With spring time almost here, and the nasty Chicago winter over. My car is in REAL bad need of a good detail. I used up all my old products last fall so I need to get almost everything again.

I've got a black sedan and the paint is not looking so great.
Any suggestions on good products for a black car to get that shine back? I really have slacked on any kind of care this winter. I'm going to need new Shampoo, clay bars, wax, ect.

Also my exhaust looks destroyed it is covered in a bunch of caked on crap, as are my wheels. What do you guys suggest for getting that off the stainless steel / chrome and making it look like new again. I have no clue what to use for this so please any suggestion would be very helpful.

Thanks alot

 

Alex....
Best place to start is getting your sedan clean, really clean starting with your undercarriage, wheels and wheel wells. Steam clean if possible or super high pressure hose. Not sure what you've used in the past but Griot's has a kit which includes everything you'll need for years to come including the best orbital buffer on the market. Google Griot's Garage, he's got exactly what you need to make your sedan show worthy....
Gary

 

If you want it done right, you need to get the car polished, otherwise it will only look ok at best, even with really good wax on it. As you know, black is the hardest color to maintain let alone to have black car driven through the winter. If you don't get rid of the swirls, the sun is going to always show them. On a side not, I'm Chicago too. Are you on Chicago Z?

 

We can definitely help you get your paint looking it's best again. Usually I recommend a full detail at least 1 - 2 times per year and then just wash and protect it as desired in between as desired. A full detail to me consists of a wash, dry, clay bar, polish, sealant and/or wax. This process will deep clean the paint and make it really shine again while protecting it for months to come.

Wash/Dry - most swirls come from this process so quality products and techniques are critical. Check out our detailing guide for this step and other steps to maximize your efforts. Here are two awesome kits if interested.
DI Packages Washing and Drying Basic Kit
DI Packages Washing and Drying Starter Package

Clay Bar - This step deep cleans the paint so it's free from stubborn build ups not removed by the washing process. This may seem complicated or different but it's pretty simple and basic. In short spray some clay lube on the paint and glide the bar side to side and picks up micro contaminants in the paint. Here is an excellent value on a clay bar and lube - DI Packages DI Gentle Fine Grade Clay Bar 100g & Clay Lube.

Polish - This is the step where you really restore the paint to like new again. You can permanently remove swirls, oxidation, etc. not just temporarily hide them. I was not sure if you were considering getting a buffer or if you were just saying you won't be using one. I highly recommend you consider getting a Porter Cable (PC) as they are so easy to use, vastly improve your results while saving you time and energy. We have some affordable kits that give you the PC, backing plate, pads and polishes you would need here DI Packages Porter Cable 7424XP, Meguiar's Polishes and Hydro Pads Starter Kit or DI Packages PC 7424XP with M105, M205 and 5.5" pads. Both kits give you the M105 and M205 polishes with the PC that are going to help you really restore the paint to like new. Best of all the PC is easy to use and completely safe even for a first time user. Again check out our detailing guide for step by step instructions and other helpful hints.

If you prefer to do a hand application I generally just recommend a one step process with a foam applicator and Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish M205.

After polishing protect and enhance the shine with a sealant or wax. Waxes last about 2 - 6 weeks so we generally recommend a sealant which lasts 3 - 6 months. The Blackfire Wet Diamond with Polycharger is my favorite sealant. It provides a remarkable shine with durable protection while easy to apply. You can apply it by hand or use a blue pad and your buffer. If you really want to you can apply a wax on top of the sealant for added protection and shine. The Poorboy's World Liquid Natty's Blue Wax is a great option for a quality liquid wax that works on all colors. If you want a bit more gloss from a paste wax try the Chemical Guys 50/50 Limited Series Concourse Paste Wax or any of the Dodo Juice waxes. These options are applied by hand only but the exceptional gloss makes it well worth it.

I hand remove all of the excess product with a clean DI Microfiber All Purpose Towel. These towels are paint safe and help quickly remove the left over clay lube, polish, sealant, etc. I'd suggest getting about 5x - 10x of them.

For the exhaust tips try a quality metal polish like the Optimum Metal Polish. Just apply a few drops on a small cloth and buff with medium pressure, should restore them very well.

Now step back and admire how awesome your vehicle looks. If you have any other questions please let me know!

Take care!

Greg @ DI

 

Sick info!

 

/\/\/\/\ detailed image have some really stand up guys working for them, George helped me in the past with some help when i was just getting into detailing and am very appreciative. cant go wrong with them.

 

I got to give props to DetailedImage as well. They are very helpful and I bought some products from them when I started detailing my car.

 

Wow. Thanks alot this is exactly what I needed. I've already filled my cart up with all the supplies I'm going to need. I always been scared to try to use a buffer, but you might have swayed me. Thanks again.

Anything to recommend for getting really stuck up brake dust off chrome?


Yea I can see the winter driving is gonna be hard on it. But yea I'm on Chicago Z. Alex2x3 is my name there too. I've seen some of your work, and I gotta say it is beyond amazing. But idk if I can stomach it right now. Plus always nice being able to do it yourself. haha


Everyone else Thanks for the feedback. Appreciate it.

 

Another thing I noticed recently is that my hood is covered in small paint chips. Would using a polish and buffer make these any better? Or could it cause them to get worse?
Any suggestions on how to fix them. They range from the size of a ballpoint pen tip to probably the size of a NERDS candy piece. (If you know what that is haha)

Or do I need to use a product like Langka or Dr. ColorChip?

 

Use the same metal polish I listed above for the exhaust tips on the chrome. It will help deep clean them and even provide a little bit of protection.

Polishing can only help out chips very slightly if at all. It can smooth out the edges but for any kind of serious fix you'll need a kit like the ones you referenced. After some touch up work be sure to polish the area for best results.

Thank you in advance for the purchase I greatly appreciate your support!

Greg @ DI