Help! I got the black car blues.

Kühlwasser · 09-03-05, 11:23

I didn't think I was a newbie at detailing until I tried to get this black BMW Z3 spiffed up. It just won't happen. I have washed the thing about five times. I didn't want to polish while it was still dirty, that's why. The dried on, fossilized water spots just will not come off. I even got so desparate I tried the unthinkable sin, Simple Green and Ammonia (followed immediately by a rinse), just to see what would get it off. NOPE.

It doesn't seem to make sense, but do waterspots like black cars better? Maybe black gets hot so they cake on harder?

I know black makes them more visible, but I'm anal enough I would have noticed this kind of thing on my red vehicles, midnight blue vehicles, etc. Even white! Because I look real close.

No luck. I pulled out a Meguiar's #80, and if I scrub like a mofo by hand, it seems to start coming out. Square inch at a time. "Start" being the key word here.

This would appear to be a 16 hour job if I scrubbed it all the way until something happened. I've also tried Meguiar's Crystal paint cleaner and the polish, but no luck. Those are more like 24 hour jobs.

So maybe I'm a typical newbie you can point and laugh at, but seriously, I need some help. I know I should have a buffer tool or whatever, but I don't, and I need this car looking good before a big date coming up Monday at noon.

I currently have a decent amount of product in my collection, including a lot of Meguiar's, some Zaino, and some other stuff. Just give me an idea how to do this without a machine tool, as well as any other tips about, how in the future I should deal with having a black car. I will be very very grateful.

As a side note, it's mostly a nice paint job, that has a few bad scratches in some odd places, mostly the front spoiler which also has little white pock marks all over it, probably from it being made out of PLASTIC. Is there a "cheater" way to hide these for now, until I can take care of them later? I am looking for something better than the black TW crayon+wax kit.

Thanks guys, and sorry for being the typical dumb newbie here. If you help me, I owe you big.

milky_08 · 09-04-05, 05:10

i know

black cars are a pita.
you can try using vinegar on the waterspots. it removed some nasty spots on mine. If that fails and the #80 is not doing it,maybe you can step up to a stronger polish like dacp..

MorBid · 09-04-05, 06:02

My new Audi is my first Black Car and I've come to realize that Black paint in and of itself isn't any different than any other color (compostion wise) when it comes to maintanace.

It's just that Black paint, clothes, pictures anything show defects more clearly and therefore require more frequent maintanace if you want to keep them looking at their best.

My advice is 1) to never try something out of desperation that is not meant to accomplish the objective. You can always do more damage.

2) If you had access to a rotary, I would try Hi-Temps Heavy Cut leveler or Extreme Heavy Cut leveler. I use the first one with either a Yellow Medium Cut or Wool Pad and have had gr8t success in removing water spots.

3) Without access to a machine polisher you will have varying degrees of success. As mentioned you could give the White Vinegar and Water trick a try or some Rubbing Compound (just on the affected areas). I've never tried DACP but others have had good things to say about it.

4) There's nothing "dumb" or newbieish" about asking for help or questions in general. If one doesn't know something how else are they going to find out?

5) The best tip for handling Black Paint on a car is to be more aware of the fact that you will require more work than with other colors to keep that whip looking snappy. Sooo

Develop a good wash/dry technique and use it at least once a week (more depending on conditions)
Don't park near automatic sprinklers, under wires running from telephone poles, or near trees.
Keep the paint protected with a good Sealant or Wax
Clean the panels by either washing or QD'ing as soon as possible after raining or if you do get some other type of contaimination. The longer the contaminate sit's the harder it will be to remove and or correct the damage

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Lowejackson · 09-04-05, 06:25

It sounds as if the spots are etched into the paint, #80 is a very mild polish and I think it contains some fillers. I have not tried #80 or DACP by hand but the Sonus polishes are quite easy to use by hand and they do not contain any fillers