches and swirls than your average GM or Ford product because they put extra clear on the car.

You can remove swirling from black cars with a lot of buffing, but you can't use the cheap sponge or fake lambskin buffing pads and expect a good job.

i just orderd a Black mettalic painted car

uhm .. fuck edit

will post pics when its here

black hides dirt the best, never had a problem with paint swirling...

hmm... intersting ..


so you would you all describe yourselves as "experienced" car washers and know how to wash the car with care? or are you not particularly careful?

Im with Wizzo, black is the only way to go....unless you get a deal like him but still, Id paint it black with that 10k discount :thumbsup

Well at least 1 day per week...

Not sure what i do the other 6....:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

black "seems" to lose it's luster quicker because as othjers stated, dirty shows up on it easier. However, when it's wellt aken care of, man, it looks hot.

If anyone is looking for easy of maintenance cosmetically silver is the way to go. Dirt only shows up on that once it's super duper filthy.

LOL =) I know the feeling

I've got a black ride ... it does show everything. The key is to take it to a car wash that only uses soft brushes. Also, get it professionally detailed every 6 months. This buffs the paint and takes out all the scratches and swirls. Hope that helps.

My car I have now is my first black car, but I reckon I won't have any other colour for a while.

My current daily driver is a carbon black BMW M3..It's my first and last black car.It's impossible to keep it looking clean.

I don't think he's as worried about it looking clean, as he is concerned about the swirlmarks ruining the finish over time... do you have a lot of swirlmarks with that paint choice?

Black cars are nice just BAD LUCK. I owned a black BMW and black Merdeces AMG. Totalled both in weird accidents, (only 2 wrecks ive ever had and im a good driver normally). Im staying away from any black colored cars for now.

go silver!

I bought a black BMW 740 and a silver mercedes E class the same weekend. A year later the mercedes still looked brand spanking new but the damned beamer had to be washed twice a week and waxed/polished monthly to keep it looking nice.

Now see my sig.

I own a black car. The truth is just hand clean the rims to perfection and run it through a 'no touch' car wash and you'll never get swirl marks. If you do see swirl marks for some reason go get it buffed and it will be fine. Yes black is hard to maintain. Not 'hard' but it's a pain in the ass because it gets dirty almost every day in the winter there's no avoiding it. But I love black.

Just wax and buff it every couple of months and it should be fine.

I will never get a black car again...so many swirls/irregularities/HOT IN FLORIDA...next cars will either be red or blue.

Mine is black and I love it. No swirl marks that you speak of at all after almost 2 years.

The only draw back is what people have already said, it shows EVERY bit of dust and dirt so it needs a wash twice a week most weeks. :2 cents:

http://www.biminibucks.com/sd-4.jpg

That was the upside to the carbon black over the jet black.After a good wash and wax the finish looks almost new,even after 3 years of driving it.
I handwash it about once a week.It's never been in an automatic wash.

I have owned Black and Dark Blue cars consecutively. Few things look nicer than a clean, glossy Black car.

However, with daily driving and without daytime and nightime garage storage, cleanlines is a rarity.

There are some dry areas of the coutnry where a Black vehicle woulnd't be a bad choice, but in FL you're washing it two times per week to keep it clean and during rainy season it's just not worth owning a black car.

My new one is silver. I've had it for 4 days, it's already dirty but you can't see it. :)

Also technique in cleaning definitely has an effect over how well your paint stands up.

Most modern paints are basecoat-clearcoat so the protection of the clearcoat is also your exterior finish. The clearcoat takes the abuse that the old color exterior color coats used to.

Remember waxing an old car as a kid? You'd see paint on your waxing sponge. You were removing paint with many products.

this thread is RACIST!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a black truck..I love it when it's just washed..but dammmm it shows dust worse that any other color..I live in the desert southwest so, it doesnt take more that a cpl hrs before it looks dusty..
and whoever said it hides the dirt the best is totally wrong..grey, silver, or tan paint hides your average everyday dirt the most.

TaDow... I have the responsibility of keeping up 7 Black vehicles and they are a PAIN in the ass. You have to have the right professional products and someone that knows what they are doing. Garage them always and no swirl marks.

No automatic car washes...ever


My :2 cents:

Two words for this thread...

"Clay Magic" http://www.claymagic.net/

This stuff is bad ass and removes all the crap from your paint without any harm. Smooth as a babies ass. Incredible results!

I LOVE my Black car, yes its a pain to keep it clean. I'm anal about keeping it shiny so I do wash it 2-3 times a week:winkwink:
Its going to need a good detailing and wax job when it gets warmer.
http://www.fubarwebmasters.com/z01.jpg

http://www.fubarwebmasters.com/z02.jpg

i haven't had a black car either, but the blue finish i have on my evo shows EVERY SINGLE piece of dirt.

i went and got the Mr. Clean Car Wash kit. that shit works wonders. i handwash it about once to twice a week and rarely ever get any swirls or water marks. couple of my buddies with black cars use it too and swear by it.

even some of the touch free automatic washes around here do a good enough. not close to handwash quality, but it can get you buy until you have time to handwash again.

all that is simply a myth....

The upside with black cars is that they rust less.. Being black the whole car get warm more easily and keeps dry, while white (or lighter) ones stay more "cold" and the humidity stays in it longer :2 cents:

An idiot and a buffer is what causes swirl marks. He'd leave the same marks on a white car, you just can't see them as easily. Avoid the $29.99 wax specials at your local carwash and you don't need to worry about swirl marks. :winkwink:




...and don't do it yourself either if you don't know what yo're doing

For swirl marks.. Zaino Z5 works great for swirl marks.

http://a1der-babe.com/ch477.jpg

As stated, dirt (and fingerprints) show up with ease. Wash weekiy by hand.

I must be a slob. I have owned and own a black car. I have never noticed swirls. I go to a car wash. They take care of it. I do nothing special. I live in the upper midwest and all cars look dirty five months a year here.

Who has the time to go out and wash their car every week ?

There are some many sharp looking colors available - especially when you consider custom paint jobs - your buddy should avoid setting himself up for that kind of a committment.

He might be into it for the first 6-8 months, but let's hope he's well off enough to outsource it when he loses the fire ... cuz he will.

Remember how you used to baby your ride ? It happens to everybody after the honeymoon phase wears off...

:1orglaugh

Well, I love black cars as well. Apart from the fact that it doesn't require frequent and heavy cleaning compared to the light colored ones, I love black coz it accompanies mystery, sexiness, and sophistication. :pimp

Yeah but your a lazy fuck!!!! :winkwink:

AND you have enough money to PAY someone to wash it everyday if needed!

:pimp

black color adds elegance and finesse to a car. perhaps the reason why most limos are black.

see this one!

http://www.barbecuejoe.com/images/20...0C%20Black.jpg

I love brand new shiny black, but for upkeep silver is the way to go. I bought my car (black) a few months after my girlfriend got hers & my paint job looks awful already. Little tiny scratches that would never show up on silver are very visible on black. Not a myth.

i bought exactly that car today as a matter of fact but i went with "cool vanilla"

i would never get black unless they paid me to... LOL

here's what i'm scoring tomorrow at the dealership

http://a904.g.akamai.net/7/904/506/v.../i100671_1.jpg

I'm still trying to figure out what a swirl mark is..

Nice looking car.

I was going to post about my experience with a white car, but I won't now. :)

ive never noticed it..