hey everyone. i own an 06 obsidian black G and i must say, it is the hardest color to keep clean!!! so my buddies and i are planning to take a photoshoot of our cars, but the problem is, my car has a bunch of swirls marks and random scratches. is polishing the car the solution to this problem. please give me your inputs, thank you. oh yea, and the process of using the polish, does it have to be done by a porter cable or can i do it by hand?

 

Using abrasive polishes is the only way to permanently remove swirls and other imperfections in your paint. It also brings out the maximum depth and gloss in your finish. Polish is the most tedious part of the auto detailing process and is best applied with a quality buffer, such as the Porter Cable 7424 you mentioned. I'd highly recommend using the Menzerna line of polishes with the buffer, specifically finishing with PO106FF polish. Can you get results by hand? Yes. Will they be the same as if you applied them with a buffer? No. You have to have realistic expectations depending on how you apply the polish, by hand, you'll certainly never remove all or even close to all the imperfections. Even with the PC you are somewhat limited to surface imperfections, it often has trouble removing very deep imperfections.

Here's a link to our polishing guide. This will help get you maximum results out of the PC and Menzerna polishes. If you have any specific questions on anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

George

 

With a black vehicle you are going to want to detail it every 3-4 months to keep it in the condition you want it. You would be better off making the investment into a PC or Flex machine and the products you will need to do the job. Your first detail will probably need to be a medium polishing compound, finishing/light polishing compound, a sealant and quality wax. Let the sealant and wax cure for about eight hours inbetween each layer and put two layers of each. After the intial detail you should be able to get by with just the lighter polish, sealant and wax. My PC was probably the best investment I made in terms of car care.

I went through a ton of store bought crap and a few lower end boutique products, but the truth is you will save money by just going with the good stuff from the get-go.

Try the Menzerna Intensive Polish, Finishing Polish, and FMJ with Natty's Wax or something more premium like the P21S 100% Carnauba Wax of 50/50. The PC might be a good choice for a beginner along with the cutting and finishing pads. Add some microfiber applicators and towels and you are good to go for a couple years.

Full Molecular Jacket

Final Polish

Intensive Polish

P21S 100% Carnauba Wax

Porter Cable

I just finished up a Pearl White 350Z and base white 540i and they both turned out perfect with the above process. I am usually not completely happy with how white cars turn out, but I definately liked the shine and clarity with the above steps. I used Poorboy's Natty Wax inlieu of the P21S because the climate out here (100+ degrees) would require multiple layers of wax every month and that is not cost effective with the P21S. Good luck and post some pics when you are done.

 

you can do it by hand but it will take a long time. if you are going to tackle this task by hand i think it would be best to tackle one panel per day. wash, clay, then some type of abrasive polish, followed by a pure polish if you would like, follow by a nice synthetic sealant. to help keep the scratches and swirls down only hand wash your car using premuim soap, lambs wool mitt, and microfiber products.

you should look into getting a meguiars g110 dual action polisher, some abrassive polishes (meguairs m83, m80, m09 are good choices), pure polishes if you would like (meguairs dc step 2, or m07 are good choices), and a synthetic paint sealant (meguiars m21 or m20). and to help keep the swirls and scratches to a minimum you should only think about washing your car yourself using quality products. a lambs wool wash mitt, 2 5 gallon buckets each with a grit guard, a quality car wash soap (meguairs gold class or shampoo plus give great lubricity), and to dry the car i would look into meguiars water magnet waffle weave towels. to keep the car looking good between the major work i use meguiars m135 synthetic spray detailer and their supreme shine microfiber towels.

 

great choice in color

buy the P/C with good products and remember when toping of the final coat with protection..is it garaged or always in the driveway? this will help in determining sealant vs waxes.

the trick is..once she's in great shape..maintain it.. take caution when washing/drying, etc.

I would not trade this color for anything. once shes clean/shinny nothing looks better

 

Definately invest in a quality drying towel to minimize swirls while drying. Or really step up and get an air dryer to take care most of the water and you can touch up with a microfiber and quick detailer.

Cheap option:
Big Blue Towel

All out option:
Air Dryer

 

yea i love black, but its so hard to keep clean!! but yea once i polish it up, it should be good right? no swirls or anything yea?