Tips on how to clean a black car.
Discussion
I have purchased a black car. It looks great clean, but gets dirty very quickly.
I tried to clean it today and got fed up with water marks. Once dry, the car doesnt retian a glossy black colour.
Can anyone recommend any good cleaning products that will leave the car gloss black (cue pictures of paint)?
I live in an area of hard water, so assume that this is not good to clean the car with?
Thanks
I tried to clean it today and got fed up with water marks. Once dry, the car doesnt retian a glossy black colour.
Can anyone recommend any good cleaning products that will leave the car gloss black (cue pictures of paint)?
I live in an area of hard water, so assume that this is not good to clean the car with?
Thanks
Ray Singh said:
I have purchased a black car. It looks great clean, but gets dirty very quickly.
I tried to clean it today and got fed up with water marks. Once dry, the car doesnt retian a glossy black colour.
Can anyone recommend any good cleaning products that will leave the car gloss black (cue pictures of paint)?
I live in an area of hard water, so assume that this is not good to clean the car with?
Thanks
Keeping them clean is easy. Keeping them clean without making 3,000,000,000,000,000,000 little scratches is less easy. I have a black car and black motor bike. I tried to clean it today and got fed up with water marks. Once dry, the car doesnt retian a glossy black colour.
Can anyone recommend any good cleaning products that will leave the car gloss black (cue pictures of paint)?
I live in an area of hard water, so assume that this is not good to clean the car with?
Thanks
Easiest way to keep your car clean:
Buy some AutoGlym bodywork shampoo (easy to buy at Halfords)
Buy a microfibre washing mitt (helps to lessen scratches when washing the car)
Buy some large microfibre drying towels (makes drying easy and fast)
Get Two buckets
Process-
Fill up one bucket half way just with water, the other one with the shampoo and water (2 capfulls to 1 bucket works best for me)
Rinse car with water from hose
Take mitt, dip it in the shampoo and work one panel at the time. Start with the roof and work you way down.
After washing one panel, dip it in the bucket with only water, squeeze it (you'll see the water get dirtier as you keep doing it) and then dip it in shampoo and move onto the next panel. Make sure you rinse the mitt after every panel (helps keep you rubbing dirt on the car)
Once you're done, rinse the car again using a hose pipe.
Now dry the car using micro fibre towels. And it should leave you with a good finish with no water spots.
If you wanted to, you could do a few more steps like a prerinse with snow foam and waxing and polishing. But for a quick wash this method works great for me and the AG Shampoo puts down a layer of wax keeping the car nice and glossy.
Any excuse for a picture
Buy some AutoGlym bodywork shampoo (easy to buy at Halfords)
Buy a microfibre washing mitt (helps to lessen scratches when washing the car)
Buy some large microfibre drying towels (makes drying easy and fast)
Get Two buckets
Process-
Fill up one bucket half way just with water, the other one with the shampoo and water (2 capfulls to 1 bucket works best for me)
Rinse car with water from hose
Take mitt, dip it in the shampoo and work one panel at the time. Start with the roof and work you way down.
After washing one panel, dip it in the bucket with only water, squeeze it (you'll see the water get dirtier as you keep doing it) and then dip it in shampoo and move onto the next panel. Make sure you rinse the mitt after every panel (helps keep you rubbing dirt on the car)
Once you're done, rinse the car again using a hose pipe.
Now dry the car using micro fibre towels. And it should leave you with a good finish with no water spots.
If you wanted to, you could do a few more steps like a prerinse with snow foam and waxing and polishing. But for a quick wash this method works great for me and the AG Shampoo puts down a layer of wax keeping the car nice and glossy.
Edited by Yadizzle1 on Sunday 8th June 21:38
Any excuse for a picture
Edited by Yadizzle1 on Sunday 8th June 21:39
As above, I think the key thing is not to let the water evaporate off the bodywork. Keep the car out of the sun and dry it as quickly as possible after rinsing.
Probably best if you don't try this if it's a steel car, but if you add a bit of salt to the water it'll remove the lime-scale problem.
Probably best if you don't try this if it's a steel car, but if you add a bit of salt to the water it'll remove the lime-scale problem.
It seems that I commited the cardinal sin of letting the soap (Zymol car shampoo) go dry on the car prior to rinsing off.....
It has left whitish patches all over the car.
I found that some Zymol Paint restorer does the trick, but I dont fancy applying this to the whole car everytime I wash it.
It has left whitish patches all over the car.
I found that some Zymol Paint restorer does the trick, but I dont fancy applying this to the whole car everytime I wash it.
DUMBO100 said:
I have a black Honda and my brother owns a car detailing company. He can make it look perfect for 24 hours but after that the swirls and scratches show again. If you have slight OCD don't buy a black car
Hondas seem to have impossibly soft paint so pick up swirls really really easily, I had a grey one and no matter what I did I couldn't keep swirls off it for more than a week.Don't wash it in direct bright sunlight. No matter how quickly you wash the shampoo off you will be left with water marks if the metal has been sat in direct sun for a while.
Use a large plush microfibre drying towel to dry car as quickly as possible after rinsing. This will ensure you aren't left with water marks and will minimise the swirls you get from dragging small bits of dirt around the paint.
If you still get some water marks, you can easily remove them with a squirt of quick detailer and a clean microfibre towel. The sooner you get to them, the easier they are to remove. Doing this leaves you with a slight gloss finish as well as QD is also a spray wax.
Use a large plush microfibre drying towel to dry car as quickly as possible after rinsing. This will ensure you aren't left with water marks and will minimise the swirls you get from dragging small bits of dirt around the paint.
If you still get some water marks, you can easily remove them with a squirt of quick detailer and a clean microfibre towel. The sooner you get to them, the easier they are to remove. Doing this leaves you with a slight gloss finish as well as QD is also a spray wax.
wasserboxer said:
Take it to the nearest generic Eastern European hand wash facility whenever it's looking a bit dirty.
I used to do that but I witnessed an operative drop a sponge on a gravelly car park surface and then put said sponge directly onto my cars paintwork. They are the marks that I'm still trying to removeGassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff