OCD neat freak + black car = going crazy. Help needed.

[toppstuff]

Help me to help a friend of mine.

Ex Army, irons his boxer shorts. Neatest man I have ever known.

Just got a nice Scirocco. It is black.

I fear for his mental health and that of his long suffering wife.

Just how do you keep a black car looking good without spending your entire life on an endless loop trying to remove swirl marks?

And what is the best way to stop water spot marks? It seems he has to polish the car to remove the water spot marks when it dries, this increases the chance of swirl marks, which means he then has to clean it again, which means more chance of even more water marks, and so the madness begins...

I am not a keen car cleaner. I don't know this stuff. What is the best advice here?

What is the best way to avoid water spots? Someone said something about wetting agents to me...? And how do you avoid swirl marks and so stop the endless cycle of clean and polish?

Or is he just crazy for buying a black car?

Advice and experiences from the PH collective are welcome.

Thanks

Edited by toppstuff on Sunday 26th May 10:04

[anonymous-user]

He's doomed. He'll be washing it every day or two. Nothing shows dirt like a shiny black car.

Hope this helps

[premio]

Don't wash it when the car is warm or hot to prevent water spots

Use quick detailer to remove smears and water marks

Jet wash to remove lose dirt and use 2 bucket method to reduce swirl marks

Ironically, wash it less to reduce swirl marks also

Use poor boys black hole to fill swirl marks

Use a wash mitt not a sponge

Park it in a garage over night

[toppstuff]

Is there a product that solves this?

Surely someone has invented something?

We've cracked the key to human DNA. Put man into space. Figured out the physics of creation. Finding a lasting way to keep a black car clean without spending a whole day cleaning the bloody thing cannot be beyond mankind surely?

[marshalla]

toppstuff said:

Is there a product that solves this?

Surely someone has invented something?

We've cracked the key to human DNA. Put man into space. Figured out the physics of creation. Finding a lasting way to keep a black car clean without spending a whole day cleaning the bloody thing cannot be beyond mankind surely?

[dfen5]

Get a deionised water filter to get rid of the minerals that cause the marks, two buckets, wash mitt, snow foam gun etc.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/ All the info' you'll ever need.

[crazy about cars]

premio said:

Don't wash it when the car is warm or hot to prevent water spots

Use quick detailer to remove smears and water marks

Jet wash to remove lose dirt and use 2 bucket method to reduce swirl marks

Ironically, wash it less to reduce swirl marks also

Use poor boys black hole to fill swirl marks

Use a wash mitt not a sponge

Park it in a garage over night

Pretty much true from my experience. I wish I can park mine in a garage but it's just not wide enough. Poor boys works ok after a good polishing session.

I've recently bought this : http://www.t-cut.co.uk/index.cfm?page=161

Will give it a shot after a good wash and polish session.

[defblade]

toppstuff said:

Is there a product that solves this?

Surely someone has invented something?

We've cracked the key to human DNA. Put man into space. Figured out the physics of creation. Finding a lasting way to keep a black car clean without spending a whole day cleaning the bloody thing cannot be beyond mankind surely?

There are plenty of products that solve this... but he will need to spend half a day, at least, doing the whole lot every so often.

I found Meguiars to be the best price/availability/performance ratio, but others will be along to disagree

Fist, wash and rinse and dry. A really good wash with lots of effort to get in all the holes and edges etc. Then, possibly, wash it again.

Then clay. This removes stuff that sticks up above the paint which is the first step in making everything look smooth.

Then polish (NOT wax). This is an abrasive product, available in various grades (and he'll probably need at least 2 grades - a slightly coarser one for any bad areas, but start with the finer one anyway). The idea is NOT to try and flat the swirl scratches back to one level - this will just require so much effort that he''l end up doing more damage, possibly removing the lacquer completely - but just to take the sharp edges off the "canyons" in the paint that these marks are. This reduces their visual effect.

Then wax - this fills those marks and makes a very very very smoooooth shiney surface and the final polish simply buffs this.







And don't buy a black car.

[Kermit power]

Cars are for driving, not for cleaning and polishing.

See if you can switch his OCD so that instead of worrying about having dirt on his new car, he worries instead about not having a perfect layer of road grime all over it. This may still trigger his OCD tendencies, but at least the solution is taking the car out for a good hoon down country lanes, not spending endless hours wasting his life away with de-ionized snow foam filters or whatever.

He can always valet it before he comes to sell it.

[Dracoro]

No "product" required.

Buy a drying cloth from Halfords or wherever.

Just after cleaning whilst car is wet, use drying cloth by placing it on bodywork/glass and pat down. Do NOT wipe with it, just pat it down so it SOAKS up the water. As the cloth gets damp, it works a little better too. Every now and again squeeze it out.

Simple.

[Panda76]

Black looks really good when it's had a clean and polish.
Mine had a wash down and a layer of Autoglym ultra deep gloss on it,looks good.By Tuesday it will just be dusty and dirty lol.

Going round a black car with the polish can be a nightmare in its own right.I have found more stone chips in the bonnet (colour magic can sort them out) and found a very small chip in the lacquer on a rear passenger door,no dent no scratch just a chip.

Not sure if I would buy another black car or not tbh. Next car is likely to be a 5 series and the only BMW colours I like are the blues and black.

[xRIEx]

toppstuff said:

Is there a product that solves this?

Fluoxetine

[toppstuff]

Kermit power said:

Cars are for driving, not for cleaning and polishing.

See if you can switch his OCD so that instead of worrying about having dirt on his new car, he worries instead about not having a perfect layer of road grime all over it. This may still trigger his OCD tendencies, but at least the solution is taking the car out for a good hoon down country lanes, not spending endless hours wasting his life away with de-ionized snow foam filters or whatever.

He can always valet it before he comes to sell it.

That will never work.

This is a man who loves to see the marks in a carpet left behind by the vacuum cleaner and only recently was persuaded to stop ironing a crease in his jeans.

I can't believe he has purchased a black car.

Going to see him this afternoon to watch the GP. I know he will be getting anxious about dust on the black paint.

[toppstuff]

Is it right you can put rinse-aid for a dishwasher in the final bucket of cold water and it acts as a wetting agent and all the water runs off, reducing beading and therefore water spots?

[jon-]

premio said:

Jet wash to remove lose dirt and use 2 bucket method to reduce swirl marks

2 buckets good, jet wash bad. A powerful jet wash can mark the paint.

Foam lances are good at lifting the dirt, then a deep sheep skin mitt to lift the dirt away from the paint.

And wrap it a different colour.

[crazy about cars]

xRIEx said:

Fluoxetine

lol

I have mild OCD too and just can't stand the sight of the car being dirty. Same with the house but with kids that's not really in my control much...

Once a month (sometimes twice) I will give the car a good detailing. Prewash, foam, wash, rinse, clay, polish, rinse, wax and sealant - the works! Rest of the time I'll just top it up with good wash and quick wax. I will usually throw in a good treatment as well just before winter.

edit: to avoid water spots on hot days I find a good filter at the tap helps.

Edited by crazy about cars on Sunday 26th May 11:36

Edited by crazy about cars on Sunday 26th May 11:37

[scarble]

Get him a proper car and teach him the meaning of "driven not detailed".
He's got to learn to let go. Something fun will help with that

[Crafty_]

Swirls are a fact of life, all you can do is minimise them.

Black is the worst colour.

Get on detailing world, but basically right now he needs to clay, deswirl (machine polish it), then polish and wax.

Keep layering the wax. The wax will help with water spots, because the water won't dry as quickly.
Don't wash in direct sunlight or when its hot.

Black cars look wonderful when clean and shiny but generally are a bit of a nightmare to keep like that.

Maybe he should flog it and buy a silver one as it hides a multitude of sins.

[FussyFez]

jon- said:

And wrap it a different colour.

This.

[*Al*]

I love the look of a clean polished black car but can't stand cleaning and polishing nearly every day. Hence why i now shy away from black cars.